Champion Saints dominate UMAC women's golf postseason honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The College of St. Scholastica dominated the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women's Golf Championship winning a third-straight title in record-setting fashion. Following the victory, the Saints headlined the UMAC postseason awards taking three of the top four honors and grabbing a conference-leading three All-UMAC finishes, the UMAC announced Monday.
Head Coach Eric Anderson earned his second UMAC Coach of the Year nod in three seasons, while Hannah Johnson finished as the medalist and Kylie Slavin was named the UMAC Player of the Year. Runner-up University of Minnesota Morris was also recognized as Payton Sierra earned the Rookie of the Year award.
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Championship Site |
Championship Results |
Anderson's Saints set a conference record for margin of victory over three rounds when they tallied a three-day score of 1085 (+221) that was 110 strokes better than the second place Cougars. The Saints cruised to victory behind the performances of Johnson, Slavin and Cornwell who earned All-UMAC First Team honors as well as Kristen Lilya. All four Saints placed in the top nine at the UMAC Championship.
This year, the Saints led the UMAC in scoring average by nearly 30 strokes (366.9) despite losing two All-UMAC finishers from the last two years. Anderson helped four players finish in the top 10 in UMAC scoring average led by Slavin and Johnson. Collectively, the Saints won five tournaments including the UMAC Championship to advance to the NCAA Championships for a third year in a row.
All season long, Johnson and Slavin pushed each other for top performances and won a combined 3-of-5 UMAC Player of the Week awards. It was Johnson, though, who came out ahead on Saturday winning her first-ever UMAC title in just her first year playing the tournament. The sophomore took the lead after two rounds and managed to hang on when she improved by three strokes Saturday to finish with a score of 259 (+43) that was three strokes ahead of Slavin. Johnson carded a round of 84 (+12) Thursday that was the second-lowest of the Championship. Johnson finished her season second in the UMAC in scoring average (89.6).
Player of the Year Slavin started off her senior campaign red hot taking back-to-back Player of the Week awards. This season, she led the UMAC in scoring average and improved it to 87.8 strokes per round following the UMAC event. Slavin finished winning two tournaments including the UMAC Preview and posted seven top-10 finishes this year. She ended Saturday tying Johnson's low round of 86 (+14). Slavin now boasts three All-UMAC finishes in her career and Player of the Year honor. This is the third-straight season the Saints have had a player earn the top UMAC award.
Despite losing some talented players to graduation, the Cougars managed to finish second at the UMAC Championship for a third-straight fall thanks to young talent like Sierra. In just the second year of the Rookie of the Year award, Sierra shined entering the UMAC Championship third in scoring average. The first-year placed 12th individually and wraps up the fall ranked eighth in scoring avearge (93.7). As a rookie, Sierra shot a season-low round of 83 (+11) to win a dual match with Martin Luther College, and also finished with five top-10 performances.
Along with Slavin, Ally Busick of the University of Wisconsin-Superior earned her third-consecutive All-UMAC honor. Busick has now finished All-UMAC in each of her three seasons competing. Only three other players on the 2018 All-UMAC list have earned multiple conference accolades including Elise Tangquist of the University of Northwestern and Alaya Tulip of Wisconsin-Superior who each earned the honor for a second-straight season. Mackenzie Manthei of Bethany Lutheran College has earned All-UMAC twice in the past and was part of the first All-UMAC Honorable Mention list. A new awards format this year has 10 players named First Team – includes top eight finishers plus ties at the UMAC tournament plus two additional via coaches' vote – and five additional players selected Honorable Mention via coaches' vote.
The remainder of the All-UMAC First Team included first-time honorees Cornwell (St. Scholastica), Johnson (St. Scholastica), Alison Lindemann (Martin Luther), Greta Nyhus (Northwestern), Mikayla Santjer (Northland College) and Sierra (Minnesota Morris). The Honorable Mention selections included Miranda Brenahan (Bethany Lutheran), Meghan Foley (Minnesota Morris), Hunter Jontz (Crown College), Manthei (Bethany Lutheran) and Kaya Quinn (Minnesota Morris).
North Central University won the team sportsmanship award which 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.
2018 Medalist* - Hannah Johnson, St. Scholastica
Player of the Year^ - Kylie Slavin, St. Scholastica
Rookie of the Year# - Payton Sierra, Minnesota Morris
Coach of the Year - Eric Anderson, St. Scholastica
2018 UMAC Women's Golf All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Ally Busick |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
Osceola, Wis./Osceola |
| Hannah Cornwell |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Hannah Johnson* |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors |
| Alison Lindemann |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
Lewiston, Minn./Luther Prep |
| Greta Nyhus |
Northwestern |
So. |
Henning, Minn./Ottertail Central |
| Mikayla Santjer |
Northland |
So. |
Aberdeen, S.D. |
| Payton Sierra# |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Porcupine, S.D./Red Cloud |
| Kylie Slavin^ |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville |
| Elise Tangquist |
Northwestern |
So. |
Crookston, Minn./Crookston |
| Alayna Tulip |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
Arcadia, Wis./Arcadia |
2018 UMAC Women's Golf All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Miranda Bresnahan |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter |
| Meghan Foley |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Bovey, Minn./Greenway |
| Hunter Jontz |
Crown |
Jr. |
Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian |
| Mackenzie Manthei |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Belview, Minn./Redwood Valley |
| Kaya Quinn |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Ramsey, Minn./Mounds View |
2018 UMAC Women's Golf Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - North Central
Bethany Lutheran - Allyson Lauer, Jr., Maplewood, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran
Crown - Hunter Jontz, Jr., Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Christian
Martin Luther - Katheryn Hansen, Sr., Watertown, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Meghan Foley, Sr., Bovey, Minn./Greenway
North Central - Rebekah Winkel, Sr., Kansas City, Mo./Oak Park
Northland - Chelsea List, Jr., Baltimore, Ohio
Northwestern - Elise Tangquist, So., Crookston, Minn.
St. Scholastica - Ashlee Martie, So., Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake
Wisconsin-Superior - Shalese Snowdon, Jr., Warroad, Minn./Warroad