UW-Whitewater Golf Wins Fourth Straight WIAC Championship
By Chris Lindeke
Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater golf team claimed its fourth straight conference title and sixth overall Sunday on the third and final day of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Presented by Culver’s at Reedsburg Country Club in Reedsburg, Wis.
The Warhawks carded a three-day total of 925 (303-312-310) to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, which is scheduled for May 11-14 at Forest Akers Golf Course in Lansing, Mich.
UW-Whitewater is the only program in WIAC history to win four consecutive conference championships.
Kristin Bowe led the Warhawks and the 55-player field to become the team’s sixth medalist in program history and third in the last five seasons. Bowe fired a 223 (71-73-79) for the weekend to win the tournament by four strokes and set a program record for lowest individual 54-hole score in program history. Her first-round 71 tied the school record for 18-hole score.
Bowe was also named the WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete for women’s golf following play. Head coach Andrea Wieland joined her as an award winner, garnering WIAC Coach of the Year accolades for the first time in her career.
CheyAnn Knudsen, the 2017 medalist, placed third with a 228 (77-76-75). Ashton Sinak and Kelly Storti tied for fifth with matching scores of 238. Sinak posted her best round of the weekend on Sunday (79-84-75), and Storti tallied a sequence of 76-81-81 for the weekend.
Playing in her first conference tournament as part of the lineup, Lily Sheppard finished the weekend with a 253 (79-82-92), good for a tie for 15th.
Grace Westerman led all individuals by tying for 11th place with a 243 (82-76-85) for an impressive conference tournament debut. Madi LaPaz tied for 15th with her 253 (83-85-85), and Lauren Winter totaled a 254 (84-82-88) to tie for 17th.
Sydney O’Hearn finished 28th overall with a 266 (84-96-86) in her first WIAC Championship.
UW-Whitewater will make its third appearance in the NCAA Championship. The Warhawks finished 12th in 2018 and 13th in 2019.
UW-W also qualified for the national championship in 2020, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
