Eastern Michigan Athletics
Women's Golf Continues to Shine in 2011-12
4/20/2012 12:09:00 PM | Women's Golf
EMU is on pace for the lowest team scoring average in school-history
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — It has already been a record-setting campaign for the 2011-12 Eastern Michigan University women's golf team, as the Eagles have won three tournament titles to go along with a handful of other top-five showings. However, the Eagles still have a few other goals in mind with just one more tournament to play – the program's first Mid-American Conference championship and a bid to the NCAA Championships.
Under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Sandy Wagner, the Eagles have claimed titles at the Nittany Lion Invitational, Oct. 1-2, 2011, the Hoosier Fall Preview, Oct. 17-18, 2011, and the Red Rocks Invitational, March 3-4, 2012. The squad also notched a pair of runner-up showings, at the Pat Bradley Invitational, Oct. 23-25, 2011, and the Hoya Invitational, April 2-3, 2012.
This year's crew is on pace for the best four-player team scoring average in school history with an average of 304.54, bettering the mark of 306.87 set by the 2009-10 squad. The mark is 20.14 strokes per 18 holes (304.54 to 324.68) better than when Wagner arrived on the Ypsilanti campus. Additionally, the total ranked second in the Mid-American Conference only behind Kent State University's average of 301.92.
"The depth of this team has lead to the many successes we have had this season," mentioned Wagner. "This is the strongest and most talented team we have ever had. I have six players that can shoot under par rounds and have showed it many times this season. At the conference championships we need to play disciplined golf for three solid rounds. We need to play within ourselves and make good decisions because this golf course will challenge you. If we can do that then we have a chance at winning it for the first time ever and that has been a goal of this program since I came on board seven years ago!"
Junior Sarah Johnson (Wixom, Mich.-Walled Lake Central), the MAC's 2011 individual champion, is averaging a team-best 75.6 strokes per round, good for second best in the conference. She is on pace for the fourth lowest single-season average in school history and has finished in the top 10 in six events. Meanwhile, senior Shannon Warner (Livonia, Mich.-Livonia Churchill-Michigan State) is averaging 76.2 strokes per round, good for fifth-best in the MAC. The 2012 All-MAC candidate is on pace for the eighth lowest single-season average in school history after having finished in the top 10 in six events.
Earlier this season, the squad notched the lowest 54-hole cumulative total in school history at the Westbrook Spring Invitational, Feb. 26-27, 2012, in Peoria, Ariz. EMU fired rounds of 297, 293, 294 for a two-day tally of 884. It broke the previous standard of 888 set at the 2007 Shootout at the Legends and again at the 2011 Lumberjack Shootout.
EMU will next compete at the 2012 MAC Championship Friday through Sunday, April 27-29, at The Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Fishers, Ind. The three-day, 54-hole event, will be played at 6,127 yards and to a par-72 for the nine MAC schools which sponsor women's golf – Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan.
The tournament, which is hosted by Western Michigan University, will feature 18 holes beginning at 8 a.m. each day. The tournament is open to the public and admission is free.
Last year, EMU placed four golfers in the top 30 of the individual standings and finished in second place in the final standings at Longaberger Golf Club, April 22-24, 2011. It marked the fifth consecutive year that the Eagles had finished in the top four of the team standings at the MAC Championship with a 54-hole score of 928 (316-301-311).
Under the direction of seventh-year Head Coach Sandy Wagner, the Eagles have claimed titles at the Nittany Lion Invitational, Oct. 1-2, 2011, the Hoosier Fall Preview, Oct. 17-18, 2011, and the Red Rocks Invitational, March 3-4, 2012. The squad also notched a pair of runner-up showings, at the Pat Bradley Invitational, Oct. 23-25, 2011, and the Hoya Invitational, April 2-3, 2012.
This year's crew is on pace for the best four-player team scoring average in school history with an average of 304.54, bettering the mark of 306.87 set by the 2009-10 squad. The mark is 20.14 strokes per 18 holes (304.54 to 324.68) better than when Wagner arrived on the Ypsilanti campus. Additionally, the total ranked second in the Mid-American Conference only behind Kent State University's average of 301.92.
"The depth of this team has lead to the many successes we have had this season," mentioned Wagner. "This is the strongest and most talented team we have ever had. I have six players that can shoot under par rounds and have showed it many times this season. At the conference championships we need to play disciplined golf for three solid rounds. We need to play within ourselves and make good decisions because this golf course will challenge you. If we can do that then we have a chance at winning it for the first time ever and that has been a goal of this program since I came on board seven years ago!"
Junior Sarah Johnson (Wixom, Mich.-Walled Lake Central), the MAC's 2011 individual champion, is averaging a team-best 75.6 strokes per round, good for second best in the conference. She is on pace for the fourth lowest single-season average in school history and has finished in the top 10 in six events. Meanwhile, senior Shannon Warner (Livonia, Mich.-Livonia Churchill-Michigan State) is averaging 76.2 strokes per round, good for fifth-best in the MAC. The 2012 All-MAC candidate is on pace for the eighth lowest single-season average in school history after having finished in the top 10 in six events.
Earlier this season, the squad notched the lowest 54-hole cumulative total in school history at the Westbrook Spring Invitational, Feb. 26-27, 2012, in Peoria, Ariz. EMU fired rounds of 297, 293, 294 for a two-day tally of 884. It broke the previous standard of 888 set at the 2007 Shootout at the Legends and again at the 2011 Lumberjack Shootout.
EMU will next compete at the 2012 MAC Championship Friday through Sunday, April 27-29, at The Hawthorns Golf and Country Club in Fishers, Ind. The three-day, 54-hole event, will be played at 6,127 yards and to a par-72 for the nine MAC schools which sponsor women's golf – Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan.
The tournament, which is hosted by Western Michigan University, will feature 18 holes beginning at 8 a.m. each day. The tournament is open to the public and admission is free.
Last year, EMU placed four golfers in the top 30 of the individual standings and finished in second place in the final standings at Longaberger Golf Club, April 22-24, 2011. It marked the fifth consecutive year that the Eagles had finished in the top four of the team standings at the MAC Championship with a 54-hole score of 928 (316-301-311).
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