Women’s Golf Set For MVC Championship

Women's Golf 4/16/2021 11:40:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. – After back-to-back fourth-place team finishes, that included consecutive individual medalist titles for senior Taylor Ledwein, Bradley Women's Golf sets its sights on the 2020-21 Missouri Valley Conference Championship which will be held in St. Charles, Mo., Monday and Tuesday.

In search of its first MVC Championship since 2006, the Braves have historically been in contention for the Valley crown with Bradley finishing in the top four in the final standings each of the past four conference championships. In fact, the Braves have placed in the top half at the MVC Championship 17 of the last 19 years.

This year's Valley Championship will be held at the par-71 Bogey Hills Country Club in St. Charles, Mo. The two-day, 54-hole tournament tees off Monday at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start to the opening two rounds, while Tuesday's final round will feature tee times starting at 8 a.m. BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live scoring for all three rounds.

Bradley was picked to finish fifth according to the MVC pre-championship poll released Friday with the Braves garnering 68 points to finish one point back of fourth-place pick Northern Iowa. Missouri State was picked as the favorite with the Bears receiving three first-place votes and a total of 89 points. Southern Illinois also collected three first-place votes and was second at 87, while Illinois State was third with three first-place votes and 78 points.

A four-time All-MVC performer, Ledwein has claimed back-to-back medalist titles and finished in the top two in each of the last three events. She is the highest-rated individual in the MVC in the latest Golfweek.com rankings at #440 nationally and owns a team-best 75.18 stroke average that includes a 73.13 average over her last eight rounds. Ledwein has finished in the top five in two of her three previous MVC Championships, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in 2019.

Megan Welch is coming off a strong showing at the Jan Weaver Invitational, where she tied for 12^th overall at 227. Fourth on the team with a 78.45 stroke average, Welch has four rounds of 75 or better this season to rank second on the squad. She owns a 76.88 stroke average over the last three outings.

Elyse Emerzian is the only other Brave to have played in a Valley Championship, tying for 25^th as a true freshman at the 2019 Championship held in Chesterton, Ind. Second on the team with a 77.25 stroke average, Emerzian has two rounds of 75 or better this season and a pair of top-20 finishes. Her season stroke average is one-and-a-half strokes better than her current career average of 78.75 which ranks 11^th in program history.

Mara Flaherty is the only Brave to play in all 31 rounds over the past two years and has been among the team's top two finishers in two of four outings this year. Flaherty paced Bradley at the season-opening First Coast Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., back in January.

Maddie Hawkins rounds out the lineup for the Braves and is the second-most experienced Bradley player in the field. Hawkins has played 56 career rounds during her time on The Hilltop, but will be playing the MVC Championship for the first time in her career.

Print Friendly Version