The Bradley women's golf team was in contention for the Missouri Valley Conference title into the third and final round at the 2014 Championship at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Ill., before finishing fifth in the final team standings. Danielle Lemek followed up her 2012-13 MVC Newcomer of the Year award by earning the 2013-14 MVC Player of the Year honor as a sophomore.
Head coach Mary Swanson recaps the 2013-14 campaign in her interview with Dave Snell in addition to providing a glimpse of what to expect from the Braves in 2014-15.
2013-14 Bradley Women's Golf Recap
• Bradley led after each of the first two rounds at the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship, which the Braves hosted at the par-72 Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Ill., in mid April, before slipping to fifth in the final team standings.
• The Braves finished the season with a school season record stroke average of 79.39
• An opening round 293 at the MVC Championship broke the previous school record round of 294. Bradley carded two of the three lowest rounds in program history during the 2013-14 season and three of the lowest seven rounds in school history.
Record Setting Performance
• Danielle Lemek turned in one of the most successful seasons in Missouri Valley Conference history. She was named MVC Golfer of the Week an impressive seven times following 10 tournaments.
• Lemek's 73.61 season stroke average broke the MVC record of 73.94 which had been held by Illinois State's Samantha Richdale since 2005-06.
• The MVC Player of the Year, Lemek was a First-Team All-Valley performer and also earned First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors.
• Lemek was medalist at the MVC Championship, winning the event by seven strokes, and her four-under 212 was a Valley Championship record.
• During the course of the season, Lemek shot the lowest 54-hole total in school history (212) twice and her 66 in the final round at the Plantation Inn Intercollegiate is the lowest individual round at Bradley.
• Lemek had a school record nine top-10 finishes, placing among the top 10 in nine of 10 outings and also matched a school record with three medalist titles.
• The only player in school history to have 25 or more sub-80 rounds in two different seasons, she enters her junior season with a school record six career medalist honors and is tied for second with 16 career top-10 showings.
Youth Movement
• Bradley had no seniors on the roster in 2013-14. Allison Walsh was second on the squad with a 78.43 stroke average and became just the ninth individual in school history to have a season with 20 or more rounds in the 70's or better. In addition, she was the fifth underclassmen in Bradley history with 20 or more sub-80 rounds in a season.
• Walsh was an honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete as a sophomore in 2013-14.
• Bradley's top three individuals in stroke average from 2013-14 will all be juniors in 2014-15.
Looking Ahead to 2014-15
• The Braves return four of five letterwinners from last year in 2014-15, including the top four in stroke average.
• In fact, for the second consecutive year Bradley will not have a senior on its roster.
• Swanson will have three freshmen competing for spots in the lineup. Peachtree Corners, Ga., native Grace Henderson won an individual state championship as a senior and had two top-four state finishes during her prep career. Ally Scaccia was an all-state performer at Prospect High School and the Arlington Heights, Ill., native helped her school to state titles as a senior and sophomore. Abby Wellens of Cincinnati, Ohio, was a 10-time medalist as a senior, including a state sectional individual title.
