Two weeks ago at the 2016 Whitworth Invitational, the Whitman women’s golf team dominated their NWC competition, earning themselves the No.2 spot in the nation within Division III varsity golf.

Heading into the tournament, Whitman sat at a No. 8 standing, which was quickly altered with the stellar performances of all team members, including that of sophomore Shiyang Fan, who recieved an individual medal for her weekend statistics. Additionally, Fan was nominated as last week’s Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week, a well deserved title.

When asked about the team’s accomplishment, Senior captain, Lou Points was especially vocal about her excitement post competition, stating, “it’s such an honor to be a part of this #2 ranked team. I’ve never been more proud of a group of women.”

Continuing on, Points mentioned the new team dynamic and projected expectations of future success, stating, “the team is very young and I think that has brought so much energy to our dynamic, which makes each of us work harder and push each other through every practice and every tournament.”

This year’s squad has grown by three with the addition of first years Ally Collier, Kacey Godwin, and Hannah Roh all hailing from Washington and Colorado. “[The] first years add such a fun aspect to the team,” Points went on to say. “They keep me and [fellow captain] Phoebe on our toes and since we know they look up to us…in every aspect of college, we work that much harder [to] set an example for them to follow. I really wish I could be here throughout their college career to watch them grow because I know they will do great things on and off the course!”

Further proving their significance to the team, Roh and Godwin placed thirteenth and sixth at the NWC Willamette Classic earlier in the season, according to the Whitman athletics tournament report. Resident Whitman athletics sports communication director, Gregg Petcoff covered the Classic, stating, “the Fall Classic is the first of the league’s three ‘majors’ that determine the NWC champion in the spring. Whitman [overall] placed four golfers in the top 10 of the final standings and combined with Fox to populate nine of the initial 11 spots on that final leaderboard.”

Leading up to the Withworth Invitational, Golfstat.com released Whitman’s standing as No.7 in the nation “after capturing  their season-opening tournament (Lutes Invitational), [and] earning the runner-up spot in both the Culturame Classic and Northwest Conference Fall Classic.”  

Though the success of the 2016 women’s golf team is expected, there is no doubt that being ranked second in the nation, winning individual awards, and the prospect of a continued bright future are all worthy of proper celebration.

“I feel especially grateful to be [a] captain because I get to lead each of these women not only in golf but everything else in their [lives],” Points mentioned when asked about any final thoughts on her team’s accomplishments thus far.

“That has made me so much closer with them and my experience this season has been the best,” noted Points.

Under the strong leadership of Lou and Phoebe, Whitman women’s golf can only improve from here. Be sure sure to catch this group of amazing young women in the spring as they take on the second half of the 2016-2017 season.