Two-time defending champion Missouri State is the favorite to win the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship, according to a pre-championship poll of league coaches. In addition to Missouri State, Bradley and Southern Illinois (both of whom received first-place votes in the poll) figure to be among the leading contenders at this year’s championship, which will be played at Sand Creek Country Club, a par-72, 6084-yard course, in Chesterton, Ind. The championship begins Sunday, April 14, and concludes Tuesday, April 16. Teams will play 18 holes each day beginning at 8:30 am CT (weather permitting). The MVC's 54-hole tournament champion will advance to the NCAA Regionals. Live scoring will be provided by GolfStat.
| Rank |
Team (First Place Votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
Missouri State (5) |
91 |
| 2. |
Bradley (4) |
83 |
| 3. |
Southern Illinois (1) |
78 |
| 4. |
UNI |
60 |
| 5. |
Illinois State |
58 |
| 6. |
Indiana State |
54 |
| 7. |
Drake |
50 |
| 8. |
Loyola |
39 |
| 9. |
Evansville |
25 |
| 10. |
Valparaiso |
12 |
The Lady Bears will look to deliver on a consistent trend in recent Valley history in which the pre-championship favorite has won; notably 11 of the last 16 pre-championship favorites have earned the title. The pre-championship favorite Lady Bears have four all-time team titles in MVC women's golf, and only three schools have more (Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Wichita State).
2018 REVIEW: Missouri State captured the 2018 MVC Women’s Golf Championship and represented the MVC in the NCAA Regionals. The title marked the fourth team title for MSU and second-straight after leading from wire-to-wire on the par-72, 6,018-yard layout on Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kan. Missouri State fired a three-round 305-295-287—887 to win the title by 14 strokes. MSU was led by medalist Rachel Johnson who fired a three-round 75-73-67—215 to eclipse runner-up finisher Frankie Saban of Bradley (78-68-73—219). The 67 established a school single-round record for MSU and tied a conference record for lowest 18-hole score. UNI took second place in the team standings after starting Tuesday’s round tied for 6th. The Panthers shot a team-best 285 on the final day and had a 901 total. The second-place finish ties the best finish in UNI history (UNI last finished second in 2002).
Two other MSU golfers joined Johnson on the 10-golfer All-Conference team – Stine Pettersen and Verena Gimmy. Gimmy was voted as the league’s Golfer of the Year by a vote of the head coaches. Other specialty award winners included Moyea Russell of Southern Illinois (Newcomer of the Year) and Ashley Childers of Missouri State (Elite 17 Winner, given to the best finisher with the highest GPA). Childers has a 4.0 in Operations Management). Gimmy became the third Missouri State golfer to earn the league’s top individual honor, while Russell became the first SIU golfer to take home Newcomer of the Year honors (it’s the 12th year for the award). MSU’s Kevin Kane was voted Coach of the Year – it marked the sixth time he’s won the honor, more than any coach in MVC history.
2019 PREVIEW: Bradley -- picked second in this year's pre-championship poll - enters the tournament as the league's top-rated team in the GolfStat team head-to-head team ratings. Missouri State is second in the ratings, while Southern Illinois and UNI follow close behind. Notably, Missouri Valley Conference teams combined to post five team titles at various events throughout the 2018-19 campaign. The Lady Bears, meanwhile, also boasted the 2018 individual medalist in Johnson, who carded a 215. She is back for her senior season and boasts a 75.31 scoring average, but it’s Loyola’s Elayna Bowser who leads the conference at 74.94. Missouri State won the MVC Fall Preview at Sand Creek in October, edging runner-up Bradley by two strokes. Johnson was the individual medalist, one-stroke ahead of the second-place tie between Bowser and Missouri State’s Abby Cavaiani. Bowser, Johnson and Bradley's Taylor Ledwein are the top-3 golfers in GolfStat's head-to-head comparison ratings.
VALPO SERVES AS HOST: In only its second season as a Missouri Valley Conference member institution, this will mark the first time Valpo has hosted a Valley championship event. The last time the University hosted a conference championship in any league was the 2015 Horizon League Baseball Tournament, which occurred at Oil City Stadium in Whiting. In addition, this is the first time in program history Valpo has hosted a conference championship in women’s golf.
SAND CREEK: Valley teams will be playing the Creek and Marsh courses at Sand Creek Country Club. The first of the three nine-hole courses at Sand Creek, the Creek Course is wrapped around the curves of Sand Creek and Lake Billington, into which the creek feeds. The course's highlights include the par 4 third hole, which allows long hitters the option of carrying the eastern edge of the lake from the tee. The fourth (right), a par 3, plays 190 yards over water from the back tees to a tiered green. Over all, the course puts a premium on club selection and accuracy, while winds off Lake Michigan, just north of Sand Creek, often come into play. Sand Creek's Marsh Course was opened for play in spring, 1995 and has already hosted legendary golfer Tom Kite and served as the track for the 1995 Northern and Northern Senior Amateur. The course is characterized by extensive wetlands, creeks, ponds, and rolling terrain. The third (right), a par 4, plays through a narrow throat to a green guarded by a pond and waterfall. The next hole plays through a valley to a green that is virtually an island, bordered behind by wetlands and in front by a bunker and Sand Creek.