Statesmen Roll to Fifth-Consecutive Conference Crown

William Penn University Athletics

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Lawrence, Kan.–The William Penn’s women’s golf program continued its dominance at the league level as it won its fifth-straight conference title Monday and Tuesday.

The 22nd-ranked Statesmen topped the nine-team Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships with a two-round score of 610 (304-306) at the par-72 Eagle Bend Golf Course. Grand View was a distant runner-up at 663 (332-331).

The league crown, which is WPU’s fifth in school history, qualifies the navy and gold for the NAIA National Championships in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. from May 22-25. It is the fifth-straight qualification for William Penn, a program that was reinstated by the University just nine years ago and was seventh out of nine teams at the MCC Championships just seven seasons ago.

It was nearly a clean sweep for the Statesmen at the top of the standings as four of the five best linksters had the WP logo embroidered on their uniforms. The balanced attack gave WPU its second-lowest 36-hole team score in school history; the record of 607 was posted at last year’s Heart Championships.

Elise Warne (Jr., Melbourne, Australia, Exercise Science), who had been sidelined by injury the last two tournaments, returned with a vengeance, leading the 44-player field at 149 (74-75). It is her first league medalist honor.

Helene Larsen (Jr., Viborg, Denmark, Business Management), at 78-74, and Brittany Evans (So., Fernley, Nev., Business Management), at 75-77, put heat on their teammate down the stretch, but could not catch her as they finished in a tie for second at 152.

Megan Rhoads (Jr., Schertz, Texas, Psychology) finished fourth at 157 (77-80), while Brooke Fletcher (Sr., Atlantic, Iowa, Business Management) improved six strokes in the final round to end up ninth at 170 (88-82).

The tournament win is William Penn’s sixth of the campaign.

“What a great way to end the regular season!” Head Coach Chris Pierson said. “We continued to battle as a team and showed our depth by having four of the top five finishers. These ladies understand what it takes to win together and they battle for each other. I am very proud of them and look forward to what we can do at nationals!”

The team will find out its pairing for the first and second round of the national tournament Friday.

Posted by on May 10 2018. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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