TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Coming off its fifth consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship a season ago, the Westminster College women's golf program has been named as the favorite for the 2023-24 season, according to the league's annual preseason coaches' poll. The results of the poll, voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches, were announced with the PAC's Players to Watch List Monday.

Westminster, led by seventh-year head coach Matt Torrence, collected nine first-place votes and 81 total points to top this year's poll. After capturing the PAC crown last spring, Torrence was named the PAC Coach of the Year for the fifth straight year.

The Titans led wire-to-wire to capture the PAC crown last season, which was their seventh overall in program history, after registering a team score of 1332 during last year's 72-hole championship. The conference's 36-hole fall event was hosted by the Avalon Golf & Country Club last October, with the women playing 36 holes at Avalon at Squaw Creek in Vienna, Ohio. Westminster penciled in a team score of 674 during the two fall championship rounds to build a 42-shot lead to carry over to April's final two rounds. The Titans completed their title quest by shooting 658 over the final two rounds, which were held at the Mill Creek Park Golf Course's North Course April 21-22. 

By winning the PAC team title, Westminster earned the conference's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championships, the program's fourth Division III Championships appearance in the last five years. The Titans finished tied for 26th with a three-round score of 1086 at the national championships, which were held at the Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida. 

Washington & Jefferson College, under ninth-year head coach Matt Kluck, placed second at last year's PAC Championships with a team score of 1404 and are second in this year's preseason poll with one first-place vote and 68 total points.

After finishing third at PACs last spring, Allegheny College and 18th-year head coach Jeff Groff are also third in the coaches' poll after totaling 62 points

Thiel College ranks fourth in this year's balloting with 56 points and was followed by Grove City College in fifth (47), Geneva College in sixth (43), Waynesburg University was seventh (27), Saint Vincent College placed eighth (25), Franciscan University in ninth (23) and Bethany College in 10th (18). 

The Players to Watch list features 11 returning all-conference players from last season, including four First Team All-PAC selections. The list also includes five Second Team All-PAC players and two Honorable Mention All-PAC selections from last spring. 

Two Westminster players in senior Sierra Richard (Beaver Falls, Pa/Blackhawk) and sophomore Alyssa Rapp (Poland, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney), as well as W&J sophomore Megan Joyce (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) and junior Christina McGinnis (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield), highlight this year's Players to Watch list. All four earned First Team All-PAC distinction a year ago and three of them have won the PAC Newcomer of the Year award, including Richard in 2021, McGinnis in 2022 and Joyce in 2023.

After winning the Newcomer of the Year award in 2021, Richard has followed that with consecutive runner-up finishes at PAC Championships. She placed second in 2022 with a three-round score of 252 and shot 335 over 72 holes last year to again place second overall.

In addition to her Newcomer of the Year award, McGinnis has also earned back-to-back First Team All-PAC laurels. She was fourth as a freshman in 2022 with a total score of 254 and then shot 346 over four rounds last year to finish tied for fourth with Rapp from Westminster.

Rapp would have taken the Newcomer of the Year award had it not been for the outstanding season put together by W&J's Joyce. Her four-round score of 342 at Championships placed Joyce third overall to earn First Team All-PAC honors and the conference's top first-year player award.

The Players to Watch list includes 10 members of the Spring 2023 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition.   

This year’s PAC Championships will feature a 72-hole stroke play event, beginning with 36 holes played Monday-Tuesday, October 16-17 at the Avalon Golf and Country Club. The women will play a pair of rounds at Squaw Creek Golf Course in Vienna, Ohio.

The final 36 holes of this year’s championships will be played Friday-Saturday, April 19-20, 2024 at Mill Creek Metroparks and the Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio. The women will play two rounds on the North Course. 

The All-PAC teams, along with the PAC Players of the Year and PAC Newcomers of the Year, are determined by the combined 72-hole scores from the fall and spring championships. The All-PAC teams are made up of the top 15 overall scorers (5 first team, 5 second team, 5 honorable mention). The combined 72-hole team totals determine PAC team champions and winners of the league's automatic-qualifying bids to the Division III Championships.

The Division III Women's Championships are scheduled for May 21-24 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.  
 

2023-24 PAC Women's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2022-23 Championships finish
1. Westminster College (9)	81	1st (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1332 [341-333-328-330]
2. Washington & Jefferson College (1)	68	2nd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1404 [348-368-346-342]
3. Allegheny College	62	3rd (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1446 [375-364-358-349]
4. Thiel College	56	4th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1480 [360-379-369-372]
5. Grove City College	47	6th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1659 [424-417-406-412]
6. Geneva College	43	5th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1578 [400-394-397-387]
7. Waynesburg University	27	Only completed fall rounds of PAC Championships
8. Saint Vincent College	25	Did not compete at PAC Championships
9. Franciscan University	23	7th (of 7) at PAC Championships, 1825 [444-473-449-459]
10. Bethany College	18	Did not compete at PAC Championships

2023-24 PAC Women's Golf Players to Watch
1=2023 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention

Allegheny College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Jenny Beth Brundige (2)	Sr.	South Fulton, Tenn./South Fulton
Josephine Corey	So.	Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central
Elisa Gomez (2)	Jr.	La Mirada, Calif./St. Joseph

 

Bethany College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Bayle Yarbrough	Fr.	Clarksville, Tenn./Montgomery Central

   

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Madeline Holecek	Sr.	Sugar Land, Texas/Stephen F. Austin
Molly McLean	So.	Vienna, W.Va./Parkersburg

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Karlee Bittner	Jr.	Somerset, Pa./Somerset
Anna Kaminski	Sr.	Middleville, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg
Hannah Therrell	Sr.	Barrigada, Guam/Academy of our Lady of Guam
Sarah Theus	Sr.	Fleming Isle, Fla./Fleming Isle
Sabienea Winston (HM)	Jr.	Antigua/Antigua State

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Bekah Gaehring	So.	Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne
Julianna Jacobs	So.	Conneaut Lake, Pa./Conneaut
Lauren Kardos	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny
Hailey Munoz	So.	Sparta, N.J./Morris Catholic
Annie Grace Smith	Sr.	Attleboro, Mass./Homeschool

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lucy Brayton	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Achievement House Charter

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Kylee Gardner	Sr.	Warren, Ohio/Champion
Alaina Harpst (2)	Jr.	Greenville, Pa./Greenville
Rebekah Ladaika	Sr.	Erie, Pa./Northwest Collegiate Academy
Julie Peace	Sr.	Warren, Ohio/Champion
Taylor Susany (HM)	Jr.	Struthers, Ohio/Struthers

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Megan Joyce (1)	So.	Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands
Christina McGinnis (1)	Jr.	Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield
MacKenzie Schmeltz (2)	So.	Edwardsburg, Mich./St. Joseph

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Avery Robinson	Sr.	Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna
Tess Smith	Sr.	Moon Twp., Pa./Moon Area

   

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Morgan Byers (2)	Sr.	Venetia, Pa./Peters Township
Liv Kana	So.	North Huntingdon, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic
Alyssa Rapp (1)	So.	Poland, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
Sierra Richard (1)	Sr.	Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk