Missouri State

MVC Championship Central

The Missouri State women's golf team is off to Newton, Kan. this weekend in search of its second straight Missouri Valley Conference title. The league's 10 schools will begin tournament play Sunday (Apr. 15) at Sand Creek Station Golf Club and conclude on Tuesday. Teams will play 18 holes each day with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to NCAA Regionals. MSU ran away with the team title a year ago in historic fashion, topping the field by 20 strokes for the largest margin of victory in the tournament in over 20 years. 

The Bears have been picked to finished second this year by league coaches in the pre-tournament poll released Friday (Apr. 13). Bradley tallied 93 total points and five first-place votes in the coaches' voting, with the Bears just behind with 88 points and four first-place votes. Northern Iowa is the choice for third with the remaining first-place vote and 79 points. Southern Illinois was fourth in the voting with 73 points, followed by Loyola (53), Illinois State (50), Indiana State (49), Drake (32), Valparaiso (17) and Evansville (16).

Changes have already been made to the tournament schedule due to adverse weather conditions expected Sunday and Monday. Sunday's action is now scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start and Monday's tee times have been moved back two hours to 10:30 a.m. off no. 1 and no. 10 tees. Final-round play on Tuesday is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., again off no. 1 and no. 10 tees.

Missouri State is led by seniors Verena Gimmy and Stine Pettersen, who rank 1-2 in the league in scoring average with 75.19 and 75.44 marks, respectively. Gimmy is a three-time all-conference performer who was runnerup at last year's championship and has won two tournaments this season, at Oral Roberts and Little Rock. Pettersen is a two-time all-conference honoree who missed much of last season due to injury and has been slowed this year, but is the school recordholder for best 18- and 54-hole scores and entered this season as the school's leader in career scoring average.

Junior Rachel Johnson sports a 76.59 scoring mark and is 10th in scoring in the conference and third in its head-to-head rankings. Junior Ashley Childers has compiled a 78.22 scoring average, which ranks her 25th in the conference. Freshman Bridget Schulte will round out the Bears' lineup, averaging 82.33 in nine tournament rounds this season.

MSU is chasing its fourth MVC title, having previously won in 2001 and 2012 before last year's wire-to-wire win.