NAPERVILLE — The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women’s golf season continued last weekend as teams competed at events in Illinois, Indiana and elsewhere in the Midwest. 

From an individual title in Bloomington to a team championship at French Lick, conference programs continued to add results against large fields and difficult conditions.

Fagan Leads Titans at Spring Fling
Grace Fagan of Illinois Wesleyan turned in one of the conference’s top individual performances of the weekend at the Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling. Fagan opened the event with a career-best four-under-par 68, becoming just the sixth player in program history to record a sub-70 round. Her first-round score included six birdies and gave her a three-stroke lead entering the final round. 
 
She followed with a 79 on Sunday in windy conditions and secured the first tournament title of her collegiate career via scorecard tiebreaker, with her play over the final six holes proving decisive.
 
Firebirds Win Team Title at French Lick
Carthage claimed the team championship at the French Lick Springs Women’s Golf Classic after posting rounds of 347 and 352 for a 36-hole total of 699. 
 
Lexi Manteufel led the Firebirds with a runner-up finish on rounds of 83 and 81 for a 164 total. Ro Longden placed sixth, Emily Tralewski finished seventh, Madeline Midgett took eighth and Mae Norman placed 11th. Tralewski’s weekend included a chip-in birdie in the opening round and a hole-out from 117 yards on the Pete Dye Course.
 
Titans Place Third on Home Course
Illinois Wesleyan finished third in the 21-team field at its home event, the Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling, with a two-round total of 615. The Titans posted the lowest round of the tournament on Sunday with a 306 and finished one stroke behind runner-up UW-Stout and eight strokes behind champion WashU. 
 
Along with Fagan’s medalist showing, Emily Gastrau tied for seventh with a 151 after carding a second-round 74. Nora Cerroni tied for 25th at 158, while Gigi Zera tied for 28th at 159.
 
North Central Uses Depth for Top-10 Finish
North Central finished 10th at the Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling with a team score of 653, marking the program’s second-best 36-hole total of the season. All five scoring players finished within five strokes of each other. Mallorie Clifton led the team on Saturday with a 77 that included an eagle on the seventh hole. 
 
Caterina Calabria recorded North Central’s best Sunday score with a 79 and posted a 38 on the front nine, matching Clifton’s back-nine 38 from the opening round for the team’s best nine-hole score of the weekend. Madison Place (164), Anna Meinhart (165) and Aleksa Gizewicz (168) also contributed to the Cardinals’ finish against a field that included several nationally ranked teams.
 
Augustana and Millikin Compete in Bloomington
Augustana and Millikin each competed in Bloomington and contended with windy conditions at Ironwood Golf Course. The Vikings finished 16th with a team total of 678. Riley Kinsella and Sarah Bond shared team honors by tying for 58th place with matching 168s, while Kinsella opened the tournament in 32nd after a first-round 79. 
 
Millikin placed 18th at 689, led by Ava Hackman, who tied for 39th after rounds of 78 and 84. Ruby Haegen (173), Madelyn Beck (176) and Zoey Beard (178) also scored for the Big Blue.
 
National Rankings and Weekly Honors Take Shape
The latest Division III player rankings include several CCIW golfers. Illinois Wesleyan’s Gigi Zera is ranked No. 75, followed by Nora Cerroni at No. 104 and Emily Gastrau at No. 119. 
 
Carthage’s Lexi Manteufel is listed at No. 110, while North Central’s Mallorie Clifton is ranked No. 352. Following her win in Bloomington, Fagan, currently ranked No. 147, was named the CCIW Women’s Golf Student-Athlete of the Week on Wednesday.
 
Upcoming Events on the Spring Schedule
Conference competition continues Friday and Saturday at the UW-Whitewater Spring Fling, where Illinois Wesleyan, North Central, Augustana, Carthage and Carroll are scheduled to compete at Riverside Golf Course in Janesville. Elmhurst is set to play in the Lake Forest Invite on Saturday. 
 
Next week, North Park and Wheaton will travel to the Benedictine University Spring Invite on Monday, while Millikin will host the Millikin Spring Shootout on Wednesday.