University of West Alabama

There is no doubt that the St. Catherine University golf team has been playing solid all-around in its first two weeks of the 2014 season under new Head Coach Michele Edlin. But after one of the best weekends in program history, it is first-year Kaitlyn Alvarez (Eau Claire, Wis./North) who is stealing the spotlight. For her record-setting performance at the Concordia College Invitational, Alvarez has been named the Wildcat Athlete of the Week. 

After a good first weekend to kick off her collegiate career, Alvarez showed she is capable of competing with some of the best players in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) when she finished second on the first day of the Concordia tournament in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Her round of 77 (+5) was the second-lowest individual round in program history and the best ever by a Wildcat first-year. 

Alvarez then followed up on day two with a solid score of 85 (+13) to finish the tournament with a sixth-place finish among 83 competitors from Division II and III schools. She was the third MIAC finisher on the day and her two-day score of 162 (+18) sets a new record for the lowest two-round score in program history – another first for a Wildcat rookie. 

Thanks to the solid play of Alvarez, the Wildcats finished with the second-best two-day team performance in program history with a score of 668 (+92) and a fourth-place finish among 11 teams that included six MIAC competitor institutions. The Wildcats were the second MIAC and Division school to finish behind champion College of Saint Benedict. 

Alvarez and the rest of the Wildcats return to action this Saturday and Sunday at the Division III Classic hosted by Carleton College at the Jewel Golf Club in Lake City, Minnesota.