The Midwest Conference released its 2017 Women's Golf Coaches Poll and season preview on Tuesday and Lake Forest College was listed second in the rankings.
Voting is done by the MWC head women's golf coaches. Each coach votes for the other five schools in the league in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (five points for first, four for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.
Under first-year head coach Sean O'Malley, the Foresters will compete in seven events in the fall of 2017, beginning with Carthage College's Shootout on the Border September 1-2. The fall will conclude with the three-day MWC Championship Tournament at Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford, Illinois, October 6-8.
Lake Forest placed third at the 2016 MWC Championships after finishing fourth the year before and fifth in 2014, the program's first season as a varsity sport. Junior Kalay Kotasek is the team's top returning player in terms of scoring. She averaged 92.06 strokes per round in 2016 and is at 91.97 for her career. Classmate Anhayte Guajardo, a 2015 All-MWC honoree, is close behind at 92.45 shots per round for her career.
The Foresters' schedule for the spring of 2018 has yet to be released.
| PLACE | TEAM (First Place Votes) | POINTS |
| 1 | Grinnell (4) | 20 |
| 2 | Lake Forest College (1) | 16 |
| 3 | Monmouth College | 14 |
| 4 | Illinois College | 12 |
| 5 | St. Norbert College | 8 |
| 6 | Knox College | 5 |