Women's Golf | 10/11/2026 12:00:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Westminster College was voted to the top spot in the 2026-27 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) women's golf pre-championships coaches' poll. The results of the voting by the conference's 12 head coaches was released Sunday, along with the PAC's Players to Watch List.
This year's PAC Championships will feature a 72-hole stroke play event, beginning with 36 holes played Monday-Tuesday, October 12-13 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 23-24, 2027 at Mill Creek Metroparks and the Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio. The women will play two rounds on the North Course.
Westminster, winners of seven of the last eight PAC titles, gathered nine first-place votes and 106 points to place first in this year's poll. Taking second place was Grove City College with 93 and coming in third was Allegheny College with a pair of first-place votes and 87 points.
Washington & Jefferson College, the 2025-26 PAC champion, earned fourth place in this year's pre-championship poll with 82 points. W&J head coach Matt Kluck, last year's PAC Coach of the Year, guided the Presidents to their 10th league crown a year ago and first since 2016.
In fifth place with 68 points and the final first place vote was Saint Vincent College, with Geneva College in sixth (54), Thiel College and Franciscan University tied for seventh (43), Waynesburg University in ninth (42), Bethany College (28) and Hiram College (25). Saint Francis University, who was not counted in the 2026-27 poll, is represented by a pair of golfers on the Watch List.
The 2026-27 season is Saint Francis' first in the PAC, as the Red Wolves begin conference competition while reclassifying from Division I to Division III. Saint Francis, whose results will not count in the conference during SFU's reclassifying process, will have their players recognized with PAC Coaches Honors in lieu of All-PAC recognition if they finish in the top 15 at conference championships.
In winning last year's title, W&J, who trailed Westminster by 15 strokes after the 36 holes contested last fall, totaled 337 in the spring's opening round to take a two-shot advantage entering the final round. Although Westminster scored their Tournament-best 321 in the final round, W&J carded the lowest score of any team over the Tournament. W&J scored 312 over the final 18 holes to finish at 1332, 11 shots in front of Westminster.
The Players to Watch list features eight returning all-conference players from a year ago, including three First Team All-PAC players. Headlining the Watch List is two-time defending PAC Player of the Year, Westminster senior Katie Rose Rankin.
Rankin repeated as PAC Player of the Year after she logged spring rounds of 77-74 to finish at 312 for the Tournament. Rankin's 74 in the last round was the lowest score in a PAC Championship since Westminster's Kasey Clifford shot 74 in the opening spring round in the 2021 Tournament. In addition, Rankin's total of 312 was the lowest four-round score turned in by a PAC champion since the conference went to the 72-hole format beginning in the 2022-23 season.
Other returning First Team All-PAC players on this year's Watch List includes Geneva junior Madison Sharek, who tied for second last season (323) and Westminster junior Ava Liburdi, who was fourth (328).
The Players to Watch list also includes eight members of the Spring 2026 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.
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 2027 Division III Women's Championships are scheduled for May 11-14 at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.
| 2026-27 PAC Women's Golf Pre-Championships Coaches' Poll (Predicted order of finish) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2025-26 Championships finish |
| 1. Westminster College (9) |
106 |
2nd (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1343 |
| 2. Grove City College |
93 |
3rd (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1440 |
| 3. Allegheny College (2) |
87 |
4th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1483 |
| 4. Washington & Jefferson College |
82 |
1st (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1332 |
| 5. Saint Vincent College (1) |
68 |
5th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1498 |
| 6. Geneva College |
54 |
9th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1708 |
| 7t. Thiel College |
43 |
7th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1648 |
| 7t. Franciscan University |
43 |
6th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1591 |
| 9. Waynesburg University |
42 |
8th (of 9) at PAC Championships, 1690 |
| 10. Bethany College |
28 |
Did not score as a team at PAC Championships |
| 11. Hiram College |
25 |
Did not score as a team at PAC Championships |
| Saint Francis University* |
--- |
8th at NEC Championships |
* - Ineligible for PAC Championship as school reclassifies from Division I
2026-27 PAC Women's Golf Players to Watch
1=2026 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention
| Allegheny College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ada Cote' (HM) |
Jr. |
West Henrietta, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta |
| Kessler Potter |
Jr. |
Kents Store, Va./Fluvanna, County |
| Bethany College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Shelby Cascioli |
So. |
Lapeer, Mich./Lapeer |
| Natalie DuShole |
Jr. |
Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf |
| Franciscan University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Catherine Ehresman |
Sr. |
Mason, Mich./Mason |
| Chloe Puhl |
Sr. |
North Lima, Ohio/South Range |
| Geneva College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Onika Alonzi |
So. |
Harbor Springs, Mich./Harbor Springs |
| Sydney Peasley |
Sr. |
Douglas, Wyo./Douglas |
| Madison Sharek (1) |
Jr. |
Harmony, Pa./Homeschooled |
| Grove City College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Emily Burling |
So. |
Hudson, Ohio/Hudson |
| Lauren Kardos (2) |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny |
| Hiram College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Kayla Weisenberger |
So. |
North Olmsted, Ohio/North Olmsted |
| Saint Francis University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ellie Filer |
Fr. |
Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area |
| Sarah Miller |
Fr. |
Johnstown, Pa./Bishop Carroll |
| Saint Vincent College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Myla Burchill |
So. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair |
| Elizabeth DeLo |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair |
| Rylee Gage |
Fr. |
Butler, Pa./Butler |
| Thiel College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Emily Eutsey |
Jr. |
Jones Mills, Pa./Mount Pleasant |
| Kelsi Hefner |
Jr. |
Meadville, Pa./Meadville |
| Washington & Jefferson College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Julia Barthelemy (2) |
Sr. |
Crescent, Pa./Moon Area |
| Antolena Damico (2) |
Jr. |
Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford |
| Tess Kanche |
Fr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon |
| Waynesburg University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Allison Wolling (HM) |
So. |
Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park |
| Westminster College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ava Liburdi (1) |
Jr. |
Hermitage, Pa./Hickory |
| Katie Rose Rankin (1) |
Sr. |
Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny |