Pioneers Take Second at MWC Championships

Three golfers finished in the top 15 individually as the Grinnell College women's golf team posted its best-ever team finish at the Midwest Conference Championships. The Pioneers finished in second-place (1127), five strokes ahead of St. Norbert College, which finished in third.

"I thought, even though Illinois College was a full 110 strokes ahead of us, we still competed to our potential which is what every coach hopes for," said Head Coach David Arseneault.

Illinois College (1017) won its fourth-straight league crown, and Carey Cappel came from behind to win her fourth straight individual crown after firing an even-par (74) to claim the title by nine shots over teammate Kristen Schmalz. Schmalz held a three-stroke advantage heading into the final round on Sunday.

Amy Livingston '09 posted a round of 91 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 13th, while teammates Stephanie Goggin '10 and Caitlin Campbell '08 finished tied for 15th after a combined score of 282 for the tournament.

Haddie Dowson (293), Jordan Heguy '09 (297), and Marie Liska '07 (323) round out the scores for the Pioneers. Dowson finished in a tie for 25th, while Heguy finished in a tie for 27th. Liska stood alone in 33rd-place for Grinnell.

The Pioneers finished fourth at last season's championships, which had been one of their best-ever finish until this weekend.

"I thought the difference between second and fifth place this year was our depth," Arseneault added. "We didn't have a top-10 finisher, but we have great one-day performances from our No. 3-5 players and consistency from our top two scorers. And, fortunately, when one of our top five scorers had an off day, all of our other top five players scored well."

The Championships close out the fall schedule for the Pioneers.