OCU women look to defend NAIA national championship
LINCOLN, Neb. – Oklahoma City University will look to repeat as NAIA women’s golf champion beginning Tuesday at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club.
The Stars, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, have captured NAIA titles in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2013.
“We’re looking forward to competing,” OCU coach Marty McCauley said. “There are several good teams in the NAIA this year, so I think it will be a great battle when we all get together.”
OCU enters the NAIA Championships with a scoring average of 309.04 in 27 rounds and rank second in the NAIA is average score vs. par. The Stars finished in the top 5 six times this season including wins in the Claud Jacobs Invitational on Feb. 16-17 and the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament on April 21-22. The Stars’ SAC title was their third consecutive and 12th in the 14 years.
OCU is led by lone senior Elia Folch, who is second in the NAIA with a scoring average of 74.41.The senior from Barcelona, Spain, picked up individual wins in the Claud Jacobs Invitational, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islander Classic, Central Oklahoma KickingBird Classic and the SAC Championships this season. Folch was named SAC golfer of the year after winning her second consecutive SAC title.
Caroline Goodin, a freshman from Oklahoma City, enters the NAIA Championships with a stroke average of 78.52. The 2013 SAC freshman of the year turned in three top-five finishes including a pair of third–place performances in the Claud Jacobs Invitational and the SAC Championships.
Freshmen Kailey Campbell, of Oktaha, Okla., is averaging 79.07 shots per round in 10 tournaments this season. Campbell tied for eighth place in the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic and the Claud Jacobs Invitational this season. Campbell also tied for 13th in the SAC Championships.
Anna Mikish, a freshman from Choctaw, Okla., turned in her best finish of the year in the SAC Championships where she came in sixth individually. Mikish is averaging 79.22 shots per round in 10 tournaments this season.
Freshman Katie-Lee Wilson, of Owasso, Okla., enters the NAIA Championships with a stroke average of 80.04 through 10 tournaments. Wilson tied for fifth in the Claud Jacobs Invitational and eighth in the SAC Championships.
Fellow SAC member Northwood (Texas), ranked No. 16 in the NAIA, will join the Stars in the NAIA Championship field.
“I think the course sets up very well for us,” McCauley said. “Its length, the way the greens are set up, everything sets up well for the group that we have. It’s a pretty tight course, not with trees, but with the rough. The girls all hit the ball fairly straight, so I think that will be an advantage for us.”
OCU will tee off at 8:20 a.m. CDT Tuesday and will be paired with No. 10 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and No. 24 St. Andrews (N.C.).
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