Bearcats are in Third Place in Women's Golf as NWC Tournament Starts

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

WOODBURN, ORE. -- The Willamette University women's golf team is in third place in the overall Northwest Conference standings as the Bearcats prepare to host the 2013 NWC Championship Tournament this weekend at the Oregon Golf Association (OGA) Golf Course. Action gets underway on Saturday, April 20, with women's tee times starting at 2 p.m. (PDT). The second round will be held on Sunday, April 21, starting at 9 a.m.

A total of three tournaments held throughout the year are used to determine the NWC team championship in women's golf. The NWC Championship Tournament is worth one-half of the overall title, while the NWC Fall Classic and the NWC Spring Classic are each worth one-fourth of the total.

Points were awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0 basis at the Fall Classic and the Spring Classic. The winner of the NWC Championship Tournament will receive 16 points, with points descending 14-12-10-8-6-4-2-0 based on where each team finishes. The team with the most points from the three championship events will claim the overall championship.

Entering this weekend's final event, the team leader is George Fox University with 16 points after winning the Fall Classic and the Spring Classic. The Bruins are tied for #5 nationally in NCAA Division III in the latest Golf World/National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Poll. Whitman College holds second place with 14 points and Willamette is third with 11 points.

Whitworth University is fourth in the overall standings with nine points, while Pacific University and Pacific Lutheran University are tied for fifth with seven points. Linfield College is seventh with six points and the University of Puget Sound is eighth with two points.

George Fox is seeking its fourth NWC titles in as many years. The Bruins tied with Whitworth for the title in 2010 and then won the title outright in 2011. Last year, George Fox and Whitman tied for first place, but Whitman received the NWC's automatic bid tot he NCAA Tournament based on a tie-breaker.

The race for the individual title at this weekend's NWC Championship Tournament will likely feature Kelsey Morrison from George Fox and Emily Guthrie from Whitworth. Morrison was the NWC Golfer of the Year last season, while Guthrie won the 2012 NWC individual title by taking first place at the NWC Championship Tournament last April.

Morrison won the NWC Fall Classic this past October and took second place at the NWC Spring Classic two weeks ago, while Guthrie placed second at the Fall Classic. Other top contenders for the individual championship include Chelsea Bayley of Whitworth, who won the Spring Classic title, Kiana Lumanlan and Abby Mann from GFU, and Kelly Sweeney from Whitman.

Catelyn Webber of Whitman and Whitney Jammerman from George Fox also have been consistently strong during the season.

Willamette has three golfers who have produced solid performances and could contend for a top five finish with quality play this weekend. They are sophomore Mckenzie Weinhold (So., Placerville, CA/El Dorado HS/Univ. of Nevada-Reno), who was Second Team All-NWC last season, as well as freshmen Elise Levy (Fr., Reno, NV/Bishop Monague HS) and Taneesh Kaur Sra (Fr., Fremont, CA/Mission San Jose HS).

The results from the NWC Championship Tournament will help determine which golfers qualify for the All-NWC Team for 2012-13. As with the the team standings, the All-NWC Team will be determined by a point system that weighs the Fall and Spring Classics at one-fourth each and the NWC Championship Tournament at one-half.

When points are added from this weekend's competition, the top six finishers will be named First Team All-NWC, and the golfers finishing seventh through 12th will be chosen Second Team All-NWC. The golfer who accumulates the most points will be named NWC Golfer of the Year.