The 2011 State Farm MVC Championship will be played Friday-Saturday, April 22-23, at the Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University. Teams will play 36 holes on Friday and conclude with 18 holes on Saturday.
PAIRINGS: Pairings on the first day were determined by the pre-championship coaches’ poll with the number five golfers on the lowest scoring teams teeing off first; not more than one player per school per threesome where possible. Pairings for subsequent rounds are based on the results of the previous round, with the highest scoring teams and individuals teeing off first.
2011 Course Information -- Illinois State University is the host for this year’s championship | Link to Weibring Golf Club web site: Click Here
2010 CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW
Illinois State ran off with a 14-stroke victory at the 2010 State Farm MVC Championship to become just the second team in league history to win three-straight women's golf crowns (Tulsa, 1994-95-96 is the other.) The 14-stroke margin is the largest for any team in five years. The 54-hole, 10-team tournament was contested on the par-72, 6,085-yard Rolling Hills Country Club in Newburgh, Ind. Evansville is the host school.
TUESDAY RECAP -- The Redbirds were fueled by three who finished among the top four individuals, including Laura Harris (72-73-77=222, 2nd), Stacey Miller (76-74-74=224, 3rd), and Marisa Milligan (79-75-72=226, 4th). Olivia Lansing of Drake became just the fifth player to earn medalist honors at the conference tournament as she fired a 72-75-72=219 to win by three strokes. Lansing won the conference tournament in 2008 and finished runner-up last year to ISU's Stacey Miller. The others to earn multiple medalist honors at the MVC championship include Samantha Richdale of Illinois State (3 times), Meaghan LeBlanc of Bradley, Jessica Polus of Missouri State and Kelly Dillon of Bradley (all twice).
The Redbirds placed four of their five players on the league's 10-player all-conference unit, including Harris, Milligan, Miller, and Britt Knutson. They were joined on the team by Lansing, Missouri State's Catherine Dolan and Heather Smith, Bradley's Kelly Amundrud and Breanne Neufeld, and Indiana State's Breanne Smith. MSU's Smith was named Newcomer of the Year, while ISU coach Darby Sligh was named Coach of the Year, marking the third-straight time Sligh had won that honor. Two of the league's newer programs (Drake and Indiana State are in their fourth seasons) had success this year, as Drake was runner-up team finisher for the second-straight season, while Indiana State had its best finish at the conference tournament, taking third place (ISU finished sixth last year).
MONDAY RECAP -- On Monday, Illinois State fired the team-low round of the tournament (301), and the Redbirds hold a seven-stroke lead over second place Drake heading into Tuesday's final round. Illinois State is at 307-301=608, while Drake has a team score of 615. Laura Harris continues to lead the individual field as she fired a one-over-par 73 on Monday, and Harris (72-73=145) sits two strokes ahead of Drake's Olivia Lansing (147).
The individual highlight of the day came from Indiana State's Emily Dixon, who aced the 155-yard hole No. 6 with a 6-iron. It was the first hole-in-one at the State Farm MVC Women's Golf Championship in two years. Indiana State's Diana Price had the last one (April 15, 2008) as she aced her final hole of the day, the 180-yard hole No. 9 with a 7-wood. Oddly, that league championship featured three aces on three different holes on three different days, as Bradley's Bari Erais (No. 12 on Monday) and Drake's Elena Vukmir (No. 4 on Sunday) had aces during the second and first rounds, respectively.
SUNDAY RECAP -- Drake fired an initial round of 306 and led Illinois State by one stroke after the first 18 holes of the tournament. Both leaders had an individual tied for first as Laura Harris fired an even-par 72 to match Drake's Olivia Lansing. Catherine Dolan of Missouri State and Drake's Michelle Mathwick tied for third place, three strokes behind the leaders, with 75s. Four others, including UNI's Blair Bonner, ISU's Stacey Miller, Wichita State's Adin Stromgren, and MSU's Kelsey Welber, found themselves one stroke back, at 76. UNI's team score of 313 was perhaps the biggest surprise as the Panthers entered Monday in third place, just seven strokes back of the lead. UNI was picked to finish seventh in the pre-championship coaches poll. Bonner had perhaps the steadiest round of any player, leading the field with 15 pars. Mathwick had more birdies than any other, notching four in the first round.
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW -- Two-time defending champion Illinois State has been picked to win the 2010 State Farm MVC Women's Golf Championship, according to a pre-championship poll of league coaches. The Redbirds will be looking to become only the second program in league history to win three-straight women's golf titles (Tulsa did it from 1994-96.)
In 2009, Illinois State (921) won its league-record 10th title with a 12-shot victory over Drake (933) at Lake Panorama National Resort in Panora, Iowa, to win its second straight title. Two defending individual champions will be competing at Rolling Hills. Drake's Olivia Lansing was the 2008 MVC medalist and Illinois State's Stacey Miller won last year. Lansing has won a league-best three tournaments in 2009-10, and has earned MVC Golfer of the Week in her last four tournaments.