Wind, sleet and rain couldn’t stop the NIU women’s golf team.

Keeping their minds off the elements, the Huskies took second place at the Loyola University Invitational. NIU’s three-stroke deficit after day one expanded to 12 despite a seven-stroke improvement from the first day. The Huskies shot a team score of 633 while holding off third-place Loyola at the Wilmette Golf Club.

Much improvement was seen on day two to the surprise of many.

“I don’t know if it was that they had to concentrate harder on keeping your hands warm and chasing your umbrella down the fairway and keeping your clothes dry and your towel in place,” said NIU head coach Pam Tyska about the weather conditions. “It kept everybody more on task, and I was glad to improve on from where we were yesterday and solidify our second-place finish.”

NIU was led by junior Kim Hunley and freshman Kelsie Passolt who both tied for fourth place. Hunley shot a 76 and 79 while Passolt shot a 77 and 78.

Sophomore Michelle Caporusso tied for 16th, shooting an 83 and 79 for a 162.

Redshirt senior Ashley Lods also came in 22nd but was competing as an individual at the invite. Lods shot an 83 and 81. Junior Kimberly Bailey was also playing as an individual and shot an 81 and 84 which was good for a 26th-place finish.

The Huskies will now prepare for the Mid-American Conference Championship, which takes place April 24 to 26 in Nashport, Ohio.

“We are definitely prepared to play in any type of weather that mother nature may throw at us in 10 days,” Tyska said. “We’ve played in a little bit of everything.”

Men’s Golf

NIU settled for another low finish Sunday at the 2009 adidas Invitational in Bloomington, Ind. The Huskies took 10th out of 16 with a 48-over par 900 on the par 71 Indiana University Championship Golf Course.

Sophomore Jeff Dick ended up as the top Huskie for the third straight competition. Dick, with a six-over par 219, tied for 16th after shooting a one-over par 72 in the second and third rounds.

Junior Andrew Frame followed suit with a spot in the top 20 and a seven-over par 220. Frame, who finished tied for 19th, entered the final round at three-over par but dropped after shooting 75.

Fellow junior Tim Kay progressed through the invitational shooting 79, 74 and 76 for a 16-over par 229 and a 49th-place finish.

Freshman Max Hosking and junior Greg Bauman rounded off the NIU score sheet with Hosking shooting a 20-over par 233 for 65th place and Bauman shooting a 27-over par 240 for 80th.

NIU came up one stroke short of ninth-place IUPUI and two strokes ahead of George Washington. Indiana won the invitational by 27 strokes over Eastern Kentucky while its Indiana B team tied for third.

The Huskies will finish up the regular season this weekend when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind. for the Boilermaker Invitational.