Stephanie Morton runs away with individual title and leads Illinois Wesleyan to second consecutive College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin women's golf title; Kathy Niepagen named "Coach of the Year" for second straight time

DAVENPORT, Iowa – It was a clean sweep for the Illinois Wesleyan Titans at the 2003 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin women’s golf tournament, which was held on October 3-4 at Emeis Golf Course in Davenport, Iowa. The Titans won individual, team and "Coach of the Year" honors in the two day event that was hosted by Augustana College.

Stephanie Morton shot a 36 hole score of 152, including a first day round of even par 74 to win the individual title by seven strokes over Sylvia Groth of Wheaton. Morton went 74 and 78 while Groth carded rounds of 80 and 79. Illinois Wesleyan recorded a team score of 658 (337-321) to set a new conference record for low round. The Titans broke the old team record of 673 set by Millikin in 2001 at the Pontiac Elks Club. Morton’s 152 tied former teammate Gail Nelson for lowest two day total.

Illinois Wesleyan had five finishers in the top 15 with Ashley Higginson taking third with a 163 (86-77), Alison Mayer placing ninth at 173 (92-81), Paige Lewis ending up tied for 12th with a score of 175 (90-85) and Andrea Johanns placing tied for 14th at 177 (87-90).

Carthage, which won the first four CCIW team titles from 1996 through 1999, was a distant second to the Titans. The Lady Reds shot 695 (347-348) while Wheaton was third at 702 (343-359) and Augustana took fourth with a 707 (354-353). North Central was fifth with a 746 (380-366) and Elmhurst placed sixth at 769 (378-391). North Park did not field a full team and Millikin was disqualified when its fourth player, Lydia Lindemann, recorded a wrong score on her scorecard. The Big Blue went into the tournament with just four players and Lindemann’s disqualification left her team without enough scores to count in the team standings.

Millikin’s Diane Imburgia, the 2001 individual CCIW winner, was fourth with a 165 (84-81) and teammate Erin O’Neill was right behind her in fifth with a 166 (84-82). Next came the Augustana duo of Megan Grevas and Josefin Holmberg with Grevas shooting 167 (81-86) for sixth and Holmberg taking seventh with a 170 (84-86). Whitney Shartle of Carthage was eighth at 172 (86-86) followed by Mayer’s 173 (92-81) in ninth. North Central’s Lindsey Noble and Karen Calabrese shared 10th place with identical scores of 174. Noble went 91-83 and Calabrese 90-84.

For the second consecutive year Illinois Wesleyan’s Kathy Niepagen was selected as the CCIW’s "Coach of the Year".

2003 CCIW TOURNAMENT

October 3-4 @ Emeis Golf Course in Davenport, Iowa

** - Illinois Wesleyan's two day total of 658 establishes new CCIW record, breaking the old mark of 673 set by Millikin in 2001 at the Pontiac Elks Club.

** - Stephanie Morton's two day score of 152 ties the CCIW record set in 2002 by Gail Nelson of Illinois Wesleyan.