Vikings' Thompson tops 2021 UMAC women's golf awards list
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women's Golf Championship concluded in exciting fashion Saturday with the University of Northwestern holding on for a one-stroke team victory while Hayley Thompson of Bethany Lutheran College shot a tournament and UMAC-record low round of 78 (+6) to earn medalist honors. Northwestern and Thompson now headline the conference postseason awards announced Monday.
The Eagles saw four players earn All-UMAC First Team recognition with a fifth getting Honorable Mention status and head coach Billy Aune taking the Coach of the Year nod, while Thompson was tabbed the UMAC Player of the Year. Runner-up University of Minnesota Morris picked up the Rookie of the Year nod for Hannah Selig.
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Championship Site |
Championship Results |
Aune and the Eagles finished off an impressive fall season by taking the UMAC Championship for their eighth tournament win of the season. The Eagles did not lose once this fall in 10 rounds completed. At the Championship, three players finished in the top eight while a fourth was one of two players selected by the coaches' vote. Mattie Krause placed fourth and was a First Team pick for the second-straight season and earned one of the two team honors for the third time in her career. Kirsten Darling and Kelly Van Den Bussche tied for seventh for First Team recognition after both earning Honorable Mention last fall.
As a team this season, Northwestern finished with a team average of 364.1 strokes per round which topped the conference. The Eagles' second-day Championship score of 351 (+63) was the third-lowest score this fall by a UMAC team. They also had five low team rounds that ranked in the top 10.
While the Eagles dominated as a team this fall, Thompson topped the conference nearly all fall long. The junior came into the tournament with five medalist honors and collected on her sixth with the win Saturday. She also had previously owned a season-low average of 85.1 strokes per round before lowering that to 84.6 after the final three rounds of the fall. Prior to the conference tournament, Thompson had recorded a career-low rounds of 81 (+10) and 82 (+10) that were the best entering the weekend.
Throughout the tournament, Thompson was challenged by the field but managed to stay consistent through the opening two rounds of play recording back-to-back tallies of 86 (+14) to enter Saturday in a tie for second and four strokes off the leader. She then improved by eight strokes on the final day to finish with a round of 250 (+34) that was three strokes better than the runner-up and is the lowest in UMAC tournament history for 54 holes.
Minnesota Morris nearly caught Northwestern on the final day closing a gap of 16 strokes thanks in large part to strong outing from rookie Selig. She placed 11th after starting the tournament 14th. The first-year performer earned All-UMAC First Team honors after leading all rookie players throughout the fall. She entered the weekend with a season average of 90.6 which was second on the Cougars and ranked in the top 10 in the UMAC. She tallied a season-low round of 86 (+14) and earned one medalist honor.
The UMAC all-conference list includes three players who earned All-UMAC First Team honors in their careers: Ally Busick (University of Wisconsin-Superior), Mikayla Santjer (Northland College) and Payton Sierra (Minnesota Morris). Krause and Thompson are the only other two players who earned either team honors three times. Five others have been tabbed All-UMAC First Team or Honorable Mention twice in their careers including Miranda Bresnahan (Bethany Lutheran), Maddy Bloedel (Northland), Darling (Northwestern), Shelby Maloney (Minnesota Morris) and Van Den Bussche (Northwestern).
Bethany Lutheran 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.
2021 Medalist* - Hayley Thompson, Jr., Bethany Lutheran
Player of the Year^ - Hayley Thompson, Jr., Bethany Lutheran
Rookie of the Year# - Hannah Selig, Fy., Minnesota Morris
Coach of the Year - Billy Aune, Northwestern
2021 UMAC Women's Golf All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Maddy Bloedel |
Northland |
So. |
Cottage Grove, Minn. |
| Ally Busick |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
Osceola, Wis./Osceola |
| Justine Day |
Minnesota Morris |
So. |
Walker, Minn./Walker-Hackensack Ackley |
| Kirsten Darling |
Northwestern |
So. |
Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian |
| Mattie Krause |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Clear Lake, Iowa/Clear Lake |
| Mikayla Santjer |
Northland |
Sr. |
Aberdeen, S.D. |
| Hannah Selig |
Minnesota Morris |
Fy. |
Rochester, Minn./John Marshall |
| Payton Sierra |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Porcupine, S.D./Red Cloud |
| Hayley Thompson |
Bethany Lutheran |
Jr. |
Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen |
| Kelly Van Den Bussche |
Northwestern |
So. |
Princeton, Ill./Princeton |
2021 UMAC Women's Golf All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| Miranda Bresnahan |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter |
| Bryce Burris |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
East Grand Forks, Minn./East Grand Forks |
| Claire Haakenson |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville |
| Shelby Maloney |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
Kasson, Minn./Triton |
| Natalie Wilcox |
Northwestern |
Fy. |
Danville, Iowa/Danville |
2021 UMAC Women's Golf Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Bethany Lutheran
Bethany Lutheran - Ashley Theis, Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn./Wabasso
Crown - Julia Hyatt, Jr., Zimmerman, Minn./Zimmerman
Martin Luther - Lexi Fischer, Jr., Courtland, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Payton Sierra, Sr., Porcupine, S.D./Red Cloud
North Central - MiCayla Jones, Sr., Chicago, Ill/De La Salle
Northland - Elle Black, So., Devils Lake, N.D.
Northwestern - Kirsten Darling, So., Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian
Wisconsin-Superior - Kenzie Tuura, Fy., Iron River, Wis./Northwestern