Northwestern University Athletics
#B1GCats No. 1 In Season's First NCAA Golfstat Rankings
10/16/2015 10:05:00 AM | Women's Golf
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the first Golfstat Women's NCAA Division 1 Rankings of the 2015-16 season, released on Oct. 14. The Wildcats are atop the inaugural ratings used by the NCAA Championship selection committees for all divisions of NCAA Men's and Women's Golf.
Head coach Emily Fletcher's squad leads a national Top-5 that includes No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Georgia.
"It's just an indication of the progress that we've made in our program over the last eight years, this being the first time we've ever secured that spot," said Fletcher, the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year. "More importantly it's indicative of the great play that we've had in the first three events of the year."
But Fletcher's roster has now been to three consecutive NCAA Championships and understands how long the season is for one of the nation's elite programs.
"The thing I love about this group is that every day at practice they're being challenged and, as they say, 'humbled', by how much better we can be individually and collectively. Certainly they know that we're not thinking that it's any sort of a destination but it's an indication of our good play and what we've got ahead of us, a lot of golf."
The Wildcats enter this weekend's Stanford Invitational in the midst of a superlative stretch of play to open the 15-16 campaign. In their last competitive appearance the 'Cats won the Windy City Collegiate Classic at Westmoreland C.C., sharing the crown with Top-5 peers Arizona and Georgia. Northwestern's team score of 852 in the 5-count-4 format at the Windy City marked the second-best 54-hole performance in school history, on the heels of a program record 849 just three weeks ago at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville.
Three different Wildcats have already been honored as Big Ten Golfer of the Week just three events into the season. Sophomore Sarah Cho won the season-opening Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, part of a Top-2 finish for the 'Cats, to earn the recognition. Freshman Stephanie Lau made it back-to-back awards for NU after a record-setting performance at the Mason Rudolph, while junior Kacie Komoto earned the honor after a third-place finish at the Windy City that featured a 5-under 67 in the final round.
After a weekend away, Northwestern heads west to the Stanford Intercollegiate on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Last year's trip to Palo Alto resulted in a program-record 54-hole performance (since broken twice this season) by the Wildcats.
Head coach Emily Fletcher's squad leads a national Top-5 that includes No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 Arizona, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Georgia.
"It's just an indication of the progress that we've made in our program over the last eight years, this being the first time we've ever secured that spot," said Fletcher, the reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year. "More importantly it's indicative of the great play that we've had in the first three events of the year."
But Fletcher's roster has now been to three consecutive NCAA Championships and understands how long the season is for one of the nation's elite programs.
"The thing I love about this group is that every day at practice they're being challenged and, as they say, 'humbled', by how much better we can be individually and collectively. Certainly they know that we're not thinking that it's any sort of a destination but it's an indication of our good play and what we've got ahead of us, a lot of golf."
The Wildcats enter this weekend's Stanford Invitational in the midst of a superlative stretch of play to open the 15-16 campaign. In their last competitive appearance the 'Cats won the Windy City Collegiate Classic at Westmoreland C.C., sharing the crown with Top-5 peers Arizona and Georgia. Northwestern's team score of 852 in the 5-count-4 format at the Windy City marked the second-best 54-hole performance in school history, on the heels of a program record 849 just three weeks ago at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville.
Three different Wildcats have already been honored as Big Ten Golfer of the Week just three events into the season. Sophomore Sarah Cho won the season-opening Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, part of a Top-2 finish for the 'Cats, to earn the recognition. Freshman Stephanie Lau made it back-to-back awards for NU after a record-setting performance at the Mason Rudolph, while junior Kacie Komoto earned the honor after a third-place finish at the Windy City that featured a 5-under 67 in the final round.
After a weekend away, Northwestern heads west to the Stanford Intercollegiate on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Last year's trip to Palo Alto resulted in a program-record 54-hole performance (since broken twice this season) by the Wildcats.
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Players Mentioned
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