Posted: Sep 05, 2013

Cobber Women's Golf Preview

MIAC women's golf preview courtesy of Matt Higgins and the MIAC office

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A year ago, the women's golf capital of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) was Northfield, Minn., as St. Olaf captured its second-straight conference championship and cross-town rival Carleton came in second. As the 2013 season tees off, the Oles and Knights will look to remain atop the MIAC, as the rest of the league strives to catch the duo.

St. Olaf had never won a MIAC women's golf championship until 2011, and last season they added their second in a row with a three-day score of 966 at the unseasonably cold conference championship meet in early October, which was good for an 11-shot win over Carleton. The Knights carded a 977 as they continue to climb the conference ladder. Gustavus - seemingly always in contention for the MIAC title - was eight shots behind Carleton in third at 985.

St. Thomas also continued the progression of its program, carding an even 1,000 to finish fourth, and Saint Benedict rounded out the top five in the standings with a score of 1,017. Concordia was solidly in sixth place (1,042) and Augsburg (1,076) edged Macalester (1,077) by a single stroke for seventh. Bethel (1,098), St. Catherine (1,113) and Saint Mary's (1,145) rounded out the final three spots in the standings.

The 2012 results provide an indication of where these programs sit, but they aren't a crystal clear prediction for the 2013 as a lot can change in a year's time. After leading to the Oles to back-to-back titles, Head Coach Luke Benoit resigned to pursue other interests and two-time MIAC Player-of-the-Year Molly Erickson graduated to end her stellar career. In addition to Erickson, three other All-MIAC honorees graduated or transferred - all from the conference's top three teams - so the rest of the conference could have an opening to close the gap.

The 2013 season teed off Friday with many of the MIAC teams in action over Labor Day weekend to start writing the story of the new campaign. With the dramatic final chapter looming in early October at the 2013 MIAC Championships, it will be fun to turn the pages over the next month to see which direction each of the conference's 11 teams are heading.

WHAT'S NEW?
There will be a pair of new faces coaching in the conference this season, starting with Katie Connelly, who was hired this summer to replace Benoit and continue building upon the strong foundation he left behind. Connelly comes to the defending champs from Edgewood College (Wis.) where she was the head coach, following an All-Big Ten career as a student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin.

She won't be the only rookie coach this year, as Ryan Egan replaces Kevin Landrum as the head coach of both the Saint Mary's men's and women's teams. Egan was promoted to the head gig after two years as the Saint Mary's assistant coach, and he is also an assistant men's hockey coach at SMU, a position he has held since the start of the 2009-10 season.

With Connelly and Egan joining the fold, more than half the teams in the conference (six) have hired new head coaches in the past five years. Concordia's Duane Siverson is the dean of MIAC golf coaches, as he enjoys his milestone 30th season with the Cobbers, with Carleton's Eric Sieger and his 13 years as the second-longest tenure in the league.

Also, the coaches and administrators agreed upon a new way to determine the All-MIAC honors. Previously, the honor was bestowed upon the top 10 finishers at the MIAC Championships. Now, those same top 10 individuals will be recognized at the meet as the All-MIAC Championship Team, and they will also automatically earn All-MIAC honors, which will now be awarded in May along with the rest of the MIAC Golf Awards. In addition, the coaches can elect to honor a total of 15 players. This new system allows someone who had an outstanding season but finished outside the top 10 at the MIAC meet to still be eligible for recognition. It also allows golf to present all of its honors at once, rather than the All-MIAC team in the fall and top individual honors in the spring.

WHO'S BACK?
Though the Oles said goodbye to their head coach, Erickson, and three-time All-MIAC performer Molly Knutson, the cupboard certainly isn't bare as Connelly takes over. Maxine Carlson, who earned All-Conference honors in each of her first two seasons, is back for her junior season. Two more juniors, Linde Sundell and Nadia Baka, tied for 12th at the MIAC Championships a year ago and contributed to the Oles' championship, so a strong nucleus is still in place.

Carleton also welcomes back an outstanding junior duo, despite the loss of All-MIAC and All-Region golfer Gina Kabsakalis, who transferred. Kelsey Moede returns after All-MIAC and All-Region honors a year ago, and she was the runner-up to Erickson at the conference meet. Two-time All-Conference and All-Region star Taylor Wells is also back after setting a school record last year with an even-par 72 on the second day of the MIAC Championships.

The influx of junior talent continues when one takes a look at Gustavus' roster, as the Gusties will be led by a trio of third-year players. Sam Falk and Liz Strom both finished in the top 10 at the MIAC meet a year ago to earn All-Conference honors, and Jordan Drenttel had a pair of top-10 finishes a season ago as well for Gustavus.

St. Thomas welcomes back the conference's top senior in Doyle O'Brien, a two-time All-MIAC and All-American, who finished in the top 10 at the Division III Championships each of the past two seasons. She's joined by senior Emma Wilson and 20120MIAC Rookie-of-the-Year Erin Dingmann to give the Tommies high hopes in 2013. Saint Benedict also welcomes back a talented trio made up of juniors Grace Todora and Bridget Cummings and senior Jill Sampair, who led the Blazers to a top-five MIAC finish a year ago.

As Siverson enters his 30th season, he returns a lot of talent from Concordia's sixth-place squad. The Cobber lineup returns intact, led by a trio of talented juniors - Amy Mireault, Katie Nelson and Molly Zavadil. Augsburg welcomes back a pair of players - junior Rachel Kristofferson and senior Hannah Shafer - who finished in the top 23 at last year's MIAC Championships. Macalester will try to replace Grace Caird, but has a strong core in Head Coach Thomas Adalsteinsson's second season, led by senior Maddie Arbisi and sophomore Jessica Stone.

Bethel graduated a pair of seniors from its lineup, but returns three of its top four MIAC finishers. Senior Emily Gerry was 27th at the MIAC meet last season, and sophomore Erica Schwaibe and Danae Johnson are also back in the Royals' lineup. St. Catherine hopes to continues its progress in the third year of its program, and the Wildcats are in position to do so with the return of juniors Ellen Rager and Whitney Nash, as well as sophomore Kate Caron. Egan must replace leader Jenna Mrozinski in his first season, but will rely on sophomores Kendra Palkowski and Haley Jung to continue their progression after both contributed in their first year of collegiate golf.

CIRCLE THESE DATES
Clearly, the first three dates any MIAC women's golf fan will want to mark on the calendar are Oct. 5, 6 and 7, which are the three days the conference title will be decided at the 2013 MIAC Golf Championships. The three-day, 54-hole event will again be held at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids, Minn. Spectators are welcome and the MIAC will provide "live" updates throughout the tournament.

This coming Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 7-8) will feature six MIAC teams (Augsburg, Bethel, Concordia, Macalester, Saint Benedict and St. Catherine) competing against one another at the Concordia Invitational at Detroit Lakes, Minn. Nearly the entire conference - Bethel, Carleton, Concordia, Gustavus, Macalester, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, St. Olaf and St. Thomas - will all meet the following weekend at the Division III Classic in Lake City Minn.

Other MIAC invites of interest include the Blazer Invite, hosted by Saint Benedict Sept. 21-22 in St. Cloud, Minn. Those same two dates, Carleton will also host the College City Challenge in Northfield, Minn. Gustavus will host its Fall Invitational Sept. 28-29 in Le Sueur and Mankato, Minn.

A CLOSER LOOK
The rest of the 2013 MIAC Women's Golf Preview contains MIAC Championship details, helpful links and a preview for each team submitted by their sports information director. The new MIAC web site - www.miacathletics.com - will be an outstanding source for MIAC women's golf news, schedules, results, stats and more throughout the 2013-14 season.

This year, the MIAC scoreboard will include women's golf events, with links to results to see how each fared throughout the season. Also, download the MIAC mobile app to have all the information with you anywhere you travel. Also, connect to the conference on its Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages for updates and interaction all season long.

2013 MIAC WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2013 MIAC Golf Championships will be held Oct. 5-7 at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids, Minn. The 2013 host school is Carleton College. The MIAC has a championship home page for the event, which will feature complete details as well as live scoring and continual updates throughout the event. The three-day, 54-hole championship will crown the MIAC team championship, and the top 10 individuals (including ties) will be honored with All-Championship Team honors. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.

| 2013 MIAC Golf Championship Page |