Women's Golf | 10/14/2025 10:50:00 PM
VIENNA, Ohio (pacathletics.org) - Seven-time defending champion Westminster College is poised to add to that streak after surging out to a solid lead following the 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Fall Women's Golf Championships, as the Titans built a 15-shot advantage to carry into the spring championships.
The 36-hole fall event was hosted by the Avalon Golf & Country Club in Warren, Ohio. The women played two rounds at Avalon at Squaw Creek in Vienna.
This year's PAC Championships features a 72-hole stroke play event, beginning with 36 holes played this fall and another 36 holes played Friday-Saturday, April 24-25, 2026 at Mill Creek Metroparks and the Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio. The women will play two rounds on the North Course, while the men will play a pair of rounds on the South Course.
Two teams have pulled away from the field after the Fall rounds. Westminster had the low round on Monday, scoring 337 to finish four shots ahead of second-place Washington & Jefferson College. The Titans separated a little more in Tuesday's second round, shooting 331 to finish with a two-round total of 668, while W&J is 15 strokes back at 683 (341-342).
Ranking third going into the spring will be Allegheny College at 722 (365-357), with Grove City College in fourth place at 750 (372-378) and Saint Vincent College in fifth at 755 (375-380). Completing the team scoreboard is Franciscan University in sixth (388-400/788), Thiel College in seventh (419-409/828), Waynesburg University in eighth place (425-409/834) and Geneva College (431-417/848). Bethany College and Hiram College have players competing as individuals in the tournament.
Westminster leads the team rankings, due in large part to having the top two players on the individual leaderboard as well. Titan sophomore Ava Liburdi (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) earned Fall Medalist laurels after she scored 80 in both rounds at Squaw Creek. Highlighting her second-round play was a solid back nine, as she recorded seven pars and one birdie down the stretch to finish off her second straight 80 for the week. Her 160 is the lowest score by a Fall Medalist since Westminster's Sierra Richard totaled 159 (77-82) in the fall of 2023.
Liburdi had the top score in the opening round Monday and the only score lower than hers on Tuesday was turned in her Titan teammate Katie Rose Rankin (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny). The Westminster junior, who was the 2024-25 PAC Player of the Year after leading the Titans to their title last year, carded a 77 Tuesday to follow her 84 in the opening round. Rankin sits in second place one shot behind Liburdi at 161 going into the spring championships.
Three players from three different schools round out the top five on the player leaderboard, starting with Geneva sophomore Madison Sharek (Harmony, Pa./Homeschooled), who is in third place with a 164 (82-82). In fourth place is W&J senior Megan Joyce (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) at 165 (83-82) and ranking fifth is Saint Vincent junior Lucy Brayton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Achievement House Charter) after she shot 167 (86-81).
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 2026 Division III Women's Championships are scheduled for May 19-22 at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, Calif.