Owensboro, Ky.- The University of Findlay women's golf team secured its sixth straight Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship in program history, defeating the Ashland Eagles in the medal match play final on Saturday, April 27 by a score of 4-1. Medal match play sends the teams out with head-to-head pairings, pitting one player from Findlay against one player from Ashland. Every stroke counts, meaning the player with the lowest score wins her match.

First off for the Oilers was sophomore Hayley Dye who took on Ashland's Riley McKenzie. Despite bringing her match to within one on the 16th hole she ultimately fell by six strokes. Dye recorded a 78 (+6) while her counterpart recorded a 72 (E).

Junior Erin Mulcahy put the first point on the board for the Oilers. She won by eight strokes over Ashland's Emma Conway. E. Mulcahy recorded a 73 (+1) while Conway carded an 81 (+9). "We knew that if we just did what we were supposed to do it was going to be enough so we had to play our game and not worry about anyone else," said E. Mulcahy.

Freshman Ashleigh Duflo, making her first appearance in the Great Midwest Championship, won her match by six strokes over Ashland's Grace Grant. Duflo recorded a 73 (+1) while Grant shot a 79 (+7). With Duflo's win the Oilers took a 2-1 lead.

The Great Midwest medalist, Mary Kelly Mulcahy clinched the win for UF. The junior faced Ashland's Klaira Paramore. M.K. Mulcahy recorded a 75 (+3) to take a four stroke win over Paramore who shot a 79 (+7). 

Senior Gabby Woods recorded the only under-par round of the day, recording a 70 (-2) to defeat Ashland's LeeAnn Harker by nine. Harker recorded a 79 (+7). 
 

#1 Findlay vs. #2 Ashland
#1 Findlay		Team Score		#2 Ashland
Hayley Dye	78	Match #1	72	Riley McKenzie
Erin Mulcahy	73	Match #2	81	Emma Conway
Ashleigh Duflo	73	Match #3	79	Grace Grant
Mary Kelly Mulcahy	75	Match #4	79	Klaira Paramore
Gabby Woods	70	Match #5	79	Amari Smith

This win is Findlay's sixth consecutive Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship and seventh consecutive conference championship to date back to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The Oilers also have held the individual conference titles for the past seven years.

Quote from Head Coach Dominic Guarnieri
It always feels good to win a conference championship. I told the girls last night, you can't take medal-match play for granted, anything can happen. I told them to treat it like any other round of golf. They played really good today, our four low scores were 291 (+3) so I was really pleased with the way they played. 

The first time we won the conference we were in the GLIAC and we had never won a conference championship in women's golf. The first time we won, [the conference] I would say we were underdogs and since we've been in the G-MAC we have probably been the favorites every year. I think that first year really got us over the hump and since then we have just kept building and building. So much of it is what the players in the past have brought to this program that has made us better. 

Going into regionals- we will prepare the same way we do for any other tournament. That is one thing that keeps their mindset right, just because we are familiar with it [Prairie View Golf Course] doesn't mean we can get complacent. 

The Oilers will begin preparation for the NCAA Division II East Regional which will be held May 6-8. They will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. in hopes to continue their journey to the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship.