Titans Out To Defend WIAC Golf Title
UW-Oshkosh will strive for a second straight first-place finish at this weekend's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Golf Championship (Presented by Culver's) in Reedsburg.
The 21st edition of the league event will be determined over 54 holes at the Reedsburg Country Club. Competition begins at noon on Friday (Oct. 7) and 10 a.m. on both Saturday (Oct. 8) and Sunday (Oct. 9). The team winner will earn an automatic bid into the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Championship that will be conducted May 9-12, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
UW-Oshkosh collected the fourth WIAC title in program history a season ago – and first since 2003 – with 992 strokes to best the 1,039 by runner-up UW-Eau Claire. UW-Whitewater finished third with 1,049 strokes, UW-Platteville fourth with 1,069, UW-Stout fifth with 1,101, UW-Stevens Point sixth with 1,179 and UW-River Falls seventh with 1,228.
UW-Oshkosh's lineup is led by Kayla Priebe, who owns a league-best 77.8 stroke average over 18 holes. She secured medalist honors at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic while adding a second-place finish at the UW-Stevens Point Mad Dawg Invitational and a third-place standing at the UW-Whitewater Fall Classic. Priebe earned All-WIAC first team recognition a season ago.
The Titans have four additional performers averaging below 86 strokes with Hannah Braun at 82.9, Micayla Richards at 83.4, Laura Stair at 83.7 and Hanna Rebholz at 86.0. Richards and Stair each earned All-WIAC second team accolades last fall.
UW-Oshkosh, which also captured WIAC championships in 2000 and 2002, returns five golfers who competed at last year's meet. Priebe finished second to former UW-Oshkosh teammate McKenzie Paul with 245 strokes while Stair placed fifth with 251, Richards 13th with 264, Dunne 21st with 274 and Pederson 27th with 283. Stair also ranked 17th at the championship in 2014.
UW-Stout has collected a pair of team titles – both in the last four years – and is expected to challenge UW-Oshkosh for this year's crown. Rachel Hernandez owns a team-best 80.6 stroke average and was an All-WIAC first team performer last year. She tied teammate Madison McCambridge for first place at the UW-River Falls Triangular. The Blue Devils have received consistent scoring from McCambridge at 81.7 stroke average, Alexa Filipiak at 83.1, Marie Allo at 84.6 and Tystrin Kluess at 87.4.
UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater are also expected to contend for a high finish. UW-Eau Claire is led by first-year head coach Courtney Everett and owns a conference-high nine titles, with the most recent in 2013. The Blugolds have received strong showings this fall from Allison Chomniak with an 81.4 stroke average, Molly Lattery at 84.6, Katie Moore at 87.8, Hallie Hancock at 92.4 and Abbie Ter Maat at 94.5. Chomniak was an All-WIAC second team honoree a year ago while Moore was a first team selection.
UW-Whitewater also has a first-year head coach in Andrea Wieland. The Warhawks' lineup will include Ashley Hofmeister with an 81.5 stroke average, Stephanie Stair at 83.3, Kayla Asleson at 84.7, Maddie McCue at 84.8 and Kaitlin Bowe at 85.5. Hofmeister was the medalist at the Carthage College Invitational while Stair collected All-WIAC second team honors last season.
Additional WIAC regulars averaging rounds below 90 this fall include: UW-Platteville's Stephanie Baribeau at 82.0, Lindsay Neitzel at 87.4 and Lexi Graf at 89.1; UW-River Falls' Nikki Frederickson at 88.1; UW-Stevens Point's Tiffany Boak at 86.8; and UW-Whitewater's Sabrina Schreck at 86.5, Hayley Jefferson at 87.5 and Rebekah Donner at 88.0.
Baribeau secured medalist honors at the Millikin University (Ill.) Fall Classic and earned All-WIAC first team honors a season ago after receiving second team recognition in 2014. In the third round of the 2014 WIAC Championship, she matched a tournament scoring record with 71 strokes.
Boak took first place at the Marian University Invitational and was an All-WIAC second team performer in 2014.