10-Year Celebration: UMAC Women's Golf All-Decade honors
ST. PAUL, Minn.---As part of its 2018-19 "10-Year Celebration," the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) named five individual athletes to the UMAC Women's Golf All-Decade Team and recognized Coach of the Decade and Team of the Decade, the conference announced Thursday.
The five individuals named to the All-Decade Team include Amanda Broman (College of St. Scholastica, 2015-17), Paulina Dejamco (Crown College, 2015, 2017), Arica Sheff (St. Scholastica, 2016-17), Kristina Siemens (University of Northwestern, 2008-2011) and Kelsey Wattenhofer (Minnesota Morris, 2014-2017). University of Minnesota Morris' Jana Koehler was picked the Coach of the Decade and the 2016 College of St. Scholastica squad earned Women's Golf Team of the Decade.
All-Decade Team
Amanda Broman, College of St. Scholastica (2015-2017)
Broman was a two-time All-UMAC performer at the conference championship meet and helped St. Scholastica to back-to-back team titles in 2015 and 2016. As a junior, Broman captured medalist honors with a three-day score of 260 (+44) and boasted the second-best scoring average in the UMAC that fall. In 2017, Broman placed third at the conference tournament and was fourth in the UMAC for average strokes per round (90.6).
Paulina Dejamco, Crown College (2015, 2017)
Dejamco competed in just two UMAC championships during her career and earned All-UMAC finishes both times. In 2015, Dejamco placed fourth but was selected as the UMAC Player of the Year after leading the conference with a 87.6 scoring average. She became the second medalist from Crown in three seasons when she carded 254 (+38) to take the 2017 title. Her low round of 80 is the best since the UMAC women's championship was reinstated in 2015.
Arica Sheff, College of St. Scholastica (2016-2017)
In two short seasons, Sheff made her mark on the UMAC repeating as the conference Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2016 and 2017). She finished as runner-up in the UMAC Championship both seasons for All-UMAC accolades. She boasted a 85.8 scoring average in 2017 to lead the conference and also topped the field in 2016. Sheff finished with a total of nine career tournament wins and helped the Saints to two conference team titles.
Kristina Siemens, University of Northwestern (2008-2010)*
Siemens is the only UMAC player to win three-straight conference championship titles (2008-2010). In 2008 as a rookie she led Northwestern to a team title with a two-day score of 187 (+43) to tie for the individual medalist spot. She followed up with an outright win in 2009 with a score of 182 (+38). Her third title came with a three-day score of 254 (+38) and a low round of 80. She owns the lowest career scoring average (90.4) at Northwestern and a program-low round of 78.
Kelsey Wattenhofer, University of Minnesota Morris (2015-2017)*
Wattenhofer was a three-time All-UMAC finisher in three seasons of UMAC championship competition. She recorded back-to-back fourth-place finishes in 2016 and 2017 including a career-best score of 270 (+54) in her final season. She ranked in the top 10 in UMAC scoring average each of her three seasons including third in 2016 (92.7). Wattenhofer earned medalist honors at three tournaments in her career.
Coach of The Decade
Jana Koehler, University of Minnesota Morris
Koehler has been the Minnesota Morris head women's golf coach for 19 seasons and led the Cougars to back-to-back conference championship victories in 2009 and 2010. In both seasons, she was selected as the UMAC Coach of the Year. Since women's golf returned to the UMAC in 2015 as a conference championship sport, Koehler's Cougars have finished third or better including back-to-back runner-up placings in 2016 and 2017.
Team of The Decade
College of St. Scholastica, 2016
In just its second season as a varsity program, St. Scholastica women's golf ran away with its first UMAC team championship title in 2016. The Saints carded a three-day score of 1101 (+237) that was 72 strokes better than the runner-up. Four players finished in the top seven to earn All-UMAC honors. The team placed 21st at the NCAA Championship and won 10 events between the fall and spring. Team members included Breena Alfredson, Alexis Babcock, Amanda Broman, Hannah Cornwell, Hannah Dougherty, Arica Sheff and Kylie Slavin. Head coach was Eric Anderson.
*The UMAC did not sponsor women's golf from 2011-2014. Only seasons of UMAC championships are included.
Throughout 2018-19, the UMAC will recognize individual athletes and one coach for each conference sport on All-Decade Teams and name one team as Team of the Decade. Individuals and teams were nominated by UMAC full and associate member institutions and the teams were selected by a committee of administrators and coaches from the UMAC. The All-Decade recognition is part of the UMAC "10-Year Celebration" commemorating the first 10 years of NCAA Division III membership for the UMAC.
All-Decade Team Archives
"10-Year Celebration" Page