Midway (Ky.) three-peats as RSC Women's Golf Tournament champions

4/18/2018 12:00:00 AM

UNION, Ky. -- Midway (Ky.) University made it a three-peat as the Eagles won their third straight River States Conference Women's Golf Tournament championship on Tuesday at Lassing Pointe Golf Course in Union, Ky. Midway beat the field of nine teams by 26 strokes in the 36-hole tournament held Monday and Tuesday.

Midway advances to the NAIA Women's Golf National Championship May 22-25 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., with the RSC's automatic team qualification. It is the third year in a row the Eagles are going to the national tournament as conference champions.

Also headed to the NAIA national tournament will be RSC individual medalist Breanna Nowak of IU East, who earned individual qualification to nationals. She is the conference champion after winning in a playoff over Midway's Kathryn Lawler. Both players shot identical rounds of 85 and 82 for a two-day total of 167.

Midway fired a tournament-best round of 339 in the final-round on Tuesday to secure the victory. Conditions were very tough with wintry weather in play for the first round on Monday. But the Eagles still carded an opening 344 to take an early lead of 23 strokes after 18 holes. With scoring conditions improving for the final round, scores got better for all of the teams, but Midway furthered its lead by a three shots to maintain the win.

Midway put four players in the 80s on both days to key the victory. Lawler (85-82) placed second followed by Hannah Scroggins (87-84) in fourth, Chelsea Shack (87-85) in fifth and Rylee Beard (85-88) tied for sixth.

IU East placed second in the team standings thanks to a strong final round of 342. With Nowak firing an 82 to lead the way, teammates Lauren Heitkamp and Jo Wisecup shot 82 and 86, respectively, to provide good scores as well.

IU Kokomo placed third with a final-round score of 352. The Cougars were tied with IU East after 18 holes. IU Kokomo's Anne Marie Balsbaugh (87-83) placed third individually while Brandi Jones (85) and Mackenzi Crosley (87) turned in final rounds in the 80s as well.

Asbury (Ky.) University placed fourth led by Hannah McCrabb (87-86) in a tie for sixth place individually. Brescia (Ky.) University took fifth with Jaimie Jolly (88-90) making the Top 10 in 10th place. Rounding out the team scoring were Point Park (Pa.) University, Ohio Christian University and University of Rio Grande (Ohio). Carlow (Pa.) University competed in the championship as well with three players.

At the conclusion of the tournament, the All-RSC Teams & Awards were handed out. The top five players with the lowest combined scores between the RSC fall preview and the spring championship were named to the All-RSC First Team, and the next five players were named the All-RSC Second Team.

Leading the All-RSC First Team and being named the 2017-18 RSC Women's Golfer of the Year was Midway's Kathryn Lawler. She had the best scoring across all rounds of the fall and spring tournaments. Asbury's Hannah McCrabb, a freshman, was named the RSC Women's Golf Newcomer of the Year with the best scoring as a freshman or transfer. Midway head coach Otis Smith was named RSC Women's Golf Coach of the Year.

Also named was the RSC Women's Golf Champions of Character Team, which identified one player each school that best exhibits the five character values of the NAIA's Champions of Character program of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.

The following are the All-RSC Women's Teams & Awards and the RSC Champions of Character Team:

2017-18 ALL-RSC WOMEN'S GOLF TEAMS & AWARDS
RSC Women's Golfer of the Year -- Kathryn Lawler, Sr., Midway (Ky.)
RSC Women's Golf Medalist -- Breanna Nowak, Jr., IU East
RSC Women's Newcomer of the Year -- Hannah McCrabb, Fr., Asbury (Ky.)
RSC Women's Golf Coach of the Year -- Otis Smith, Midway (Ky.)

ALL-RSC WOMEN'S GOLF FIRST TEAM
Kathryn Lawler, Midway (Ky.)
Hannah McCrabb, Asbury (Ky.)
Breanna Nowak, IU East
Hannah Scroggins, Midway (Ky.)
Chelsea Schack, Midway (Ky.)

ALL-RSC WOMEN'S GOLF SECOND TEAM
Anne Marie Balsbaugh, IU Kokomo
Claire Watts, Asbury (Ky.)
Rylee Beard, Midway (Ky.)
Brandi Jones, IU Kokomo
Lauren Heitkamp, IU East

ALL-RSC WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONS OF CHARACTER TEAM
Asbury (Ky.) -- Sydney Moran
Brescia (Ky.) -- Jaimie Jolly
Carlow (Pa.) -- Lexie Mirenda
Cincinnati Christian -- Abigail Fisher
IU East -- Jo Wisecup
IU Kokomo -- Anna Marie Balsbaugh
Midway (Ky.) -- Mercedes Lane
Ohio Christian -- Lauren Curtis
Point Park (Pa.) -- Carley Henry
Rio Grande -- Nicole Asbun