Women's Golf | 4/26/2026 12:05:00 AM

W&J Team picture above courtesy of Robert Hayes

BOARDMAN, Ohio (pacathletics.org) - Washington & Jefferson College rallied back from a 15-shot deficit following the fall rounds to capture the 2025-26 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Golf championship, which gives the program it's PAC-leading 10th conference crown.

The two rounds in the spring were played at Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio, on the Donald Ross-designed North Course, a 5650-yard, par-72 layout.

While it's the 10th title for the Presidents, breaking a tie with Westminster College and Grove City College for the most in league history, it was the Presidents' first crown since 2016. As this year's PAC team champion, W&J earned the league's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Team selections for the NCAA Division III Women's Championships will be announced Monday, May 11, with the Division III Women's Championships to be played May 19-22 at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, Calif. 

W&J trailed Westminster by 15 strokes after the 36 holes contested in the fall, but Friday's third round was truly moving day for the Presidents. They shot 337 to not only erase that deficit but take a two-stroke advantage entering the final round. All four of W&J's scores settled between 83-86, led by senior Megan Joyce with an 83.

The Presidents saved their best for last to seal the title on Saturday. Although Westminster scored their Tournament-best 321 in the final round, W&J carded the lowest score of any team over the four rounds. Led by Joyce's 75 and a 76 by senior MacKenzie Schmeltz, the Presidents totaled 312 on Saturday to finish at 1332 and finish 11 shots in front of runner-up Westminster (1343).

Claiming third place was Grove City, who jumped from fourth after the fall with two rounds under 350 in the spring to post a team score of 1440. They were followed by Allegheny College in fourth place (1483); Saint Vincent College in fifth place (1498); Franciscan University in sixth (1591); Thiel College in seventh (1648); Waynesburg University in eighth place (1690) and Geneva College in ninth place (1708). Bethany College and Hiram College had players compete as individuals.

Highlighting the Tournament for Westminster were two award winners. Junior Katie Rose 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 on Saturday is 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 is 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.

W&J and Westminster both had a pair of players earn First Team All-PAC. Joyce's strong spring round helped her score 323 for the Tournament to tie for second place with Geneva's Madison Sharek. Coming in fourth place with a 328 was Westminster sophomore Ava Liburdi at 328 and Schmeltz helped W&J's title run with a final score of 329 to take fifth place.

Westminster's second award was earned by freshman CeCe Morgan. She was the highest ranked first-year player in the field by placing 12th overall. Her final round 79 gave her a 361 for the Championships, as she earned PAC Newcomer of the Year. Morgan is the third Titan to win the award and first since Rankin in 2024.

Selected as PAC Coach of the Year was W&J's 10th-year head coach Matt Kluck, his second career women's Coach of the Year award.

The All-PAC teams, along with the PAC Player of the Year and PAC Newcomer of the Year, are determined by the combined 72-hole scores from the fall and spring championships. A player must compete in all four rounds in the fall and spring to be eligible for All-PAC honors.

The PAC also released its 2025-26 Women's Golf Sportsmanship Team (linked above). The PAC Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all PAC teams and student-athletes.

PAC Award Winners
PAC Player of the Year: Westminster junior Katie Rose Rankin
PAC Newcomer of the Year: Westminster freshman Cece Morgan
PAC Coach of the Year: W&J Head Coach Matt Kluck
 

First Team All-PAC
Name	School	Score	Year	Hometown/High School
Katie Rose Rankin	Westminster	312 (+24)	Jr.	Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny
Madison Sharek	Geneva	323 (+35)	So.	Harmony, Pa./Homeschooled
Megan Joyce	W&J	323 (+35)	Sr.	Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands
Ava Liburdi	Westminster	328 (+40)	So.	Hermitage, Pa./Hickory
MacKenzie Schmeltz	W&J	329 (+41)	Sr.	Edwardsburg, Mich./Saint Joseph