After having their championship cut short last year due to weather, SLIAC women's golf teams prepare for a full event this weekend. The 2022 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championship returns to The Rail Golf Course in Springfield, Illinois this weekend. This year's tournament format will be three rounds over three days with one round played on each day. Teams tee off on Saturday at 10 a.m. with the championship round being played on Monday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
After a one-year absence, the Beavers return to SLIAC Championship play. They have competed in five events this fall and carry a team average of 418.3 over six rounds. Their low round was a 404 in their season-opening round. Tess Saathoff leads the team with an 89.5 average, carding a low round of 84 this season. Caidy Tueteken has shown a strong freshman season thus far with a 98.5 average and a low round of 91. Allison Woolard is the only other Beaver to put together a round under 100 this season, finishing with a 98 in the Illinois College Dual back on September 22nd.
The Griffins will be fielding a team in the championship for the first time since 2019. They have played four events this fall, winning both duals against Blackburn. Their low round this fall is 358, coming in their last outing, and they have a 396.0 team average. Annie McFee has paced the team with an 85.4 average and a low round of 78. Grace Harlin is the team's most experienced golfer and holds a 93.4 average with a low round of 81. Lexi Moore carries a 97.6 average and carded a 93 in her last outing.
Grinnell captured its third consecutive conference title last fall behind back-to-back record rounds as three-time Player of the Year Nina Kouchi won her third straight individual title. Despite Kouchi graduating the Pioneers still have plenty of standouts. Mary Li has a team-low 76.3 average this fall, finishing first on the team three times. Also back is Lauren Chen, last year's runner-up. Chen holds a 78.6 average this season. Vidushi Keni, Kavya Keshav, and Parker Perry will also be looking for big weekends and are averaging under 80 strokes per round this season.
Coming off a second-place finish at last year's championship the Lady Blues bring in a deep roster from which to pull their lineup from. Amy Fowler and Alyvia Burr are tied for the team lead this fall with an 84.4 average and tied with Hannah Harpster for the team's top finish at last year's championship, 9th place. Kate Burr is tied with sister Alyvia and Olivia Quigley with two top finishes this year. The Burr sisters have each shot a low round of 76, coming in their season opener at the Highland Classic. Katie Mae Millhiser and Sandie Norville are shooting in the mid 80s this fall.
The Prairie Fire hit the links for the first time this fall over the weekend, competing in the Purple and Gold Classic. Mariah Barlow averaged a 105.5 over the two rounds with a low round of 103. Hayden Fay is back after competing in last year's championship and is averaging 122.0 strokes per round this season while Paige McCleary is averaging a 153.0 per round.
A youthful team the Foresters have three players that competed at last year's championship and six freshmen. Gabrielle Krebs is one of those freshmen and leads the team with an 83.1 average and four top finishes. She has a team-low round of 77, accomplishing that twice this season including in her last round on the course. Sydney Foulon is averaging 86.4 strokes per round and Alijah Campbell is at 88.7 strokes. Emma Ackland led the team with a 20th place showing at last year's championship and is averaging 94.5 strokes this season. Lucy Rayburn and Christina Hartley also have championship round experience.
Amanda Stevens and Sarah Saddoris are back again after representing the Scots at last year's championship and they are joined this year by Annalyn Lovell. Stevens leads the team with a 97.9 average and five top finishes. Her low round this fall was an 85. Saddoris carries a 105.9 average while Lovell is a 127.2 average golfer.
For the first time in five years, the Golden Eagles will be without former SLIAC Champion Kassidy Wallin. However, next in line is sophomore Jordan Harris. Harris finished 6th at last year's championship and leads the team with an 82.0 average this season. She has three top finishes and shot a low of 76 in her last outing. Alexis Seay holds a 84.2 average and carded a 77 earlier this fall. She finished 15th in last year's championship. Fellow sophomore Rianna LaFuente also returns after appearing in last year's championship. A pair of freshmen in Bailey Birdsell and Madison Elder will be making their tournament debuts.
