Contact: Jenna McElroy, Sports Info & Social Media Intern, mcelroy@midwestconference.org
GRINNELL, Iowa – The Grinnell College women’s golf team has been picked by league coaches to win the 2018 Midwest Conference (MWC) Championship. The Pioneers seek their sixth consecutive title which would tie Illinois College's Conference record for consecutive championships.
The annual coaches poll was a close one as the top-three teams were separated by a mere four points but Grinnell received a total of 20 points and four first place votes to take the top spot. The biggest challengers to the Pioneers reign look to be Lake Forest College and St. Norbert College. The Foresters came in second place with 17 points and picked up the remaining first place vote, while the Green Knights followed closely in third with 16 points.
Monmouth College earned 10 points to take fourth and Illinois College picked up eight points for fifth. Knox College completed the poll in sixth with four points.
The 2018 season starts on Saturday, August 25 as Monmouth heads to Carl Sandburg College followed by a dual with Augustana College on Sunday. The rest of the MWC teams’ tee off the following weekend. The MWC Championship at Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford, Ill. will be hosted by Knox on October 5-7.
Full Poll Results:
| 1. Grinnell |
20 (4) |
| 2. Lake Forest |
17 (1) |
| 3. St. Norbert |
16 |
| 4. Monmouth |
10 |
| 5. Illinois College |
8 |
| 6. Knox |
4 |
Below are team-by-team previews:
Grinnell College Pioneers
Head Coach: David Arseneault Jr. (19th season)
2017 MWC Finish: 1st
Projected 2018 MWC Finish: 1st
Returning: 4
Returning All-MWC Performers: Vidushi Sinha Sr., Vrishali Sinha Sr.
The Pioneers captured their fifth straight MWC crown last season and return the top two golfers in MWC history. The MWC Individual Champion, Vidushi Sinha, returns after she set a championship record with her first day 18-hole score of 72. Her three-day total of 226 was second-best in championship history, just behind her sister Vrishali’s 221 from 2016. Vrishali looks to regain the title she won in 2016 and join her sister as only the fifth player to win at least two conference championships after finishing six shots behind Vidushi with a total of 232 in 2017. Grinnell also returns Danielle Oberlander, who shot 266 and tied for 11th as a freshman last season.
Illinois College Lady Blues
Head Coach: Abby Vorreyer (5th season)
2017 MWC Finish: 5th
Projected 2018 MWC Finish: 5th
Returners: 5
The Lady Blues will be led by Madi Peyton and Lindsay Alewalt who matched each other shot for shot in 2017. Both had a scoring average of 88.1, carded a season-low round of 78 and only finished two shots apart at the MWC Championship. The two had almost identical three-days scores over championship weekend as Alewalt shot 93-91-85 for a score of 269 and tied for 13th, while Peyton finished three spots behind in 16th after shooting 92-93-86 for a score of 271. Brooke Metzger wasn’t far off her two teammates after averaging a score of 89.2 and finishing 20th at the conference championship with a three-day total off 278.
Knox College Prairie Fire
Head Coach: K.C. Harding (5th season)
2017 MWC Finish: N/A
Projected 2018 MWC Finish: 6th
Returners: 2
Returning All-MWC Performers: Samantha Nichols Jr.
The Prairie Fire roster may be small but it consists of a talented duo. Samantha Nichols moved up one spot from her 2016 fourth-place finish to place third in 2017 with a three-day score of 257 to earn All-MWC honors for the second straight year. Nichols was also the only non-Pioneer or Forester to earn MWC Performer-of-the-Week honors after winning the Fighting Scot Invitational in mid-September. Her teammate, Shelby Keen, tied for 11th with a score of 266, just missing out on All-MWC honors in her first season by one stroke.
Lake Forest College Foresters
Head Coach: Sean O’Malley (2nd season)
2017 MWC Finish: 3rd
Projected 2018 MWC Finish: 2nd
Returners: 4
Returning All-MWC Performers: Faith Jung So., Amanda Lee So.
The Forester’s achieved a third-place team finish in Coach O’Malley’s first year and the 2018 team is headlined by All-MWC duo Faith Jung and Amanda Lee. Jung and Lee finished tied for fifth and tied for ninth, respectively, to earn All-MWC honors in just their first season in the MWC. Jung was also named the MWC Newcomer-of-the-Year after shooting 260 for her fifth-place finish. Lee’s scoring average of 86.7 was ninth best in the conference for the 2017 season.
Monmouth College Fighting Scots
Head Coach: Ashley Sims (5th season)
2017 MWC Finish: 4th
Projected 2018 MWC Finish: 4th
Returners: 5
Returning All-MWC Performers: Haley Hoekstra Jr.
Haley Hoekstra leads the Fighting Scots in 2018 after earning her second straight All-MWC honor for her fourth-place finish at last season’s MWC Championship. Hoekstra’s 83.2 scoring average was third best in the conference, while her teammate, Mamie Ambrosch had the tenth best average at 87.5. Junior Kaniesha Whatley returns after improving her scoring average last season to 95.4 to finish as the Fighting Scots’ No. 5 scorer.
St. Norbert College Green Knights
Head Coach: Susan Anstett (2nd season)
2017 MWC Finish: 2nd
Projected 2018 MWC Finish: 3rd
Returners: 3
Returning All-MWC Performers: Amy Holzer Jr.
The Green Knights went from a last place finish to a school-best second-place finish in Susan Anstett’s first season as head coach. In 2018, St. Norbert is led by a trio of upper-class golfers who had top finishes at last year’s MWC Championship. Amy Holzer earned All-MWC honors after tying for ninth at last season’s championship, while Elizabeth Bobinski finished 15th and Megan Lau was 22nd.