Contact: Jenna McElroy, Sports Info & Social Media Intern, mcelroy@midwestconference.org

Results | Championship Page

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Midwest Conference (MWC) women’s golf teams made it through two days of wet conditions but another night of rain was too much for the course at Aldeen Golf Club to hold and the Championship became final through 36-holes. After two-rouonds and a championship record, Grinnell College claimed the 2018 MWC Women’s Golf Championship and became the second team in conference history to win six titles in a row.

Sister’s Vidushi and Vrishali Sinha, two of the most decorated golfer’s in MWC history, ended their careers with their fourth year of first and second place finishes. Vidushi led the field with a two-day score of 151 and joined three other golfers in league history to earn three MWC Championship title, while Vrishali tied for second with a score of 156. The Pioneers may be losing the Sinha sisters next year but first-year Nina Kouchi looks to takeover right where the two left off. Kouchi set the Pioneer 18-hole record earlier this fall and continued that success at the Championship as she tied Vrishali for second place which earned her MWC Newcomer of the Year honors.

Danielle Oberlander and Julia Echikson rounded out the Grinnell golfers with 12th and 18th place finishes respectfully. Oberlander improved her score between rounds by 11 strokes, while Echikson lowered her score by four as they helped the Pioneers to a MWC Championship single round record score of 312 on day two. Combined with their day one score of 330, Grinnell finished with a total of 642 and head coach David Arseneault was named MWC Coach of the Year.

Lake Forest College claimed their highest team finish in program history as their two-day total of 703 earned them second place. Amanda Lee earned her second All-Conference placing as she finished behind the Grinnell trio in fourth. Lee dropped ten strokes off her opening round to finish with a score of 160, while fellow Forester Faith Jung was just behind in sixth place with a total of 167. Jung finished sandwiched between two players from Knox College, four strokes out of fifth and a stroke up on seventh.

The host Prairie Fire’s two top ten finishes came from Shelby Keen and Samantha Nichols who placed fifth and seventh respectively. Nichols picked up her second All-MWC honor as she improved her score from 86 on day one to an 82 on day two for a total of 168 that put her one stroke shy of sixth. Keen matched her teammates second round total of 82 for a two-round total of 163 to earn her first All-MWC placing after missing by one stroke in 2017.

Monmouth College moved up a spot from its finish at last year’s championship to take third place thanks to knocking 13 strokes off the team’s score from day one. The Scots shot a round of 352 on Saturday for a team score of 717. Haley Hoekstra led the way with a score of 170 that gave her sole possession of eighth place after entering the day tied with three other golfers. She also become the first Scots’ golfer to earn three All-Conference honors since 2002. Monmouth just missed having two All-MWC honorees as Mamie Ambrosch shot a second round 82, a six stroke improvement from day one, to finish one spot out of the top ten in 11th. First-year Dani Freeman put up a good showing in her first conference championship as she carded a two-day score of 181 for 14th place.

The battle for fourth and fifth place was a tight one as St. Norbert College closed the gap on Illinois College on Saturday but the Lady Blues were able to hold on by one stroke and take fourth place with a score of 725. Madi Peyton earned her second All-Conference honor by shooting a 173 for a tie for ninth with the Green Knights Amy Holzer. Holzer also earned her second All-MWC finish thanks to dropping 11 strokes in the second round. She helped lead St. Norbert to a huge 32 stroke improvement between rounds that came up just short for fourth with a score of 726. St. Norbert and Illinois College’s number two golfers both lowered their scores by 8 strokes on day two as the Green Knights Elizabeth Bobinski and the Lady Blues’ Lindsay Alewelt finished two strokes apart with 36-hole totals of 180 and 182 for 13th and 15th place respectively.

The Elite 20 Award, given to the golfer with the highest grade-point average at the years MWC Championship, was given to St. Norbert's Megan Lau. Lau is a senior music education major and earned her third Elite 20 Award of her career. On the course, she carded the biggest drop on day two of the Championship as she shot an 88, 14 strokes lower than her opening round, and moved up seven places in the standing to finish in a tie for 21st.

The 2018 MWC Women’s Golf Championship saw all six teams have at least one golfer earn All-Conference honors by placing in the top ten. It also saw history as Grinnell became just the second team to win six titles, while Pioneer Vidushi Sinha became the third golfer to win three individual titles.

Below find the full list of award winners, individual top ten, and the team results.
 

Newcomer of the Year
Nina Kouchi	Grinnell
Coach of the Year
David Aresneault	Grinnell
Elite 20
Megan Lau	St. Norbert

All-Conference

1. Vidushi Sinha	Grinnell	151 (74-77)
T2. Vrishali Sinha	Grinnell	156 (80-76)
3. Nina Kouchi	Grinnell	156 (81-75)
4. Amanda Lee	Lake Forest	160 (85-75)
5. Shelby Keen	Knox	163 (81-81)
6. Faith Jung	Lake Forest	167 (84-83)
7. Samantha Nichols	Knox	168 (86-82)
8. Haley Hoesktra	Monmouth	170 (88-82)
T9. Madi Peyton	Illinois College	173 (88-85)
T9. Amy Holzer	St. Norbert	173 (92-81)

Team Results

1. Grinnell	642 (330-312)
2. Lake Forest	703 (353-350)
3. Monmouth	717 (365-352)
4. Illinois College	725 (371-354)
5. St. Norbert	726 (379-347)