2022 WIAC Women's Golf Championship Preview University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will aim for a sixth straight title at the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Golf Championship (presented by Culver’s). The 27th edition of the league event will be held at Reedsburg Country Club in Reedsburg, Wis., Oct. 7-9. UW-Eau Claire is the host of the championship that will feature 54 holes and commence with a shotgun start at 11 a.m. on Oct. 7, while tee times off both sets of tees will begin at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 8-9. The team winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship that will be conducted May 9-12, 2023, at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. UW-Whitewater claimed last year’s championship – the seventh in program history – with 958 strokes. UW-La Crosse placed second with 969 strokes, UW-Eau Claire third with 976, UW-Stout fourth with 988, UW-Oshkosh fifth with 992, UW-Platteville sixth with 1,051, and UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point tied for seventh with 1,057. UW-Eau Claire possesses a league-high nine first-place finishes, while UW-Oshkosh has four, and UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout own three apiece. UW-Whitewater’s lineup features five golfers averaging below 81 strokes per 18 holes. Ellie Johnson has a conference-best 76.0 stroke average. She matched the program record for lowest 18-hole score with a 71 during the UW-Whitewater Fall Invitational on Sept. 24. Johnson is joined by Lily Sheppard (76.5), Ashton Sinak (77.5), Madi LaPaz (79.0) and Kallie Lux (80.4). Sinak received conference Player of the Year accolades in 2019-20. UW-Stout’s Abbey Filipiak is the defending individual champion and WIAC Player of the Year. She boasts a 77.0 stroke average. The Blue Devils will also be represented by Kendra Swanson (77.7), Hallie Tulip (84.3), Liz Rohl (84.8) and Sydney Grimm (85.0). Swanson won the UW-River Falls Falcon Invitational held Sept. 3-4. UW-La Crosse’s lineup includes Molly Larsen’s team-best 82.2 stroke average. Rounding out the grouping for the Eagles are Maija Tanberg (82.3), Andrea Schleeper (83.2), Sophie Denure (85.7), and Grace Ellison (83.9). Schleeper was victorious at the UW-La Crosse Invitational on Sept. 23. UW-Eau Claire’s Lexi Meade maintains a 77.3 stroke average and collected medalist honors at the UW-Eau Claire Georgianni Blugold Invitational held Sept. 10-11. She received WIAC Player of the Year honors during the 2020-21 season. Meade will be joined by Jilli Newman (84.5), Olivia McSorley (90.7), Cadie Ash (91.3) and Keely Morehouse (92.6). UW-Platteville’s Markie Ash emerged with a first-place finish at the Loras College (Iowa) Fall Invitational held Sept. 18-19, and UW-Stevens Point Mad Dawg Invitational held Oct. 1-2. She owns a team-best 80.3 stroke average. The Pioneers will also feature Josie Alm (87.5), Emily Veenhuis (88.5), Jada Chang (89.8) and Taylor Swalve (91.8). UW-Oshkosh’s lineup includes Ava Downie (83.8), Taryn Endres (87.6), Josie Hofer (88.9), Lauryn Davis (91.3) and Alyssa Dreher (93.3). UW-River Falls’ Sydney Hufnagle was victorious at the Viterbo University (Wis.) Invitational on Sept. 25, and tops the squad with an 84.8 stroke average. Also competing for the Falcons will be Grace Gabriel (88.1), Cadence Moe (88.5), Sydney Burgess (90.8) and Lauren Skov (91.0). Bree Downie leads UW-Stevens Point with an 84.4 stroke average and claimed first place at the UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic held Sept. 4-5. She owns the best round in WIAC championship history with a 69 on May 2, 2021. Downie is joined by Kate Downie (89.4), Tess Bruner (92.2), Jenny Marshall (93.8) and Andrea Tietz (94.3). Additionally, 37 golfers will compete as individuals to round out the 77-player field. # # # # #