2021 WIAC Women's Golf Championship Preview

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will aim for a fourth straight first-place finish at the 2021 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Golf Championship (presented by Culver’s). The 25th edition of the league event will be hosted by UW-Whitewater and determined over 54 holes at Reedsburg Country Club in Reedsburg, Wis., April 30-May 2. A shotgun start will commence at noon on April 30, while flighted tee times will begin at 10 a.m. May 1-2.
 
This marks the fifth straight season that the course has hosted the conference meet. The team winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship that will be conducted May 11-14 in East Lansing, Mich.
 
The Warhawks’ championship the last time the eight league teams met was the fifth in program history. They secured the crown with 933 strokes to surpass UW-Stout’s second-place total of 941 strokes. UW-Whitewater’s 933 strokes represented the lowest 54-hole total in league history.
 
UW-Oshkosh took third with 987 strokes, UW-Eau Claire fourth with 990, UW-Platteville fifth with 1,006, UW-La Crosse sixth with 1,043, UW-River Falls seventh with 1,060 and UW-Stevens Point eighth with 1,095.
 
UW-Eau Claire boasts a league-high nine first-place finishes, while UW-Oshkosh owns four, and UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout have three apiece.
 
UW-Whitewater’s 2021 lineup features five golfers averaging below 85 strokes per 18 holes, including Ashton Sinak, the reigning WIAC Player of the Year. She boasts a league-best 76.8 stroke average and secured medalist recognition at the Carroll University (Wis.) Classic and UW-Whitewater Spring Fling. CheyAnn Knudsen received conference player of the year laurels in 2018 and owns an 81.4 stroke average. Kelly Storti has compiled an 83.3 stroke average, while Kristin Bowe is at 84.0 and Lily Sheppard at 84.4.
 
UW-La Crosse’s Molly Larsen claimed medalist honors at the UW-Whitewater Spring Fling, while Maija Tanberg was the top finisher at the Viterbo University (Wis.) Invitational. Both individuals own an 83.8 stroke average. The Eagles’ lineup will be rounded out by Andrea Schleeper, who boasts a team-best 83.4 stroke average and Gracie Ellison is at 88.8 and Leah Sindberg at 89.4.
 
UW-Eau Claire’s Lexi Meade has a team-best 80.2 stroke average and secured medalist recognition at the Carthage College (Wis.) Spring Invitational. The Blugolds’ Jessica Rudnicki is second on the squad with an average of 85.0 strokes per 18 holes.
 
UW-Stout’s Abbey Filipiak earned medalist privileges at the Carthage College (Wis.) Spring Invitational and UW-Eau Claire/UW-River Falls Invitational. She has maintained an 80.6 stroke average this spring.
 
Additional WIAC regulars averaging rounds below 90 this spring include:  UW-Oshkosh’s Margherite Pettenuzzo (86.6) and Lauryn Davis (88.2); UW-Platteville’s Markie Ash (83.3), Cortney Olson (88.3) and Emily Veenhuis (89.8); UW-River Falls’ Danielle DeWitt (87.5); UW-Stevens Point’s Bree Downie (82.0); UW-Stout’s Sofia Morin (89.2); and UW-Whitewater’s Jennifer Berardi (85.3), Lauren Winter (87.8), Madi LaPaz (87.9), Sydney O’Hearn (88.0), and Grace Westerman (89.5).
 

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