WPU Paired with Marian, IU East for First Two Rounds of Nationals

Oskaloosa–The Statesmen women’s golf team will be paired with a pair of foes from the Hoosier State as the 28th Annual NAIA National Championship will be contested next week.

William Penn, unranked entering nationals, has qualified for its eighth Championship and second in a row. The event will be held Tuesday-Friday, May 23-26 at TPC Deere Run Golf Course in Silvis, Ill.

For the opening two rounds, the navy and gold will play with #17 Marian (Ind.) and unranked IU East. The squads will begin Tuesday’s round on Hole #1 at 1:40 p.m. (Central), while Wednesday’s round will start on Hole #10 at 8:40 a.m. (Central).

WPU faced off with both programs at the TPC Deere Run Classic and defeated both last October. The Statesmen and Marian also competed at the Music City Classic in March with Marian faring better.

William Penn, which won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship earlier this month, owns a current team stroke average of 321.5 over 22 rounds with a low of 305. Gabriana Franco (Fr., Tracy, Calif., Exercise Science) currently ranks 95th in GolfStat with an adjusted scoring average of 78.4 (78.5 regular average). Olivia Lange (So., Buckeburg, Germany, Business Management) is 125th in GolfStat at 79.4 (79.4 regular average).

The navy and gold claimed six tournament crowns this year.

Marian earned its automatic berth by winning the Crossroads League Tournament. The Knights have five players rated in the top 150 of GolfStat’s rankings, led by Keara Eder at 79.0 (99th).

MU topped the team standings in four tournaments in 2022-2023.

IU East punched its ticket to nationals with a Red States Conference Tournament title last month. The Red Wolves won two events this season.