Sheff repeats as Player of the Year to lead UMAC Women's Golf awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The 2017 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women's Golf Championship concluded Saturday with Paulina Dejamco of Crown College winning the individual competition, while the College of St. Scholastica captured its second-consecutive team title by a sizeable margin. Now, Dejamco and the Saints along the University of Northwestern led the top honors announced along with all-conference awards Monday.
Dejamco took medalist honors after finishing with a total 254 (+38) to outplay the Saints' Arica Sheff who finished as runner-up and back-to-back UMAC Player of the Year as voted by the conference coaches. Northwestern saw a solid improvement this season thanks in large part to the leadership of Head Coach Billy Aune who captured Coach of the Year, and Jessalyn Rondesvedt who was named the first-ever UMAC Women's Golf Rookie of the Year.
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Championship Site |
Championship Results |
Two years ago, Crown's Dejamco was named the UMAC Player of the Year but came up short at the conference tournament. Finally, Dejamco capped off her impressive career with medalist honors Saturday. The senior set the pace early in the Championships carding a tournament-low round of 80 (+8) to start off with a three-stroke lead after just 18 holes.
On day two, Dejamco recorded the second-best round with a 88 (+16) to sit just two strokes up on Sheff. Dejamco sealed her victory with a solid 86 (+14) to conclude the tournament and earn the top honor of the weekend. In eight rounds played this fall, Dejamco was second in UMAC scoring average at 88.4 strokes per round.
For the second-straight season, Sheff placed as runner-up at the conference tournament but was named the Player of the Year after a dominant presence in the UMAC all fall long. The junior continued to reign supreme in 2017 – Sheff led the UMAC in scoring average (85.2) and captured three-consecutive Player of the Week awards to end the regular season. Sheff won two tournaments this fall and had seven top-10 finishes. The top seven low rounds this season belong to Sheff and she is the lone UMAC player to break 80 strokes in a single round this season.
The Saints may have captured the UMAC crown, but Northwestern was definitely one of the most-improved programs this season. Aune – who was voted the top coach by his peers – led the Eagles to a second-place finish in the UMAC Preview this season and the second-lowest team scoring average in the UMAC at 382.6 strokes per round, which is an average of 34 better than a season ago. The Eagles also carded a round of 375 (+87) that was the second-lowest on the final day of play at the UMAC Championships.
Rondestvedt was the Eagles' top scorer all season long as just a rookie. She ranks third in overall scoring average this season at 89.1 strokes per round and is one of just four players to average less than 90 strokes this season. Rondestvedt was extremely consistent at the UMAC Championships recording two rounds of 90 (+18) and one of 91 (+19) to place sixth overall and earn All-UMAC honors to accompany her Rookie of the Year nod.
Amanda Broman picked up the lowest round of the UMAC Championships Saturday with an 85 (+13) to finish in third. Broman earned All-UMAC honors for the second-consecutive season and was joined by teammate Kylie Slavin who finished seventh. Runner-up University of Minnesota Morris saw a pair of repeat All-UMAC winners in Kelsey Wattenhofer – who has earned the award in each of the last three years – and Katelyn Foster. Denae Walton of Bethany Lutheran College tied Wattenhofer for fourth to earn her first All-UMAC award. Alayna Tulip of the University of Wisconsin-Superior tied Foster in eighth to pick up All-UMAC honors as a rookie. Ally Busick of the Yellowjackets and Elise Tangquist of the Eagles were also named All-UMAC.
Northland College won the team sportsmanship award for the second year in a row. The accolade is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
2017 Medalist* - Paulina Dejamco, Crown
Player of the Year^ - Arica Sheff, St. Scholastica
Rookie of the Year# - Jessalyn Rondestvedt, Northwestern
Coach of the Year - Billy Aune, Northwestern
2017 UMAC Women's Golf All-Conference
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Amanda Broman |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
Mankato, Minn. |
| Ally Busick |
Wisconsin-Superior |
So. |
Osceola, Wis. |
| Paulina Dejamco* |
Crown |
Sr. |
Yorba Linda, Calif. |
| Katelyn Foster |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Osakis, Minn. |
| Jessalyn Rondestvedt# |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Wadena, Minn. |
| Arica Sheff^ |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Cloquet, Minn. |
| Kylie Slavin |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
St. Michael, Minn. |
| Elise Tangquist |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Crookston, Minn. |
| Alayna Tulip |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Arcadia, Wis. |
| Denae Walton |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Andover, Minn. |
| Kelsey Wattenhofer |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Litchfield, Minn. |
2017 UMAC Women's Golf Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Northland
Bethany Lutheran - Denae Walton, So., Andover, Minn.
Crown - Paulina Dejamco, Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.
Martin Luther - Liz Mantz, Sr., West Bend, Wis.
Minnesota Morris - Kelsey Wattenhofer, Sr., Litchfield, Minn.
North Central - Abbey Erzberger, Sr., Wauwatosa, Wis.
Northland - Blake Frost, So., Mendota Heights, Minn.
Northwestern - Lyndi Graff, Jr., Iron River, Wis.
St. Scholastica - Kristen Lilya, Fy., Orr, Minn.
Wisconsin-Superior - Reggie Semanko, Jr., Poplar, Wis.