2014-2015 William Penn Women’s Golf Preview
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Video interview with Coach Rule at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb4fCqYOZ1c
2013-2014 MCC Finish: 1st of 7
Letterwinners returning/lost: 7/1
Notable returners:
Demi Coertze Jr. Johannesburg, South Africa
(Third-Team All-America, First-team all-MCC, 79.2 avg., low of 73)
Maggie Yang Sr. Chino, Calif.
(MCC Player of the Year, First-team all-MCC, 79.6 avg., low of 72 twice)
Jing Yang So. Woodland Hills, Calif.
(Honorable-mention all-MCC, 83.1 avg., low of 76)
Courtney Cunningham So. Muskogee, Okla.
(84.4 avg., low of 76 twice)
Alexandria Eckenrod Sr. Mason City, Iowa
(84.6 avg., low of 77 twice)
Ashley Manhnieo Sr. Las Vegas, Nev.
(85.0 avg., low of 79)
Natalie Booton Jr. Mount Pleasant, Iowa
(87.8 avg., low of 78)
Notable losses:
Danielle Giannotti
(Two-time letterwinner)
Notable newcomers:
Brooke Fletcher Fr. Atlantic, Iowa
Jodi Saito So. Mililani, Hawaii
Jordan Postma Fr. Marion, Iowa
Aramina Flores Fr. Corpus Christi, Texas
Fresh off its first national tournament berth, a fully-loaded William Penn women’s golf team will be looking to continue its national rise in 2014-2015.
The Statesmen won their first-ever league title this past April in convincing fashion (36 strokes) and have now become the program to beat in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. The automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships was not wasted as WPU entered with the #23 ranking, but knocked off plenty of top teams to finish 15th overall.
With only one player departed from last year’s group and several newcomers expected to fight for a varsity slot, the navy and gold figure to keep plenty of pressure on the top squads in the NAIA.
First-team all-league linksters Maggie Yang (Sr., Chino, Calif., Biology) and Demi Coertze (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) top the roster. Yang had ten rounds in the 70s (79.6 average) en route to being named MCC Player of the Year. Coertze, who also broke 80 on ten occasions (79.2 average), became the first All-American in school history by earning Third-Team laurels. The duo combined for six first-place finishes.
Jing Yang (So., Woodland Hills, Calif., Biology) will try to build off a successful freshman campaign, collecting honorable-mention all-MCC accolades with an 83.1 average.
Alexandria Eckenrod (Sr., Mason City, Iowa, Elementary Education), Courtney Cunningham (So., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science), Ashley Manhnieo (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management), and Natalie Booton (Jr., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education) make up a foursome of returning letterwinners who will also bolster the varsity crew. Cunningham leads the way with an 84.4 mark from last year, while Eckenrod (84.6), Manhnieo (85.0), and Booton (87.8) were right behind her.
Carly Schmalz (So., Buffalo Lake, Minn., American Government), with an 89.4 clip, Alexi Rule (So., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Education), with a 90.3 mark, and Lindsay Dorn (Jr., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education), with a 98.7 average, also look to be in the mix.
A handful of new faces will sport the school colors this year, including three freshmen and a junior college transfer. Jodi Saito (So., Mililani, Hawaii) gets the nod for experience after spending a year at Dodge City CC, but freshmen Brooke Fletcher (Atlantic, Iowa), Jordan Postma (Marion, Iowa), and Aramina Flores (Corpus Christi, Texas) all excelled at the prep level and carry considerable skill to William Penn.
Schedule/Conference
In hopes of pushing the navy and gold up the national standings, Head Coach Nik Rule will be sending his team to several high-profile tournaments this fall. The Statesmen begin the slate in Michigan on August 27-29 at the Madonna Crusader Classic, while the NAIA Preview in Georgia will wrap things up on October 27-28. Sandwiched in there are a pair of home events on September 8-9 (in Moravia) and on October 10-11. WPU is scheduled to compete in six events this autumn.
