CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Entering just the third year of the program, the Christopher Newport women's golf team has hauled in the highest national ranking in its young history as the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) released its preseason coaches poll last week. The Captains will start the 2019-20 campaign ranked No. 18 in Division III.
The Christopher Newport women's golf team started play in 2017-18 and quickly vaulted into the nation's elite with the team's first national ranking last season. The Captains finished the season ranked a program-best No. 21 according to the WGCA poll.
This season, Christopher Newport starts the year with 97 points in the preseason poll, good for 18th nationally. NYU is the preseason favorite with 342 points and 10 first-place votes while Williams (334 points), Methodist (315 points), and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (310 points) round out the top five.
Playing under head coach
Jamie Coleman in its third year, Christopher Newport won two events and finished in the top-ten of all eight tournaments played in 2018-19. Led by All-American and two-time Conference Player of the Year
Erica Whitehouse, the Captains earned wins at the Bridgewater Fall Invitational and the Max & Susan Stith Invitational. The team also finished second in the Capital Athletic Conference Championship while Whitehouse captured individual medalist honors.
Whitehouse would make history by qualifying as an individual for the NCAA Division III National Championship and finished among the top ten in the postseason event as a sophomore. She finished the year with three tournament wins and a team-best 76.3 stroke average. Rookie
Shreya Ganta was second on the squad with a 80.4 average while sophomore
Katie Thome had a solid follow-up to her strong freshman campaign with an 81.1 average.
All five starters return for the third-year program. The fall season will kick off next weekend as the Captains travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. for the NCAA D3 Championship Preview tournament on the Palmer Course at PGA National.
DIVISION III WGCA COACHES POLL
| Rank |
University (First Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
New York University (10) |
342 |
| 2 |
Williams College (3) |
334 |
| 3 |
Methodist University |
315 |
| 4 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1) |
310 |
| 5 |
George Fox University |
280 |
| 6 |
DePauw University |
252 |
| 7 |
Rhodes College |
239 |
| 8 |
Carleton College |
235 |
| 9 |
Washington University in St. Louis |
224 |
| 10 |
Carnegie Mellon University |
221 |
| 11 |
University of Redlands |
214 |
| 12 |
Pomona/Pitzer |
191 |
| 13 |
Amherst College |
170 |
| 14 |
Grinnell College |
164 |
| 15 |
Washington and Lee University |
159 |
| 16 |
Berry College |
152 |
| 17 |
Oglethorpe University |
105 |
| 18 |
Christopher Newport University |
97 |
| 19 |
Chapman University |
88 |
| 20 |
Huntingdon College |
81 |
| 21 |
Illinois Wesleyan University |
69 |
| 22 |
Whittier College |
50 |
| 23 |
Gustavus Adolphus College |
42 |
| 24 |
Sewanee: The University of the South |
39 |
| 25 |
Wittenberg University |
33 |
| |
|
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| Others Receiving Votes: University of Wisconsin, Whitewater (24); Emory University (20); Saint Mary's College (IN) (18); University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (14); University of Wisconsin-Stout (13); Middlebury College (12); Transylvania University (9); California Lutheran University (8); Centre College (6); Whitman College (5); Occidental College (4); University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (4); College of Saint Benedict (3); Birmingham Southern College (2); St. Catherine University (2) |
