RECAP
For the first time since 2007, Southern Illinois' women's golf team claimed the Missouri Valley Conference title. The Salukis scored a seven-stroke victory over second-place UNI after firing a three-round 300-299-306=905. The championship was contested at Sand Creek Country Club, a par-72, 6084-yard course, in Chesterton, Ind.
The title marks the eighth all-time for SIU, while coach Danielle Kaufman guided her team to the title in her first year, marking the first time a rookie MVC women's golf coach won the title since Illinois State's Darby Sligh accomplished the feat as Redbird head coach in 2008. Kaufman also was named Coach of the Year by her peers, marking the fourth time an SIU coach has earned the honor (Diane Daugherty was a three-time winner as Saluki head coach).
UNI earned runner-up honors by firing a Tuesday low round of 300 for a three-round 311-301-300=912. Teams were tightly bunched, however, as Bradley (914), Indiana State (915), Drake (916) and Missouri State (923) followed closely behind. The second-place finish marked the second-straight for UNI, which last won consecutive runner-up finishes in 1985 and 1986. The Panthers have never won the MVC women's golf title.
While the team title was less dramatic near the end of play, the medalist honor was hotly contested. For just the fourth time in league history, golfers were tied after the completion of 54 holes. Missouri State's Abby Cavaiani edged UNI's Sydney Eaton on the second playoff hole to earn medalist honors. Both players fired a three-round 220. The playoff for medalist honors marked the first in MVC women's golf since 1996 (in the two other years, the league named co-medalists and did not conduct a playoff in those other years).
Cavaiani earned Newcomer of the Year honors (vote of head coaches) and became the first MVC golfer since 2011 to earn medalist honors as a first-year MVC player (Brianna Cooper, Illinois State). Cavaiani was also a member of the league's 10-golfer All-Conference Team.
The league's other top honors went to Thilda Staubo of Indiana State (Golfer of the Year) and UNI's Hannah Bermel (Elite 17 winner). Staubo became the first Sycamore to earn Golfer of the Year honors since the award first was given in 2007. She finished third in the league championship, just one stroke behind Eaton and Cavaiani. Bermel, meanwhile, was honored with the league's Elite 17 honor, given to the individual among the Top 18 finishers with the highest cumulative GPA over a minimum of three semesters. Bermel holds a 3.92 in communication disorders at UNI.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Danielle Kaufman, Southern Illinois
GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Thilda Staubo, Indiana State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Abby Cavaiani, Missouri State
ELITE 17 WINNER: Hannah Bermel, UNI
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Hannah Bermel, UNI
Elayna Bowser, Loyola
Abby Cavaiani, Missouri State
Sydney Eaton, UNI
Taylor Ledwein, Bradley
Rachel Johnson, Missouri State
Lilian Klekner-Alt, Southern Illinois
Sophia Rohleder, Evansville
Frankie Saban, Bradley
Thilda Staubo, Indiana State
MONDAY
Drake fired a two-round 301-297=598 and holds a one stroke lead over second-place Southern Illinois after the first 36 holes of the MVC Women's Golf Championship in Chesterton, Ind.
The Bulldogs will be seeking their first-ever team title. Drake finished in eighth last year and finished last in five previous years prior to 2018. Haeri Lee is the Bulldogs' highest finisher, carding a 73-74=147, which is tied for third overall. Sydney Eaton of UNI and Thilda Staubo of Indiana State share the overall lead in the individual standings -- both fired a two-round 146. Missouri State's Abby Cavaiani is also third with her 147, which helped the Bears to the third spot in the team race at 607. Missouri State is the two-time defending team champion. The second-place Salukis were led by Lilian Klekner-Alt, who has a tournament-low round of 71 (one under par).
SUNDAY RECAP -- The first round of the Missouri Valley Conference women's golf championship was postponed. The Sunday, April 14, forecast in Chesterton, Ind., calls for rain and snow with a high temperature of 36 degrees and wind gusts of 36 mph. Teams will now play a 36-hole shotgun format, beginning Monday, April 15, at 9:30 am, and will conclude the 54-hole tournament with tee times beginning at 8:30 am on Tuesday, April 16.
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL -- 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. The MVC's 54-hole tournament champion will advance to the NCAA Regionals. Live scoring will be provided by GolfStat.
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.