IWU Women’s Golf Chosen for NCAA Division III Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — For the fourth time overall and the second consecutive season, the Illinois Wesleyan women’s golf team has been selected to play in the NCAA Division III national championships.

The tournament will be May 9-12 at the Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., and includes 10 teams and 10 individuals. Oglethorpe University and the Central Florida Sports Commission will serve as hosts.

The NCAA chose two teams from each of the five regions. In addition to IWU, the selected teams are eight-time defending champion Methodist (N.C.); Allegheny (Pa.); DePauw; Southwestern (Texas); Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Gustavus Adolphus; Wartburg; Hardin-Simmons; and Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Five individuals, not from selected teams, also qualified and, in addition, the committee selected five at-large individuals to compete. The individuals chosen are Susan Choi, Wellesley; Kara Solem, Mount Holyoke; Chrissy Helms, Anderson (Ind.); Elizabeth Kreger, Albion; Megan Mattia, Saint Mary’s (Ind.); Katie Tewell, Franklin; Jennifer Young, Wis.-Oshkosh; Maureen Hardwick, St. Thomas (Minn.); Jennifer Stork, Buena Vista; and Whitney Ueno, Willamette.

The championships consist of 72 holes of play over four days with both team and individual competition conducted concurrently. In the team competition, the low four scores from each team for each day will count in the team’s total score.

Competing for Illinois Wesleyan will be seniors Ashley Higginson (Pekin HS) and Megan Teschner (Barrington HS), junior Alison Mayer (Glenview, Glenbrook South HS), and sophomores Taylor Paskell (Phoenix, Ariz., Desert Vista HS) and Kristi Katz (Park Ridge, Maine South HS).

In previous Division III national tourneys, IWU finished sixth in 2000, 10th in 2002 and placed eighth last spring.

In 2005, the Titans finished with a four-day total of 1358 as Methodist (N.C.) won its eighth straight women's title with a team score of 1272.Methodist's Charlotte Williams was the individual medalist with a 304 score as Paskell led IWU with a score of 333, good for 17th place. Mayer tied for 26th with a four-day total of 340.