Women’s Golf Ranked 18th in Nation

Nov 11, 2005

MEADVILLE, Pa. – The leafless trees mark the end to an amazing beginning for the Allegheny College women’s golf team. In the first leg of their inaugural season, the Gators won four of their first five events, and then made a strong showing at the NCAA Preview Tournament in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. The team’s play was so strong against the competition in Florida that it finished the fall in eighteenth position in the national rankings, and can now be considered as a serious contender to make the field in the 2006 NCAA Division III Golf Championships.

Two months ago the addition of Allegheny’s 21st sport became official, as the women’s golf team headed to the course for the first time in September. That month the team took first twice in three events, coming in second only to Division II Ashland. The month of October brought more good things, as the team won two more events, and then took sixth behind a group of elite teams at the preview event for next spring’s NCAA Championships.

Of the eleven teams playing at El Campeon, a par 73, 5,830-yard course, eight are currently ranked in the top twenty-five, with four of the five teams that finished ahead of Allegheny ranked in the top eleven. Included in the teams Allegheny defeated are ninth ranked Wellesley and sixteenth ranked Loras. “Our primary goal from day one was to build a program that would be competitive. To their credit, the ladies have responded to that challenge,” said head coach Jeff Groff.

Leading the team in scoring average this fall was Alison Bruckner (Glenview, Ill./ Glenbrook South) (right), with an average of 85.38 strokes per round. Bruckner also led the team in top tens with five, and was the only Gator to capture medalist honors, doing so twice. The quartet of Lisa Coleman (Lakeview, N.Y./ Frontier Central), Melanie Ice (Beaver Falls/ Riverside), Jaime Reints (St. Charles, Ill./ St. Charles East), and Erin Winings (Rockford, Ohio/ Parkway) round out the top five for the Blue and Gold, forming a strong core of young players.

“The first year of any program is special, but this team is looking to set a standard of excellence for others to follow,” said Groff.

The team has five competitions in the spring, and will hope to maintain its national ranking and earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. The first event of the 2006 schedule sends the Gators south again, as the team will play in the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational in Jekyll Island, Georgia. The team will look to cap the spring with a return to Florida, as the NCAA Championships take place on May 9-12 at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills.

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