COAL VALLEY, Ill. - The UIndy women's golf team won the GLVC Championship after defeating Missouri-St. Louis in the finals. The Greyhounds have now won back-to-back conference championships, both at the Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Ill.. This is also the 17th title in program history, and the third since the conference tournament switched to a medal/match play model in the 2021-22 season.
The victory secured an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA DII East Regional, set for May 5-7 in Allendale, Mich., at The Meadows Golf Club. The official announcement of the postseason field is scheduled to come tomorrow.
SUNDAY
Ava Ray pulled away early from her opponent to earn UIndy's first point of the day with an eight-stroke victory.
Caroline Whallon had a three-stroke victory over UMSL's Emely Wahl.
It was
Macey Brown who delivered the championship-winning point. The Greyhounds were tied with the Tritons, 2-2, with only Brown left to finish. After not leading the entire round, the junior pulled out of a tie with two key birdies and a par in the final three holes.
The No. 2-seeded Greyhounds defeated No. 3 Drury, 4-1, in the semifinal match.
Abby Stone,
Ellen Caton, Whallon, and Ray each earned a point for the Hounds. Ray had the largest winning margin of eight strokes.
HOUND BYTES
From head coach Andy Serketich after winning the GLVC title:
"What a day! Coach Stan and I are beyond proud of the team and their fight until the very end! It was a complete, total team effort. The morning match was closer than the score. Drury played tough. But Abby played amazingly to get us that first point, and then we got wins from Caroline, Ava, and Ellen. The afternoon match was even more intense. UMSL is a fantastic team, and they played some great golf…it was one of those days that it's harsh someone had to lose. We put Macey on the back end for the afternoon, and she was so clutch down the stretch. Caroline's last 5 holes were perfect to finish off her match, and Ava was just so good all day. Thank you again for all of the support, and we look forward to getting to Michigan later this week for Regionals!"
SATURDAY
Caroline Whallon secured medalist honors after finishing +7 (71-76-73). Whallon remained inside the top-five during the 56-hole stroke. The sophomore broke away from the pack in the final round to win by three strokes. This is the fourth consecutive year that a Greyhound has won the individual title.
Matilda Cederholm won last year's title.
Ava Ray placed third to earn a spot on the All-GLVC First team, finishing +11 (77-72-75). Macy Brown finished +22 (79-81-75) to earn a share of 10th place.
ALL-GLVC*
1. Caroline Whallon, UIndy (+7)
2. Wilma Zanderau, Missouri-St. Louis (+10)
3. Ava Ray, UIndy (+11)
4. Elaine Grant, Illinois-Springfield (+14)
5. Myan Covarrubis, Missouri-St. Louis (+16)
*Five more student-athletes will be added via coaches vote at a later date
Abby Stone tied for 41st place at +38 (84-83-84).
Ellen Caton was the final member of the lineup and finished +39 (82-87-83) to tie for 46th place.
