The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Golf Championships are set for Friday (April 24) through Sunday (April 26) at Findlay Country Club in Findlay, Ohio.
Ashland University's women's golf team, sitting just outside of the Top 25 in Division II, has plenty of incentive to do well at the conference tournament – because of the tourney itself, and what lies ahead.
"I'm very optimistic," said first-year AU head coach Kory Oslie. "Our team is starting to come around and take shape. You can see signs of us starting to peak. We had seven of eight scores in the 70s at the last tournament. I'm seeing a lot of improvement and a lot of good things. We're definitely starting to get back into our competitive form.
"It's going to take consistency. I feel like we have a team that is more consistent than any other from a team standpoint. It's just going to continue to have to be consistent with our team scores. We're going to have to meet the team goals we laid out prior to this tournament."
Twelve GLIAC teams will compete for the conference championship, paced by 13th-ranked Grand Valley State and Ashland. On Friday, sophomore Emily Jereb will tee off at 9 a.m., followed by seniors Abby Tepe (9:10 a.m.) and Madison Musick (9:20 a.m.), junior Ali Green (9:30 a.m.) and sophomore Kaitlin Neumann (9:40 a.m.).
Green is averaging 78.1 in 12 spring rounds, which includes an individual title at the NC4K Classic on March 29-30. She is leading all GLIAC women's golfers this season with a 76.5 average in events hosted by conference teams.
"She owns her own destiny in this tournament," Oslie said. "If she plays her best golf, hopefully she holds on to the lead."
Neumann is right behind Green during the spring season with a 78.3 average, and lost in a playoff for medalist honors at the Tiffin Spring Invitational on April 12-13. Musick is averaging 80.3 this spring, Tepe 80.4 and Jereb 82.8.
As a team, the Eagles have finished in the top three in each of their last four tournaments.
"I'm ecstatic about the seniors and how they are playing," Oslie said. "Everything is starting to come together for us.
"We have to have players that play well. If a player doesn't play well, we have to have others step up and fill that role."
After the GLIAC Championships, the NCAA Division II East Regional will be contested on May 3-5 in Chicago, Ill. The Division II National Championship is May 13-16 in Allendale, Mich.
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