West Chicago, Ill. -- The Wheaton women's golf team continued its busy September slate by taking the short drive over to St. Andrews on Wednesday to participate in the Benedictine Fall Invitational. The single-round competition consisted of 17 teams, and the Thunder came in fifth place. All six players on this year's roster competed in today's tournament, and Abby Crutchley posted the best score for Wheaton by finishing in the individual top ten.

Aurora University's 'A' squad won the invitational thanks to a combined mark of 292 (+4), while the Spartans' 'B' team came in second on a 319 (+31) tally. Marian University placed third overall, just a single stroke behind Aurora 'B', and fellow CCIW program North Central entered the clubhouse in fourth place on a team total of 328. Wheaton rounded out the top five with a 335 (+47) score, finishing the day one shot ahead of Carroll University in sixth place. In turn, St. Norbert College placed seventh by ending the 18 holes one stroke behind Carroll, reflecting the competitive and razor-thin nature of Wednesday's round.

The sophomore Crutchley's consistency paid off this afternoon, as she carded a round score of 77 (+5) to come in sixth place on the 105-player leaderboard. She ended the day's play just four shots behind four Aurora golfers who tied for first on a 73 (+1) mark.

Fellow second-year competitor Emma Lee tied for 16th place courtesy of an 80 (+8) tally, while Ava Hartnett was two strokes behind Lee on an 82 score that saw her tie for 22nd.

The senior duo of Molly Holbert and Abby Smith each registered a daily mark of 96, with Smith taking part in the competition on an individual basis. Abi Edwards rounded out the Thunder's lineup on Wednesday by carding a 97 to complete the event one shot behind her fellow upperclasswomen.

After a solid midweek performance, Wheaton has the next week off from competitive action and will return to the links on Friday, September 25th when the team travels to Wisconsin for the two-day Midwest Region Classic.