Athenas Head Into SCIAC Championships with 36 Stroke Lead
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's golf team will be in action this weekend at Los Serranos Golf Club in the 2018 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Golf Championships. The Championships take place from Sunday-Tuesday, April 22-24 and will serve as the final three rounds to determine a SCIAC Champion. After the first four rounds of SCIAC play, the Athenas hold a 36 stroke advantage over the rest of the field with Pomona-Pitzer currently sitting in second-place.
CMS and the rest of the conference will tee it up starting on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. when Margaret Loncki starts the Tournament for the Athenas in the first group.
See below for a quick preview of the Tournament:
Current Team Standings
1 - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas - 619-609—1228
2 - Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens - 637-627—1264
3 - Cal Lutheran Regals - 663-654—1317
4 - Chapman Panthers - 676-643—1319
5 - Whittier Poets - 665-659—1324
6 - Redlands Bulldogs - 686-656—1342
7 - Occidental Tigers - 695-671—1366
8 - La Verne Leopards—no team score
Scouting the Field
A quick look at the standings has the Athenas out in front of the pack after winning both the SCIAC #1 and #2 Tournaments by 18 shots each. CMS was followed by Pomona-Pitzer in both of the Tournaments and despite the Athenas winning each event by 18 strokes, the Sagehens played even, or better, than CMS on Day Two in both Tournament.
The Sagehens will serve as the biggest competition for the Athenas this week, but Cal Lutheran, Chapman, and Whittier round out the top five and are all within 100 strokes of the lead.
Athenas Line-Up (Sunday Tee Times)
10:00 a.m. - No. 1 Margaret Loncki
10:10 a.m. - No. 2 Mira Yoo (CMC)
10:20 a.m. - No. 3 Emma Kang (CMC)
10:40 a.m. - No. 4 Kelly Ransom (CMC)
10:50 a.m. - No. 5 Emily Attiyeh (CMC)
11:00 a.m. - No. 6 Camille Simon (HMC)
12:30 a.m. - (Individual) Taylor Hughes (CMC)
Individuals to Watch
As mentioned, the Athenas are currently ranked No. 2 in the country according to GolfStat's team rankings and at the moment CMS has three players ranked in the top-100 players in Division III. Margaret Loncki has spent time as the No. 1 player in the country, but is not currently ranked due to too few rounds played this season. Emma Kang and Mira Yoo hold spots in the top-20 nationally, slotting in at No. 14 and No.19 respectively. Yoo is the only freshman ranked in the top 20 in Division III. Camille Simon is in 76th as an individual and is the only other Athena currently appearing in the individual rankings.
Below are the nine other individuals in the SCIAC currently ranked in the top-100 nationally:
4 - Caroline Ordian (Redlands)
29 - Priscilla Ki (Pomona-Pitzer)
36 - Marissa McCardell (Cal Lutheran)
42 - Gabrielle Herzig (Pomona-Pitzer
61 - Kajal Vitha (Whittier)
69 - Taylor Beckwith (Whittier)
73 - Allison Gaskill (Cal Lutheran)
74 - Samantha Rocha (Occidental)
88 - Marisa Bhanubandh (Chapman)
In SCIAC play this season, Margaret Loncki (CMS) and Caroline Ordian (Redlands) have duked it out on top of the leaderboard. Loncki won the SCIAC #1 with a score of 151 and finished second in SCIAC #2 with a 151 while Ordian was the opposite. Ordian finished SCIAC #1 in second-place, three shots behind Loncki with a 154 before edging her by two in SCIAC #2 with a 149. With Redlands further back in the team standings the two will not be paired together in the opening round, but expect them close on the leaderboard by the end of the week.
In addition to Loncki and Ordian, Marissa McCardell (Cal Lutheran), Emma Kang (CMS), Mira Yoo (CMS), and Gabrielle Herzig (Pomona-Pitzer) are in the field for the Championships and have finished in the top five at one, or both, of the SCIAC Tournaments during the season.
Check CMSathletics.org and the Championships Homepage throughout the week for updated information on the Athenas at the 2018 SCIAC Championships.
