LAKE GENEVA — For the second year in a row, the Platteville golf team was greeted at Lake Geneva with strong winds and rain. 

     Led by sophomore Alex Traxler’s excellent 88, the Hillmen battled through the brutal conditions to finish 15th out of 20 teams at last Monday’s Geneva National Invitational at the Geneva National Golf Course near Lake Geneva.

     “The  golfers quickly learned this was going to be more of a mental test than physical as conditions continued to be difficult,” said Platteville head coach John Sponsler. “Alex Traxler found peace amongst the chaos and shot an amazing 88 to place 15th best out of 100 golfers.”

     Senior Everett Ellingson parred the final two holes to get in the clubhouse at 98.  Sophomore Will Simmons and freshman Zach White carded Platteville’s final two counting scores.  Simmons shot a 111, while White finished with a 112. Senior Colton Hying shot a non-counting 127.

     Sponsler noted that his Hillmen finished ahead of SWC foes Lancaster and Dodgeville as a team, which was the first time that has happened in three years.

     Monday afternoon Platteville finished third at the second SWC mini-meet of the season at Lancaster. It was a make-up from Friday’s rain out.

     Ellingson and White shot identical 44s on the par 36 track at the Lancaster Golf Course to lead the Hillmen.

     Traxler carded a 45, followed by Hying’s 48 as Platteville shot an aggregate 181 to finish behind both Lancaster (157) and River Valley (166).

     Lancaster sophomore Josh Hentrich shot a 1-under-par to earn medalist honors.

     The Hillmen are now tied for third in the SWC standings with Dodgeville after two regular season meets.

     The annual Platteville Hillmen Flighted Invitational was rained out Saturday and will not be made up.

     “Unfortunately, we had to cancel the invite and because all weekend days are booked for the teams, there is no make-up date,” said Sponsler.  “We’ll try again next year.”

     Platteville will return to action Thursday at Richland Center. The Hillmen will then compete at the River Valley Invitational on Saturday and return to Spring Green for a SWC mini meet next Tuesday.

Geneva National Invitational
(from Monday, April 20 at Geneva National GC, par 72)
Team scores — 1.Waunakee 347, 2.Lake Geneva National 347, 3.Burlington 361, 4.Westosha 366, 5.Clinton 372, 6.Mount Horeb 375, 7.Waterford 378, 8.Waukesha West 378, 9.Sheboygan Lutheran 385, 10.Edgerton 386, 11.Delevan–Darien 400, 12.Wilmot 404, 13.Jefferson 406, 14.Platteville 409, 15.Lancaster 412, 16.Elkhorn 421, 17.Lakeside Lutheran 437, 18.Dodgeville 440, 19.East Troy 461, 20.Whitewater 488.
Top finishers — 1(tie).Jonathan Duggan (LGB) 80, Brian Dankle (Bur) 80, 3(tie).Max Murphy (Waunakee) 83, Zach Kramer (Westosha) 83, Justin Meseberg (Bur) 83.
Platteville (409) — Alex Traxler 88, Everett Ellingson 98, Will Simmons 111, Zach White 112, Colton Hying 127.

SWC Meet #2 (Lancaster)
(from Monday, April 27 @ Lancaster GC, par 36)
Team scores — Lancaster 157, River Valley 166, Platteville 181, Dodgeville 188, Prairie du Chien 223, Richland Center 242.
Top finishers — 1.Hentrich (L) 35, 2.Ring (RV) 36, 3.Gates (L) 37, 4(tie).Wedige (RV) 40, Farrey (L) 40.
Platteville (181) — Everett Ellingson 44, Zach White 44, Alex Traxler 45, Colton Hying 48.
SWC standings — 1(tie).River Valley 11, 1(tie).Lancaster 11, 3(tie).Dodgeville 7, 3(tie).Plattevillle 7, 5.Prairie du Chien 4, 6.Richland Center 2.