ISU Women’s Golf Coach Julie Manning had a hunch that her team could win the Northern Iowa Classic when she was putting together the schedule. Mission accomplished. The Cyclones fired a team total of 610 to take top honors in the Classic Monday in Cedar Falls. The Cyclones outdistanced runnerup Arkansas State by 16 strokes to win their first tournament since early last season. “We haven’t won in a while so it feels terrific to be in the winners circle. It’s very important, something we needed,” Manning said. “Way back when I was scheduling, I was hoping this could be a win and so far it has scripted out very well. Hopefully this will snowball and we’ll continue to play well.” ISU freshman Laura Wells defeated teammate Lisa Meshke in a one-hole playoff to earn meet medalist honors. Wells final total was a 73-79-152 and Meshke finished with a score of 71-81-152. Wells recorded a par on the playoff hole while Meshke missed a par putt to give Wells the win. “They both hit great drives and then Laura probably hit the five wood of her life on her second shot,” Manning said. “It was unfortunate for one of them to lose in the playoff but you can learn a lot from that. Lisa Meshke has nothing to hang her head about.” In regulation, Meshke entered the 18th hole trailing by a stroke. Meshke set up a 20-foot birdie putt for the tie and sank it to force the playoff. “Lisa is only a freshman and just doesn’t give up,” Manning said. “She didn’t have a good day for her but she calculated where she was in the score going into No. 18 and knew what she needed to do.” Noel Jacobusse and Cathy Ennis followed by tying for third place. Jacobusse shot a 77-77-154 while Ennis recovered from a bad start to card a 82-72-154. Rounding out the Cyclone counting scores were Heather Elanbaus and Sarah Gilbert. Elanbaus shot a total of 81-80-161 for 21st place and Gilbert was right behind at 79-83-162 to tie for 26th. Erin Denefe and Claire Stephenson played as individuals and turned in solid efforts. Manning points out that the competition going on for the last two spots in the lineup is very close. “We’re going to continue to shake things out and see who is going to be in those spots. Some of the girls had streaks brilliance in the tournament but others struggled. I’m not sure who it’s going to be for our next week,” Manning said. The Cyclones opened up with a 28 stroke lead after Sunday’s first round but struggled in Monday’s windy conditions. Manning expects to see more of Sunday’s high caliber play throughout the season. “We played fantastic the first day, and I told them in the hotel room that evening, they need get used to that feeling. With the talent we have on this team, the bar has been definitely raised so you can expect it in the future,” Manning said. “Our scores were a little high on Monday, but so were the rest of the field. There was probably about a 30-mile per hour wind, and the greens were slick.”