The Gustavus men’s and women’s golf teams will take part in the MIAC Championships this weekend at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids. The 54-hole tournament will begin on Saturday and conclude on Monday. The Gustavus men’s squad is the defending champion, while the women will look to claim the program’s first ever conference title.
Women’s Preview
The Gustavus women’s golf team hopes to be able to take the next step and win the MIAC Championship in 2008 after four consecutive second place finishes at the conference tournament. The Gusties are currently ranked #2 in the latest National Golf Coaches Association Division III poll and have won three of the four tournaments they have competed in this fall. Coach Scott Moe’s squad is 52-0 against Division III opponents this fall after posting first place finishes at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational, the Wartburg Invitational, and the Division III Midwest Classic.
The Gusties are led by senior All-American Kimbra Kosak (Grand Rapids, Minn.). Kosak is averaging 79.5 strokes per round through eight rounds this fall and she has posted three top-five finishes in four tournaments. Kosak is joined by junior All-American Kali Griggs (Burnsville, Minn.), who is averaging 80.3 strokes per round and sophomore Katie Schenfeld (Indianola, Iowa), who is averaging 79.8 strokes per round. Kosak (fifth), Griggs (seventh), and Schenfeld (tenth) all earned All-Conference honors last year by finishing in the top ten at the MIAC Championships.
Others expected to compete for the Gusties at this year’s conference tournament are Taylor Drenttel (Fy., Eagan, Minn.) and Lauren Runsvold (Sr., Fargo, N.D.). Drenttel, who has posted one top-ten and three top-twenty finishes this fall is averaging 82.8 strokes per round, while Runsvold, who finished 10th at the Wartburg Invitational, is averaging 84.6 strokes per round.
As a team, the Gusties are averaging 321.0 strokes per round (which ranks first in the MIAC), with a season low score of 309, which they registered in the second round of the Wartburg Invitational.
Men’s Preview
The Gustavus men’s golf team will look to defend its conference title in 2008, however Coach Scott Moe is working with a lot of new faces after the loss of all five players from last year’s championship squad. Junior Rickey Copeland (Mahtomedi, Minn.) has led the way for the Gusties this fall with a stroke average of 75.4. He has been the squad’s top finisher in each of its three tournaments.
Copeland will be joined on the MIAC Championships roster by junior Josh Curb (Bemidji, Minn.), junior A. J. Olson (White Bear Lake, Minn.), and first year players John Anderson (Appleton, Wis.) and Tony Meierhofer (Ham Lake, Minn.). Curb, who isaveraging 77.8 strokes per round, has registered one top-five and one top-ten finish in the team’s first three tournaments. A. J. Olson, who is averaging 78.8 strokes per round, has recorded the team’s lowest round of the fall, a 69, in the first round of the Augsburg Invitational. The newcomers, Anderson and Meierhofer have been welcome additions for Coach Moe. Anderson is averaging 79.4 strokes per round, while Meierhofer is at 83.8 strokes per round.
The Gusties, who are rated #18 in the most recent Golf Coaches Association of America Division III poll, currently rank fourth in MIAC Team Scoring Average at 313.1 strokes per round.