Photo by Alicia Korpi, Ignite the Light Photography
2023 UMAC Women’s Golf Postseason Awards
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern won their second conference title in the past three years at the 2023 UMAC Women’s Golf Championship. The Eagles headline the all-conference awards as all five athletes who competed in the championship earned First Team honors.
In addition, UNW swept the top four postseason awards as head coach Billy Aune was named Coach of the Year and freshman Morgan Eckman earned the triple crown of Championship Medalist, Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year.
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Championship Site |
Championship Results |
The Eagles five All-Conference First Team players helped them lead the UMAC in team scoring average by over 30 strokes this fall. Eckman earned her triple crown honors with a conference-best scoring average of 80.6 in 12 rounds during the season and a medalist-winning performance of 245 (+29) at the UMAC Championship. Fellow freshman Paige Johnson followed right behind her, averaging a score of 81.8 in 12 rounds for the second-best mark in the conference and shooting a 274 (+31) at the UMAC Championship to finish second overall. Mattie Krause recorded the fifth-best scoring average in the conference at 88.3 in 12 rounds and placed ninth at the UMAC Championship. Kelly Van Den Bussche tied for sixth overall at the conference championship and had the seventh-best average in the UMAC, scoring an 88.6 in 11 rounds. Kirsten Darling followed right after Van Den Bussche in the season scoring leaderboard, shooting an 88.8 in 12 rounds. Darling had the third-best score for the Eagles at the UMAC Championship, placing fifth overall.
Crown College earned three All-Conference awards. Kendal Clark earned First Team honors after a season in which she placed third overall at the conference championship and had the third-best scoring average in the UMAC, shooting an 83.9 in 15 rounds. Shelby Cash followed right on her heels with the fourth-best average in the conference at 86.8 in 15 rounds and a fourth-overall finish at the UMAC Championship. The Polars also earned an Honorable Mention selection as Lexi Thomas received the award, averaging a 94.9 in 15 rounds this fall and finishing 12th overall at the conference championship.
University of Minnesota Morris had three players earn All-Conference awards. Justine Day led the way for the Cougars with a 91.4 average in five rounds this fall, earning First Team honors. Hannah Selig and Paisley Sierra both earned Honorable Mention awards. Selig placed 10
th overall at the UMAC Championship and averaged a 92.8 in 10 rounds this season. Sierra placed 14
th overall at the championship and averaged a 97.3 in 10 rounds this year.
University of Wisconsin-Superior had two All-Conference honorees. Ashton Parnell earned First Team honors after tying for sixth overall at the conference championship and recording the ninth-best average score this fall at 90.1 in 11 rounds. Olivia Weyenberg was named an Honorable Mention selection, having placed 11
th at the UMAC Championship and averaging a 94.0 in 11 rounds this fall.
Maddy Bloedel earned All-Conference First Team honors for Northland College. The senior finished eighth overall at the conference championship and averaged the sixth-best per round score this season at 88.5 in 10 rounds.
Victoria Sanders was named an All-Conference Honorable Mention for North Central University. The junior placed 13
th overall at the UMAC Championship and had an average round of 96.1 in nine rounds this season.
Martin Luther College won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that 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.
Medalist – Morgan Eckman, University of Northwestern
Player of the Year – Morgan Eckman, University of Northwestern
Rookie of the Year – Morgan Eckman, University of Northwestern
Coach of the Year – Billy Aune, University of Northwestern
All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
| Morgan Eckman |
University of Northwestern |
| Paige Johnson |
University of Northwestern |
| Kendall Clark |
Crown College |
| Shelby Cash |
Crown College |
| Kirsten Darling |
University of Northwestern |
| Ashton Parnell |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
| Kelly Van Den Bussche |
University of Northwestern |
| Maddy Bloedel |
Northland College |
| Mattie Krause |
University of Northwestern |
| Justine Day |
University of Minnesota Morris |
All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
| Hannah Selig |
University of Minnesota Morris |
| Lexi Thomas |
Crown College |
| Olivia Weyenberg |
University of Wisconsin-Superior |
| Victoria Sanders |
North Central University |
| Paisley Sierra |
University of Minnesota Morris |
Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Martin Luther College
Bethany Lutheran College - Chloe Madson
Crown College – Kendall Clark
Martin Luther College – AC Iglesias
North Central University – Lydia Schroeder
Northland College - Kiley Sims
University of Minnesota Morris – Paisley Sierra
University of Northwestern – Kelly Van Den Bussche
University of Wisconsin-Superior – Karin Hill