Eastern Michigan Athletics
Women’s Golf Heads West for 2023 MAC Championship
4/19/2023 10:15:00 AM | Women's Golf
EMU is set to tee off Friday, April 21, at Kalamazoo Country Club
Live scoring.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University women's golf team will compete at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Championship Friday through Sunday, April 21-23, hosted by Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo Country Club. The three-day event will consist of 54 holes on the par-72, 6,011-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.
The Eagles enter the tournament with the eighth-lowest four-player team scoring average in program history at 307.4. Eastern Michigan has four top-five finishes this season, including a runner-up showing at the Shirley Spork Invitational, Oct. 3-4, 2022. The Eagles have been playing their best golf as of late, coming in third place in its last two events at the Jan Weaver Invitational, April 3-4, 2023, and the Lady Jaguar Invitational, April 15-16, 2023.
Junior Anna Watson (Ashland, Ohio-Ashland) individually leads the team with an average of 76.26.. Sophomore Kyleigh Dull (Fremont, Ohio-Lakota) follows with a 76.38 season average, while senior Natai Apichonlati (Bangkok, Thailand-The Regent's International School) has put together a solid campaign of her own, scoring an average of 77.24 this year.
Fifth-year Head Coach Stephanie Jennings and the Eagles look to spoil Kent State's run at history. The Golden Flashes have won 23-straight league championships, winning the 2022 tournament by 18 strokes after shooting an 889 (296-294-299).
The Golden Flashes are ranked No. 42 in Golfstat's national rankings followed by Northern Illinois (130), Toledo (168), Central Michigan (171), Bowling Green (198), Akron (201), Western Michigan (204), Eastern Michigan (211), Ball State (213), and Ohio (229).
Continuous improvement was again the story for the Eastern, as the squad was able to shave off six strokes from the previous round at the 2022 MAC Championship, April 24, in Holland, Ohio. The squad notched a 309 during Sunday's final round to finish in seventh place with a cumulative score of 954 (330-315-309) on the par-72, 6,158-yard Stone Oak Country Club course. Of the 10 teams participating in the championship, Eastern was one of just three schools to post round-over-round improvement.
Watson recorded her seventh top-20 showing of the year, closing with a final round 76. The Ashland, Ohio native tied for 14th with a 233 (76-78-76), bettering her 16th-place finish in 2021.
EMU has been the most likely candidate to challenge Kent State for the top spot at the event, as the Eagles' seven runner-up finishes at the MAC Championship since 2003 are the most of any team in the league. The Green and White have placed second in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015.
Ohio (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005), Toledo (2006, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019), Northern Illinois (2017, 2021, 2022), Ball State (2010, 2012), 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 2023 MAC Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA regional round, May 8-10, at one of the six regional locations. The possible sites include the University of Georgia Golf Course (Athens, Ga.), The Club at Chatham Hills (Westfield, Ind.), Palouse Ridge Golf Club (Pullman, Wash.), Lonnie Poole Golf Course (Raleigh, N.C.), TPC San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas), and PGA National Resort Champions Course (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
All six regional sites will have 12 teams and six individuals. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six individuals total) from each regional site will advance to play in the championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., taking place May 19-24.
Postseason selections will be made Wednesday, April 26, at 1 p.m. ET, on GOLF Channel.
The MAC Championship will begin Friday with tee times starting at 9:30 a.m.
Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. The four lowest scores of the team will count each day as a team total.
Mid-American Conference Women's Golf Championships - April 21-23, 2023
Where: Kalamazoo, Mich. (Kalamazoo Country Club)
Format: 18 holes each day
Par/Yardage: 72/6,011
Field: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan (host)
Lineup: Kyleigh Dull, Anna Watson, Natai Apichonlati, Alyssa DiMarcantonio, and Adeline Lau
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University women's golf team will compete at the 2023 Mid-American Conference Championship Friday through Sunday, April 21-23, hosted by Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo Country Club. The three-day event will consist of 54 holes on the par-72, 6,011-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.
The Eagles enter the tournament with the eighth-lowest four-player team scoring average in program history at 307.4. Eastern Michigan has four top-five finishes this season, including a runner-up showing at the Shirley Spork Invitational, Oct. 3-4, 2022. The Eagles have been playing their best golf as of late, coming in third place in its last two events at the Jan Weaver Invitational, April 3-4, 2023, and the Lady Jaguar Invitational, April 15-16, 2023.
Junior Anna Watson (Ashland, Ohio-Ashland) individually leads the team with an average of 76.26.. Sophomore Kyleigh Dull (Fremont, Ohio-Lakota) follows with a 76.38 season average, while senior Natai Apichonlati (Bangkok, Thailand-The Regent's International School) has put together a solid campaign of her own, scoring an average of 77.24 this year.
Fifth-year Head Coach Stephanie Jennings and the Eagles look to spoil Kent State's run at history. The Golden Flashes have won 23-straight league championships, winning the 2022 tournament by 18 strokes after shooting an 889 (296-294-299).
The Golden Flashes are ranked No. 42 in Golfstat's national rankings followed by Northern Illinois (130), Toledo (168), Central Michigan (171), Bowling Green (198), Akron (201), Western Michigan (204), Eastern Michigan (211), Ball State (213), and Ohio (229).
Continuous improvement was again the story for the Eastern, as the squad was able to shave off six strokes from the previous round at the 2022 MAC Championship, April 24, in Holland, Ohio. The squad notched a 309 during Sunday's final round to finish in seventh place with a cumulative score of 954 (330-315-309) on the par-72, 6,158-yard Stone Oak Country Club course. Of the 10 teams participating in the championship, Eastern was one of just three schools to post round-over-round improvement.
Watson recorded her seventh top-20 showing of the year, closing with a final round 76. The Ashland, Ohio native tied for 14th with a 233 (76-78-76), bettering her 16th-place finish in 2021.
EMU has been the most likely candidate to challenge Kent State for the top spot at the event, as the Eagles' seven runner-up finishes at the MAC Championship since 2003 are the most of any team in the league. The Green and White have placed second in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2015.
Ohio (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005), Toledo (2006, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019), Northern Illinois (2017, 2021, 2022), Ball State (2010, 2012), 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 2023 MAC Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA regional round, May 8-10, at one of the six regional locations. The possible sites include the University of Georgia Golf Course (Athens, Ga.), The Club at Chatham Hills (Westfield, Ind.), Palouse Ridge Golf Club (Pullman, Wash.), Lonnie Poole Golf Course (Raleigh, N.C.), TPC San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas), and PGA National Resort Champions Course (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
All six regional sites will have 12 teams and six individuals. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six individuals total) from each regional site will advance to play in the championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., taking place May 19-24.
Postseason selections will be made Wednesday, April 26, at 1 p.m. ET, on GOLF Channel.
The MAC Championship will begin Friday with tee times starting at 9:30 a.m.
Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. The four lowest scores of the team will count each day as a team total.
Mid-American Conference Women's Golf Championships - April 21-23, 2023
Where: Kalamazoo, Mich. (Kalamazoo Country Club)
Format: 18 holes each day
Par/Yardage: 72/6,011
Field: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan (host)
Lineup: Kyleigh Dull, Anna Watson, Natai Apichonlati, Alyssa DiMarcantonio, and Adeline Lau
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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