ELMIRA, N.Y. --- The Elmira College women's golf program saw multiple program records fall in 2017-18, as the Soaring Eagles took to the links at six tournaments this past season.

EC started the season at the William Smith Invite on September 16 and battled across the two-day event to finish eighth in the field of 11. Recently graduated standout Audrey Clarke '18 started her senior season on a high note, earning co-medalist honors after carding a 36-hole score of 162 (+18) Fellow graduate and multi-sport athlete Meghan Fonfara '18, was Elmira's next best finisher with a two-round score of 184 (+40), which placed the Elma, New York, native in a tie for 21st.

After a week layoff, the Purple and Gold were back on the course at the Utica Invite on September 23. EC shaved 19 strokes off its team score from the William Smith Invite, totaling a two-round score of 758 (+174), which earned Elmira one of its two second place finishes on the season. EC carded the lowest second round score with a 379, as Clarke and Fonfara shined for the Soaring Eagles, finishing fourth and sixth, respectively. Clarke paced Elmira with a 36-hole score of 168 (+22), while Fonfara was seven strokes off that pace with a 175 (+29). Senior Alyssa Ogden '18 earned a top-15 finish as well, placing 11th after carding a season-best 94 (+21) in round one to finish with a two-day total of 189 (+43).

Clarke rewrote Elmira's record book at the EC Fall Invite, tying her personal-best with a score of 77 (+5) to earn her seventh career tournament victory. The Churchville, New York, native broke a tie with former standout Briana MacDonald '14 with the victory, while her mark of 77 was two strokes shy of the program record.  Fonfara earned a third-place finish with an 18-over-par 90, while Cassie Chun '18 carded the lowest round of her career with a 105 (+33). Joining Chun with a personal record was Sarah Hiltbrand '19 who finished one stroke behind Chun with a 106 (+34). In the first action of her collegiate career, Maddy Jerolman '19 carded a 124 (+52) to round out the Soaring Eagles' performance at their home tournament.

The program record book featured another addition at the Martin-Wallace Invitational on October 31. The Soaring Eagles carded a 751 (+91) across both rounds, the team's lowest two-day cumulative score since the 2008-09 and ranks best in program history. Clarke paced the Purple and Gold once again, shaving four strokes off her round one score to finish with a two-day total of 168 (+24).  Fonfara added another top-20 finish to her resume after shooting a team-low 84 in round one en route to tying for 18th.

In an expanded field of 12 teams at the Empire 8 Conference Championships, the Soaring Eagles had an excellent showing in round two to earn a sixth-place finish. The Purple and Gold's two-day score of 810 (+234) placed them two strokes ahead of seventh-place finisher Rhode Island College. Clarke continued her stellar season, placing sixth with a two-day total of 179 (+35). For her efforts, Clarke was named to the E8 All-Conference Second Team, becoming the only women's golfer in EC history to garner All-Conference honors in all four collegiate seasons. Fonfara just missed a top-10 finish, carding a 185 (+41) to finish in a tie for 11th. Ogden shaved a massive 14 strokes off of her score on day two, climbing the leaderboard to earn a 35th place finish after carding a 214 (+70).

In their lone tournament of the rain-soaked spring season, the Purple and Gold wrapped up the 2017-18 season with a second-place finish at the Elmira College Spring Invitational on April 24. In the final tournament of her collegiate career, Clarke carded a 99 (+28) to earn a sixth-place finish after a strong performance on the back nine. Ogden finished seventh with a score of 103 (+32), while Hiltbrand recorded a 111 (+40) to claim 10th place after her second-best round of the year. Chun finished one stroke off of Hiltbrand with a 112 (+41).

Clarke's impact on the program will be felt for years to come, as the Churchville product etched her name into the program record book with a stellar final season in 2017-18. Clarke owns the career records for rounds played (45.0) and tournament wins (7), while ranking second in scoring average versus par (15.84) and finish percentage (72.2%). She ranks third in single-season scoring average versus-par after posting a 13.17 mark in the 2015-16 season and owns a plethora of other top-10 marks throughout the program record book to cement her status as one of the  all-time greats in EC history.