TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - After narrowly claiming its sixth consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship last spring, the Westminster College women's golf program has been voted as the favorite for the 2024-25 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 Thursday.

Westminster, led by 2024 PAC Coach of the Year Matt Torrence, collected five first-place votes and 77 total points to finish atop this year's poll, just edging out second-place Washington & Jefferson College, who totaled four first-place votes and 74 points.

Grove City College claimed third place in the polling with 60 points, while Allegheny College was fourth with 50 points and the final first-place vote. There was a tie for fifth place between Geneva College and Thiel College with 49 points and also a tie for seventh between Franciscan University and Waynesburg University with 28 points apiece. Rounding out the poll was Saint Vincent College in ninth (22) and Bethany College (11).

The close finish in this year's polling matches the ending of the 2024 PAC Championships between Westminster and W&J. The team championship came down to the final hole, as Westminster led W&J by one shot. Westminster's Sierra Richard, who won PAC Player of the Year honors, faced a delicate downhill chip just off the green on 18. She deftly lifted her shot onto the green and it rolled close enough to the cup for an easy tap in to secure par on the hole and preserve the one-shot advantage for Westminster to clinch their sixth league title in a row and eighth overall.

Although Richard graduated, this year's Players to Watch list features 12 returning all-conference players from last season, including three who were First Team All-PAC. The list also includes four Second Team All-PAC players and five Honorable Mention All-PAC selections from last spring. 

The three returning First Team All-PAC players headlining the Watch list includes two from W&J in junior Megan Joyce (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) and senior Dinah Bailey (Baden, Pa./Ambridge), as well as Westminster sophomore Katie Rose Rankin (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny). Joyce, the 2023 PAC Newcomer of the Year after she finished third overall that season, was the 2024 runner-up to Richard after she scored 317 over the four Championship rounds.

Bailey earned her first career all-conference distinction with a consistent performance through the four-round championship. She scored 83-82-85-84 to total 334 and finish fourth overall to give the Presidents a pair of First Team All-PAC players.

Rankin returns to try to lead Westminster to a seventh straight championship. She concluded her impressive freshman season as a Titan by earning third overall with a Championship score of 329. In addition to First Team All-PAC honors, as the top first-year player on the leaderboard, Rankin was also named the 2024 PAC Newcomer of the Year.

The Players to Watch list also includes eight members of the Spring 2024 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who 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 14-15 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 25-26, 2025 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 Player of the Year and Newcomer 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 2025 Division III Women's Championships are scheduled for May 13-16 at Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas.  
 

2024-25 PAC Women's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2023-24 Championships finish
1. Westminster College (5)	77	1st (of 8) at PAC Championships, 1329 [340-341-319-329]
2. Washington & Jefferson College (4)	74	2nd (of 8) at PAC Championships, 1330 [337-336-332-325]
3. Grove City College	60	4th (of 8) at PAC Championships, 1582 [394-399-389-400]
4. Allegheny College (1)	50	Only completed fall rounds at PAC Championships
T-5. Geneva College	49	Only completed fall rounds at PAC Championships
T-5. Thiel College	49	3rd (of 8) at PAC Championships, 1553 [388-396-386-383]
T-7. Franciscan University	28	7th (of 8) at PAC Championships, 1934 [451-458-481-488]
T-7. Waynesburg University	28	6th (of 8) at PAC Championships, 1878 [451-458-481-488]
9. Saint Vincent College	22	8th (of 8) at PAC Championships, 2003 [525-542-474-462]
10. Bethany College	13	Did not compete at PAC Championships

2024-25 PAC Women's Golf Players to Watch
1=2024 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention

Allegheny College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Josephine Corey (HM)	Jr.	Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central
Elisa Gomez	Sr.	La Mirada, Calif./St. Joseph

 

Bethany College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Natalie DuShole	Fr.	Waterford, Pa./Fort Leboeuf

   

Franciscan University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Brooke Biagi	Jr.	Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson
Emily Browne	Jr.	Glendale, N.Y./Holy Cross
Lauren David	So.	Grand Rapids, Mich./Homeschool
Catherine Ehresman	Fr.	Mason, Mich./Mason
Molly McLean	Jr.	Vienna, W.Va./Parkersburg

 

Geneva College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Karlee Bittner (HM)	Sr.	Somerset, Pa./Somerset
Madison Sharek	Fr.	Harmony, Pa./Homeschool

 

Grove City College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lauren Kardos (HM)	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny
Hailey Munoz (HM)	Jr.	Sparta, N.J./Morris Catholic

 

Saint Vincent College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Lucy Brayton (2)	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Achievement House Charter

   

Thiel College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Alaina Harpst (2)	Sr.	Greenville, Pa./Greenville
Taylor Susany (HM)	Sr.	Struthers, Ohio/Struthers

   

Washington & Jefferson College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Dinah Bailey (1)	Sr.	Baden, Pa./Ambridge
Megan Joyce (1)	Jr.	Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands
MacKenzie Schmeltz (2)	Jr.	Edwardsburg, Mich./St. Joseph

 

Waynesburg University
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Maeve Hanley	Jr.	Punxsutawney, Pa./Punxsutawney

   

Westminster College
Name	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Mya Mrkonja	So.	Monaca, Pa./Central Valley
Alyssa Rapp (2)	Jr.	Poland, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
Katie Rose Rankin (1)	So.	Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny