Tigers Finish Third In Final North Coast Athletic Conference Standings

File Photo/Erin Pence
File Photo/Erin Pence

OBERLIN, Ohio — The Wittenberg women's golf team put the finishing touches on a long but tremendously successful 2011-12 season with a third-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Series.

The Tigers placed third in both tournaments that comprised the 2012 NCAC Championship Series to end up with 1354 strokes over the four rounds, two hosted by Allegheny and two hosted by Oberlin. DePauw won the title with a score of 1282, followed by Allegheny at 1293. Both DePauw and Allegheny came into the week ranked in the top 13 nationally.

Wittenberg, ranked 21st nationally, now awaits the announcement of the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament field. The NCAC doesn't have an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, but DePauw and Allegheny are considered to be strong contenders to earn positions in the event, hosted by Trine at Zollner Golf Course in Angola, Ind., May 8-11. Wittenberg is also among the teams that will be considered for the small number of at-large berths.

The Tigers turned in a score of 340 on the opening day of the NCAC Championship Series #2 at Oberlin Country Club. Allegheny and DePauw carded matching scores of 327 in cold, wet conditions. On Day 2, all of the team scores dropped significantly, with Wittenberg finishing at 326, 16 strokes behind Allegheny and 15 behind DePauw.

Individually, freshman Carolyn Wong (Napierville, Ill./Central) led with rounds of 85 and 80 to finish 11th with a total of 165. freshman Rachel Steiner (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota West) and senior Anne Busam (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) were right behind with matching scores of 267 to tie for 13th.

Rounding things out were freshman Nicole Waers (Canton, Ohio/Perry) in 17th place with a score of 170 and sophomore Deanna Mychalishyn (Mason, Ohio/Mason) in 19th with a score of 173.