Florence, Indiana- The University of Findlay women's golf team secured its seventh straight Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship in program history, defeating the Tiffin Dragons in the medal match play finale on Saturday, April 26 by a score of 3-2. Medal match play sends the teams out with head-to-head pairings, pitting one player from Findlay against one player from Tiffin. Every stroke counts, meaning the player with the lowest score wins her match.
Leading things off for the Oilers was freshman Ellie Yeazell, who faced off against Tiffin's standout, Lisa Marie Schumacher. In a tightly contested match, Yeazell trailed by one heading to the 18th hole. A huge drive left her with an iron into the par five, setting up a chance at eagle. Meanwhile, Schumacher came up short of the green and couldn't save par, opening the door for Yeazell. Although her eagle putt just missed, Yeazell tapped in for birdie to flip the match and secure the Oilers' first point. Yeazell went on to card a 72 (+1), edging out Schumacher, who finished with a 73 (+2).
Sophomore Ashleigh Duflo held the lead for most of her match, but Tiffin's Primross Chikwaya turned the tide with a birdie on 14 to even things up. Back-to-back setbacks for Duflo, a bogey on 15 followed by a double on 16, put her behind, allowing Chikwaya to claim Tiffin's first point and level the overall match at 1-1. Duflo finished with a 75 (+4), while Chikwaya posted a 73 (+2).
Junior Hayley Dye cruised past Tiffin's Laura Goetz, earning a commanding five-stroke victory. Dye carded a 77 (+6), while Goetz finished with an 82 (+11), giving Findlay a 2-1 advantage and putting them just one point away from clinching the championship.
Following a standout showing in stroke play, senior Mary Kelly Mulcahy, ranked 3rd in the nation, went head-to-head with Tiffin's Abby Thompson, who came in ranked 315th. The two traded blows in a tightly contested match, but the momentum took a dramatic turn when Thompson aced the par-three 12th. From there, she built a one-stroke lead by the 17th and held on to complete one of the tournament's biggest upsets. Mulcahy posted an impressive 72 (+1), but it wasn't enough to top Thompson's season-low round, as the Tiffin underdog pulled off the shocker to tie the championship at 2-2.
In a familiar scenario, the championship came down to senior Erin Mulcahy, who squared off against Tiffin's Jeanne Dolle. After the front nine ended in a tie, Mulcahy took control on the back nine, winning the 10th hole to grab a lead she wouldn't relinquish. Her biggest advantage came on the 17th, where a birdie stretched her lead to two strokes heading into the final hole. The two players halved the 18th with pars, securing a 3-2 victory for Findlay. Mulcahy finished with a 76 (+5), while Dolle recorded a 78 (+7).
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This win is Findlay's seventh consecutive Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship and eighth 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 eight years.
The Oilers will begin preparation for the NCAA Division II East Regional which will be held May 5-7. They will travel to Allendale, Mich. in hopes to continue their journey to the 2025 NCAA Division II National Championship.
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