The 2003 Panther coaching debut of Mike Moncel went off with a disappointing thud this weekend as Eastern finished 16th in the 17-team Cardinal Classic.

Eastern competed at the par-72 6119-yard Players Club of Yorktown, Ind. which has many hazards, making accuracy a must for good scores.

“There was a lot of confusion over the past couple of weeks over who our coach was going to be and we jus wanted to concentrate on golf,” senior top-player Amanda Minchin said.

Minchin led the Panthers by finishing in 27th place with a final score of 158 (78-80). Minchin was the only Panther to post a round under 80 the entire weekend.

Eastern’s other senior, Brooke Pellock, had a consistent finish by shooting 81-84 and being the second highest Panther 36-hole mark.

“We are definitely dissapointed with how we finished,” Minchin said. “We are better than half those teams in that tournament.”

Eastern may have been at a disadvantage because freshman Nicole Bram suffered a back injury and was forced to withdraw, leaving the team with only four competitors in the field.

“There was more pressure on us knowing our score was going to be taken,” Minchin said.

In her first collegiate event, Jacky Bodis posted a two-day total of 173 (89-84) to finish tied for 72nd individually.

“She played extremely well in her first tournament especially since she was a little nervous, but that’s not uncommon,” Minchin said.

Western Michigan swept the individual and team championships as the Broncos’ Stephanie Donkin won the title with a even-par score of 144 with a final round 1-under 71.

Donkin was tied with Ball State’s Chelsie Flannery after the first round. Flannery was looking to keep the trophy in the Hoosier state but imploded on day two with a final round of 80.

The biggest charge came from Toledo’s Sarah Boogard who shot 79-72 to finish tied for fourth.

The Broncos took the team title back to Kalamazoo, Mi. after rallying from third place and six strokes down on the final day to win by seven. Western Michigan won with a score of 606 (+30) with the next three finishers being Ball State, Grand Valley State an Toledo.

Eastern finished 63 strokes behind the leader with a score of 669.

Eastern will tee it up again Thursday at Western Illinois for the WIU Westerwind Classic in Macomb, Ill.

“We’re just going start fresh at Western and try to focus a little more that week,” Minchin said.