Titans Among Top Challengers For WIAC Golf Title
UW-Oshkosh is among three teams expected to contend for a first-place finish at this weekend's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women's Golf Championship (Presented by Culver's) in Reedsburg.
The 23rd edition of the event begins at noon Friday (Oct. 5) and continues at 10 a.m. both Saturday (Oct. 6) and Sunday (Oct. 7) at the Reedsburg Country Club.
The winner of the 54-hole WIAC Championship earns the league's automatic berth to the 2019 NCAA Division III Championship that will be held May 14-17 in Houston, Texas.
UW-Oshkosh, along with UW-Stout and defending champion UW-Whitewater, are the leading candidates to win this year's league championship.
UW-Whitewater's title last season was the third in program history and first since 1999. The Warhawks won the crown with 942 strokes to surpass the 959 of second-place and 2016 champion UW-Stout.
UW-Oshkosh, which won conference championships in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2015, placed third at last year's tournament with 962 strokes while UW-Eau Claire finished fourth with 983, UW-Platteville fifth with 1,042, UW-River Falls sixth with 1,048 and UW-Stevens Point seventh with 1,114.
This year's UW-Oshkosh squad is led by junior Hannah Braun and senior Kayla Priebe, who each own a 78.5 stroke average per 18 holes. Braun finished first and Priebe second at both the UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic and UW-Stevens Point Mad Dawg Invitational earlier this season while Priebe also placed second at the UW-Whitewater Invitational.
UW-Oshkosh's starting lineup for this weekend is also expected to include freshmen Margherite Pettenuzzo and Erika Priebe and junior Dianna Scheibe. Priebe is averaging 81.3 strokes this season while Pettenuzzo averages 81.9 and Scheibe 85.5. Priebe finished fourth at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic and fifth at the UW-Whitewater Invitational while Pettenuzzo placed sixth at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic and Scheibe 10th at the UW-Stevens Point Mad Dawg Invitational.
Other UW-Oshkosh participants this weekend are senior Ireland Dunne, juniors Sophia Mazurek and Hanna Rebholz and sophomore Keara Richards. Rebholz led the quartet with her seventh-place finish at this year's UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic.
Kayla Priebe and Ireland Dunne are competing at the championship for the fourth time. Priebe finished third last year and second in both 2015 and 2016 while Dunne placed 21st in 2015, 28th in 2017 and 45th in 2016. Priebe totaled 235 strokes at last year's championship with the help of three birdies and 32 pars.
A trio of Titans – Braun, Rebholz and Scheibe – are making their third championship appearance. Braun finished 10th in 2017 and seventh in 2016 while Rebholz placed 13th in 2016 and 22nd in 2017. Scheibe placed 22nd in 2017 and 36th in 2016.
Richards and Mazurek are two-time participants after finishing 33rd and 37th at last year's championship, respectively.
UW-Whitewater's lineup is led by CheyAnn Knudsen, who claimed medalist honors at last year's championship. This season, she boasts a league-best 77.1 stroke average. Knudsen is joined in the lineup by Ashley Hofmeister, who secured medalist honors at the 2016 championship and owns an 80.0 stroke average. Sabrina Schreck (80.6), Kelly Storti (82.8) and Maddie McCue (83.0) are expected to complete the Warhawks' lineup.
UW-Stout's Madison McCambridge has a team-best 79.6 stroke average while Marie Allo follows at 81.0. The Blue Devils' lineup is bolstered by Trystin Kluess (82.0), Alexa Filipiak (82.2) and Markie Ash (85.2). UW-Stout is a three-time conference champion.
UW-Eau Claire boasts a conference-high nine league championships, with the most recent in 2013. The Blugolds are led by Allison Chomniak, who owns an 80.9 stroke average.
This year's championship marks a return appearance by UW-La Crosse, which is in its first year of intercollegiate competition since the 1982-83 season. The Eagles are led by Chloe Volden's 91.4 stroke average.
Alyssa Elko paces UW-Platteville with her team-best stroke average of 94.8.