Wheeling, W.Va. – As the calendar moves to September, the Wheeling University Women’s Golf team gets ready to take the course for the start of the 2022 season. They are prepared to defend their Mountain East Conference (MEC) championship with four of their five top golfers from last season returning to the roster. They were picked #3 in this season’s MEC Preseason Poll and are looking to bring home another MEC Championship in 2022.
The 2021 season was one of the best in school history for the program as not only did they bring home the MEC Championship, but they also made their first appearance as a team in the 2022 NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship in May. Leading up to the MEC Championships, the team played in three different invitationals and got to see many of the team’s they would face during the season. That would end up helping them in the tournament. After day one, the Cardinals led by six strokes and they increased their lead on each of the subsequent days. By the end of the tournament, they had a 16 stroke lead and claimed the program’s third MEC Championship. With the automatic bid to the tournament secured, the team played a four event spring schedule before heading to Kansas City Missouri for the championships. They finished 15th overall at the event, but got good experience against some of the top teams in the region.
Of the five golfers on last season’s team, four return as the Cardinals look to make their way back to the top of the conference. Leading the way is the reigning MEC Women’s Golfer of the Year Emily Holzopfel. She won four tournaments during the 2022 season, including two of the four that the team played in the spring. She had an average score of 75 last season and will once again be a competitor for the top Female Golfer spot in the MEC in 2022. Joining her will be a promising young sophomore in Nicole Lincicome, who was the team’s third best player a year ago. She earned All-MEC Honorable Mention honors in her first season as a collegiate golfer. She lowered her round score throughout the year and was shooting consistently in the mid-80s in the spring.
The other two returners joining the crew are seniors Kylee Tolliver spirit Zoila Herrera. Both girls played crucial parts in the Cardinals success last season. Herrera ended up finishing 11th overall at the 2021 MEC Championship. Tolliver had a strong spring season where she went from a low 90s golfer to a mid-80s swing. She was able to lower her score to the mid-80s and, in her final invitational of the season, she was able to shoot an 85 in the second round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship. Two freshmen join the Women’s Golf ranks with Marra Johnson spirit Ella Keffer joining the team for their first season.
Returning to lead the group is Head Coach Sue Vail, who is in her 18th season leading the program in 2022. She is the reigning MEC Women’s Golf Coach of the Year, winning the award for the first time as a member of the MEC and the fourth time overall in her coaching career. She is excited about this year’s group and has the same expectations for her girls as last season.
The Wheeling University Women’s Golf team opens the 2022 spring season on Sunday, September 4th, when they head to the Vulcan Invitational at Cedar Brook Golf Course in Belle Vernon to open the season.