Meet Results

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. – It was a beautiful autumn day at St. Andrew's Golf and Country Club, but the Edgewood College women's golf team could hardly appreciate it. The Eagles were locked in a tense three-way battle for the Northern Athletics Conference title. When the last group finally checked in, Edgewood College had survived to claim their third conference title in history and first in the NAC.

Entering the final day of play, Edgewood College (718) trailed the University of Minnesota-Morris (717) by one shot and held a slim lead on Northwestern College (720). Early reports seemed promising when Jessica Spitzer shot 40 on the front nine, and teammate Emilee Guderyon checked at 43 halfway through the round.

Spitzer was the first Eagle to complete her round, turning in a final day score of 80 to ultimately give her a fourth place finish with a score of 256. Her score was six shots better than her Northwestern College counterpart and seven shots better than her Minnesota-Morris playing partner. Amanda Bliske was next with a score of 90, but her 54-hole total of 259 placed her sixth in the tournament. The first real evidence of an Eagle title came in with Guderyon. She carded an 86 which was four and six shots better than her two playing partners.

Mary Moore then brought in her best round of the tournament at 100. Finally, freshman Tori Wuollett arrived with a score of 89, which not only clinched Edgewood College's title, but gave Wuollett a tournament score of 280 and the title of Northern Athletics Conference Freshman of the Year.

The Eagles finished with a 54-hole total of 1,063 strokes, to outpace both Minnesota-Morris at 1,075 and Northwestern College at 1,090. Aurora University finished fourth with a score of 1,138.

Besides Wuollett, three other Eagles took home individual awards. Spitzer and Bliske were named all-Northern Athletics Conference by virtue of their top 10 finish at the NAC Championships. Head Coach Gary Oftedahl was voted Coach of the Year. The title is the third in school history for the Edgewood College women's golf program, joining the 1997 and 2004 crowns.

Edgewood College will have to wait through the spring season to see if enough Northern Athletics Conference teams participate in enough tournaments to warrant an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. If the NAC is granted an automatic bid, the Eagles will play for a national title in May.