Eden: 716 Chix in the Stix The first tournament from the 716 Chix Disc Golf Club saw 58 ladies take on the Hawks Landing on Sunday. Ladies came in from WNY, Pittsburgh, Canada, Rochester and beyond to test their skills on a tightly wooded course this past Sunday, April 23rd.
This Tournament , directed by Kaylee Hanania with assistance from Katie Wollcott, was the first event of several this season brought to you from the newly formed 716Chix Disc Golf Club. One of the goals of the club is to create a welcoming environment for new players in organized disc golf, and they succeeded! There were close to 20 ctps for the event, A huge potluck set up for lunch plus hotdogs and hamburgers, souvenir pics from Spartan716 Photobooth,and Wham-O! With 58 ladies taking the field, first time TD Kaylee and assistant TD Katie managed to succeed in breaking the WNY record for registrants in an all female event.
The first round of the tournament brought two aces. Amy Campbell of Ithaca, NY on Hole 7 and Kaylee Hanania of Orchard Park, NY on Hole 17. A second ace pool was set up for Round Two, where Kaeleigh Cooper from Niagara Falls, NY, took home the pot in a throw-off on Hole 18, barely inching out Amy Campbell in search of her second ace pot. The Tournament also saw a large CTP challenge, including a 50/50 CTP won by Casey Cutting of Franklinville, NY. Several Local Business and Players donated prices.
As for the event itself, we saw two pro divisions battle it out with 5 amateur divisions in two rounds of the famed Hawks course.
Starting with the FPO, Lori Merriman of Sewickley, PA took the win after defending off Tara Dixon of Rochester, NY, Kaylee Hanania of Orchard Park, NY and Jean Yelen of North Collins all day, with the top spot changing hands several times in the last round.
In FP40, we saw Alanna Poole of Bethel Park, PA take a lead after round one, and was able to play cleanly round two as the wind picked up.
On the Ams side, the FA1 Division was the most contested, as Casey Cutting Franklinville, NY and Erika Apple of Fairport, NY finished the first round tied at -2. During the second round, the two swap places a few times before Casey Cutting took the win.
In FA40, Susan Jervis of Dundas, ON was able to defend the lead from a charging Christine Ford of Amherst, NY
In FA2, we saw Kaeleigh Cooper of Niagara Falls, NY have a strong showing to bring home her second win of the weekend, taking 1st at the Spring Fling @ Wilson the day before.
In FA3, Madison Gannon of Blackstone, MA played a solid two rounds to take first in her first PDGA sanctioned round.
In the FA4 field, we had another first timer take the winner, as Elizabeth Milks of East Aurora, NY took the win.
Overall, it was an amazing event that showed the growth of Women's Disc Golf in Western New York. The tournament had a great mix of new and old players, with many guys spending the day helping, from caddying for players to helping cook or take pictures of the event.
Congratulations to the 716 Chix Disc Golf Club on an amazing first tournament, and we can see what else you guys come up with in the future. If you want to help support the 716 Chix DGC and the growth of women's disc golf in Western New York, the club is selling shirts to raise funds for the club. Shirts can be pre ordered at the link below. They will also be announcing a raffle soon so stay tuned!
