Women's Golf Seeks First MAC Championship Crown

LEBANON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University women's golf team will compete at the 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship Friday through Sunday, April 24-26, at Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon, Ohio. The three-day event will consist of 54 holes on the par-72, 6,191-yard course for the 10 MAC schools that sponsor women's golf – Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan.

Hosting the MAC Championship for the first-time, Shaker Run opened in 1979 and was designed by renowned golf course architect Arthur Hills. The course offers 27 holes of championship golf, 18 holes were designed by Arthur Hills while the remaining nine came from the design team of Michael Hurzdan and Dana Fry. The holes are divided into three nines that are played in three different 18-hole combinations. All of the nines have different characteristics but they share a rolling landscape that is unusual for a golf course in Ohio.

Having one of the best seasons in program history, the Eagles have posted the second-lowest 18-hole average in program history at 305.96. The tally is just 0.22 behind the 2011-12 squad's record-setting mark of 305.74. Overall, Eastern Michigan posted a pair of tournament championships with wins at the Cardinal Classic, Sept. 22-23, and the Middleburg Bank Intercollegiate, March 30-31.

Individually, sophomore Kelsey Murphy (Plymouth, Mich.-Plymouth) leads the team with an average of 76.13, a mark that ranks sixth-lowest in the MAC. Redshirt-junior Karyn Lee Ping (Brampton, Ontario, Canada-St. Augustine Secondary School) follows closely behind at 76.95 strokes per round while freshman Thelma Beck (Baden, France-Lycee Sainte Anne) has statistically been the leagues' most consistent freshmen with an average of 77.09.

Head Coach Sandy Wagner and the Eagles look to spoil Kent State's chance to make history, as the Golden Flashes vie for their 17th-straight league championship. The mark would tie EMU's men's swimming and diving team (1980-96) as the longest consecutive championship streak in MAC history.

The Golden Flashes are ranked No. 36 in Golfstat's national rankings followed by Toledo (108), Eastern Michigan (115), Western Michigan (138), Bowling Green (145), Ohio (156), Akron (161), Northern Illinois (163), Ball State (191) and Central Michigan (242).

At last year's MAC Championship, Eastern Michigan took third-place with a three-day cumulative score of 938 (314-302-322). Lee Ping finished in fourth place with a 10-over 226 (73-72-81) while Sylvie Williams (Christchurch, New Zealand-Christchurch Girls School-Lincoln) tied for 11th with a 232 (76-76-80). Kent State University captured the league title, finishing at 31-over par 895 (296-299-300) on the par-72, 6,102 yard Hawthorns Golf and Country Club course in Fishers, Ind.

EMU has been the most likely candidate to challenge Kent State for the top spot at the event, as the Eagles' six runner-up finishes at the MAC Championship are the most of any team in the league. The Green and White has placed second in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013.

Ohio (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005), Ball State (2010, 2012), Toledo (2006, 2014) and Western Michigan (2004) are the only other teams to record a second-place finish in the history of the tournament.

The winner of the 2015 MAC Championship will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA regional round, May 7-9, at one of the four regional locations. The possible sites include Raleigh, N.C. (North Carolina State), San Antonio, Texas (UTSA), South Bend, Ind. (Notre Dame) and St. George, Utah (BYU).

The tournament will begin Friday with tee times at 8 a.m., while the final two rounds will have the same tee times, from 8 a.m. through 11:10 a.m.

Eastern Michigan Lineup
Player #1 - Thelma Beck
Player #2 - Karyn Lee Ping
Player #3 - Kelsey Murphy
Player #4 - Kylie Raines
Player #5 - Lois Schoof

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Players Mentioned

Thelma Beck

Karyn Lee Ping

Kelsey Murphy

Kylie Raines

Lois Schoof

Sylvie Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics