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MC women’s golfers
have the drive –
and the drives – to return to top
Release Date: August 30, 2006
MONMOUTH, Ill. —
Throughout the brief history of Monmouth’s women’s golf program, the
Fighting Scots have had their minds set on defeating Knox. After
all, the Prairie Fire owned the first four Midwest Conference
championships since women’s golf became an official varsity sport in
the MWC a decade ago.
Led by the playing talents of Molly McNamara, the Scots broke
through in 2002, topping Knox by eight strokes to win the MWC title.
Last fall, in her first season as the Scots’ coach, McNamara’s team
did indeed defeat Knox at the MWC meet. However, that was only good
enough for a sixth-place finish, so the Fighting Scots now need to
place targets on the backs of schools like Carroll, St. Norbert and
Grinnell if they want to climb back into the league’s elite.
Those three squads were tightly bunched in the 3-4-5 spots at last
fall’s MWC Championships at the Tuscumbia Golf Club in Green Lake,
Wis., shooting 36-hole scores between 787 and 798.
McNamara is pleased that her squad has even bigger goals, as they
have set their sights on three-time defending champion Illinois
College.
“This group has the potential and the desire,” said McNamara, who
earned three All-MWC honors during her collegiate career. “They want
to be competing against the best, and Illinois College is the
natural target. They told me they don’t want Illinois College to win
again, and they’re working hard to do something about that.”
As a team, Monmouth struggled at the MWC meet last fall. Senior
Kacie Parge was the lone golfer to break 100 in a round, carding a
100-98–198 to place 17th. The year before, as a sophomore, Parge was
all-conference with a 10th-place finish, and she seeks a return to
that level in her final season.
“She’s very consistent, and she’s hitting the ball well,” said
McNamara. “She’s student teaching this semester, so she will miss
some weekday meets, but that will give some of our younger players a
chance to step up and compete.”
Other returners who could help Parge out are sophomores Heidi
Hartshorn and Jessica Sackville. Both posted multiple rounds in the
90s last fall and figure to be regular scorers for the Scots if they
can trim a few strokes.
Rounding out the squad’s upperclassmen are senior Stephanie Haas and
juniors Meghan Lucker and Kathleen Woolley. Lucker, who has one of
the best averages in the preseason, was a regular scorer for the
squad in 2004. Out for the first time are all-conference softball
player Drew Robinson and junior Amanda Shepherd.
New players on board for the Scots include Juli Brackmann
(Wheaton-Warrenville South), Kendra Catterton (Moline), Erica Lange
(Aurora West) and Megan Pickrel (Galesburg). Brackmann, Pickrel and
Lange are all threats to score in the top four.
“Megan comes from a great program, and she’s very consistent,” said
McNamara. “It’s just a matter of time before she drops some strokes
and gets her score back down to where she wants it.”
Brackmann owns an 89 in a practice round at Gibson Woods this year,
and her solid ball-striking has caught her coach’s eye.
“She even puts some spin on her ball,” said McNamara. “I can see her
getting more comfortable and confident in her game.”
Lange is Parge’s former high school teammate, and she qualified for
state as an individual last year.
“We’re much more seasoned as a team then we were a year ago,”
concluded McNamara. “Our returners have an extra year of experience,
and many of our new players are tournament-tested. We’re going to a
meet at Illinois College this weekend (Sept. 2-3), and we’ll be able
to see where we are pretty quickly.”
Monmouth will play in seven regular season meets, including the
Fighting Scots Invitational on Sept. 9, before concluding the fall
portion of their season with the Midwest Conference Championships on
Oct. 6-7 at Soangetaha Country Club in Galesburg.
Women's Golf
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