The Briar Cliff golf teams opened play at the Northwest Iowa National Invite Monday with 36 holes at Willow Creek Golf Course in Le Mars, Iowa. The Charger women continued their recent steady play, while the men's team is in 12th despite posting the lowest second-round score.
 
"The ladies just couldn't get a fourth score today, but they continued to play steady overall," said head coach Ben Irlbeck.
 
As a team, BC shot a 649 (326, 323) and 23 shots off fifth-place William Penn. Keiser leads the team standings with a score of 588 (294, 294).
 
The Chargers were paced by Helene Getz Bergmo who is in 18th place with a score of 154. Bergmo carded an 80 in her first round and followed that up by shaving six strokes to shoot a 74 in her second trip around the course. Bergmo tallied eight birdies on the day. Frankie Valencia post back-to-back 82s and is in 36th with a score of 164. Valencia totaled four birdies in her two rounds.
 
Kelly Baade also improved her score in her second round and posted a 165 (85, 80). Baade rolled in four birdies on the day and is tied for 37th. Grace Johanson sits in 40th with a score of 166 (79, 87) and had three birdies. Abbigale Miller was the fifth member of the Charger squad, and due to a scorecard error in the first round she shot a 250 (151, 89).
 
"On the men's side, it was a tale of two rounds with the first 18 holes being one of the worst we've played in recent years. However, we backed that up with a second round that was one of our best, and beat many top-10 nationally ranked teams," said Irlbeck. "To put things into perspective, our second-round score would be tied for second and one shot off the leaders."
 
After a sluggish start in their first round, the men's golf team made the largest improvement in their second round. The Chargers posted a first-round score of 318 but shaved 32 strokes off to fire a 286 in round two. BC is just 13 strokes off fifth-place Morningside and 25 back of Bellevue.
 
Desmond Landin was the low man for the Cliff totaling a score of 146 (74, 72). Landin's first round saw five birdies, while his 18 saw three birdies and an even-par score. He is tied for 11th and just five strokes off the leaders. Elijah Lamoureux and Braxton Brockhaus are tied for 32nd with matching 152s. Lamoureux went 82-70 in his two rounds and totaled three birdies and two eagles. Brockhaus tallied three birdies and one eagle.
 
Davess Verdugo is tied for 55th after carding a 155 (83, 72). Verdugo totaled four birdies and one eagle. Andrew Arndorfer rounded out the scoring with a 156 (82, 74) and is tied for 56th. In his 36-holes, Arndorfer had three birdies and one eagle.
 
The Chargers will be back at Willow Creek Golf Course for the final day of the Northwest Iowa National Invite, hosted by Texas Wesleyan.