BECKER, Minn. – The (RV) University of Northwestern Women's Golf team is on a mission to win its third-consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship, and its fourth in five years this week at Pebble Creek Golf Club. UNW comes in as the heavy favorite, having won five events this season, including its last three, and has yet to lose to a UMAC foe. While the weather in Becker may be starkly warmer than previous years, the conditions will be equally as tough, making the tournament more of a survival mission than anything. You can follow along with live scoring all weekend here.
 
Day One
 
The course difficulty lived up to expectations, as only one player in the field shot in the 70's. That player was Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool), who used a steady approach to fire a 77 (+5) to take a five-stroke lead. The junior nearly parred the entire front nine (her second nine) until a bogey on the last hole. As a team, the Eagles hold an 11-shot advantage over UW-Superior at 335 (+47). Freshman Bri Brandt (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) finds herself tied for second place after day one, using birdies on her first and last holes of the day to card an 83 (+11). Morgan Eckman (Jordan, Minn./Jordan), the two-time defending medalist in the event, is tied for fourth place after turning in an 85 (+12). Just behind the junior is freshman Brielle Lenz (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield), who is tied for sixth with a score of 89 (+17), while Sondra Albrecht (Ham Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) is tied for 10^th at 91 (+19).
 
UNW will once again be in the final grouping of tee times for Friday's second round, beginning at 12:12 PM.
 
Day Two
 
The second round brought more success for the Northwestern Women, who extended their lead to 29 strokes over second-place UW-Superior after shooting 327 (+39) as a team. Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) remains the individual leader by eight strokes at +13 after a second-round 79 (+7), and Bri Brandt (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) is in solo second at +21 after an 82 (+10) on Friday. Morgan Eckman (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) is tied for third place entering Saturday at +24 after carding an 83 (+11) on day two, while Sondra Albrecht's (Ham Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) 83 vaulted her up to eighth place at +30 for the tournament. Brielle Lenz (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) turned in an 88 (+16) to bring her total score to +33 and place her in 10^th.
 
The Eagles will look to complete the three-peat in Saturday's final round of the championship, beginning at 12:04 PM at Pebble Creek.
 
Day Three
 
There wasn't much doubt as to who would win the team crown entering Saturday, and Northwestern made sure there was no drama in the team race, winning by 57 strokes with a UMAC Championship record score of 324 (+122) after a final-round 324 (+36). It is UNW's third-consecutive conference title and its fourth in five years. There was drama aplenty in the medalist competition; however, and it only involved Eagles.
 
The women started on the back nine on Saturday and freshman Bri Brandt (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) took advantage, making three birdies to make the turn at -2 and surge in front of Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) for the lead, who struggled in her opening nine. Two-time defending medalist Morgan Eckman (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) made back-to-back birdies in an effort to claw back into the race, but it was Johnson who turned it on down the stretch and never looked back. The junior, who was the 18 and 36-hole leader, caught fire on the front nine, making three birdies, including consecutive ones on holes four and five. Her even-par 36 on the closing nine holes was enough to give her a four-shot win over Brandt, with the exclamation point coming on the final hole, where she stuck a fairway bunker shot to eight feet and buried the birdie putt to finish her day at 82 (+10). Johnson's three-round tally of 239 (+23) is a new UMAC Women's Golf Championship record.
 
The Eagles finished 1-2-3 in the medalist competition, as Brandt took second place in her UMAC Championship debut with a final score of +27 following Saturday's 78 (+6), while Eckman matched her 78 and three birdies to take third place at +30. Brielle Lenz (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) turned in an 86 with one birdie to finish at +47 and in eighth place, and Sondra Albrecht's (Ham Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) +49 following a final-round 91 was good for 11^th.
 
Another conference championship means another automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Golf National Championship. This will mark the fourth time the Eagles have qualified for the event (all since 2022). This year's tournament will be held at Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California. Northwestern will be playing in another national tournament this fall as its next appearance will be at the NCCAA National Championship after UNW was announced as the lone at-large selection for the event. The NCCAA tournament will begin October 20^th at Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Florida.