PALM DESERT, Calif. - The time has finally come. After qualifying for the NCAA Division III Women's Golf National Championship by winning the UMAC Championship in October, the University of Northwestern will finally tee it up in the event Tuesday morning at Desert Willow Golf Resort. All 34 teams in the field will play Tuesday and Wednesday, with a cut-down to 15 teams occurring after Wednesday's round. The top 15 teams and top six individuals not on the 15 qualifying teams, will then play Thursday and Friday to determine the team and individual national champions.

Northwestern is ranked 27th out of the 34 teams, the highest ranking in program's four trips to the National Championship, which have all occurred in the last five years. The Eagles qualified by shooting a score of +122 in the three-day UMAC Championship at Pebble Creek Golf Club, winning by 57 strokes to claim the conference's automatic bid. UNW went 1-2-3 at the top of the individual leaderboard as well, with Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) winning medalist honors for the first time in her career with a three-day total of +23, freshman Bri Brandt (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) taking silver at +27, and two-time UMAC medalist Morgan Eckman (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) finishing in third with a score of +30. Freshman Brielle Lenz (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) also played well, finishing in eighth place.

While the Eagles have only been able to play in two tournaments this spring due to some untimely weather, they bring a winning pedigree with them. In 11 varsity events this season, Northwestern won six of them as a team and had nine individual winners. Johnson and Eckman each won four events, while Brandt won the most recent one, the MLC Spring Invite. Eckman, who finished just four strokes shy of the individual cut line in last year's NCAA Championship, leads the team in season scoring average at 78.3, which is also below the current program record she holds from last season. Johnson, the other name joining Eckman atop the record books in every category, is just behind her classmate at 80.2. The top-10 low rounds in program history all belong to Eckman and Johnson, and they share the top spot with matching 72's this season. Brandt joined the pair of talented juniors this season and has held her own to provide some key depth, averaging 81.1 strokes with a low of 74. Brielle Lenz (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) has also provided some good depth in the lineup as a rookie with an average of 86.3 and a low of 78. Ellie Rolland (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) has claimed the fifth and final spot in the lineup for this week after a strong spring season, despite not being in the starting five for most of the fall. The sophomore was in last year's NCAA Championship lineup and boasts a season average of 86.7 in 10 events this season, including a low of 78.

Rolland will get things started for UNW with the first tee time of the day on Tuesday, starting on the 10th hole of Desert Willow's Firecliff Course at 7:00 AM PT (9:00 AM CT). The Eagles will play the Mountain View Course on Tuesday, once again among the first groups off with Rolland teeing it up at 7:45 AM local time (9:45 CT). Live scoring and full championship information can be found on the Women's Golf schedule page on unweagles.com. Stay tuned to the website and follow @unweagles on social media for live updates from Palm Desert all week.