October 7, 2008
Contact: Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevich@concentric.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline: (262) 551-5388
World Wide Web: www.carthage.edu
Women’s Golf Finishes Fifth at CCIW Championship;
2008 CCIW Championship: The Carthage College women’s golf team (53-43) finished fifth at the Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Women’s Golf Championship at the Springbrook Golf Course in Naperville, Ill. Illinois Wesleyan University won its seventh CCIW title, all in a row, with a 318-331-649 team, 32 strokes ahead of second-place Wheaton College (Ill.) at 343-338-681. North Central College was third at 345-353-698, followed by Augustana College (Ill.) fourth at 354-345-699, Carthage fifth at 358-352-710, Elmhurst College sixth at 370-342-712, Millikin University seventh at 360-356-716 and North Park University eighth with a 412-408-820 mark.
2008 NCAA Championship: Illinois Wesleyan University, the winner of the 2007-08 CCIW Women’s Golf Championship, finished fourth at the 2008 NCAA Division III Women’s Golf Championship at the Centennial Oaks Golf Club in Waverly, Iowa. Methodist University won the championship with a 1,219 team score, 39 strokes ahead of second-place DePauw University at 1,358. Southwestern University was third at 1,263 with Illinois Wesleyan fourth at 1,271, the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) fifth at 1325 and Illinois Wesleyan sixth at 1335. The 2006-07 season marked the first year for automatic league qualifiers to the championship. Thirteen league champions earned automatic berths, and those 13 teams were joined by five additional teams from either Pool A or Pool B. The NCAA berth was the fourth-straight for the Titans and their sixth overall. Illinois Wesleyan finished sixth at both the 2006 and 2007 championships.
The Coach: Greg Genz is in his third year as head golf coach in 2008-09 (159-155-2, 3 years). A native of Moline, Ill., who now resides in Fox Lake, Ill., Genz attended the College of DuPage for two years before transferring to Penn State University, where he received a bachelor’s in agronomy in 1971. Genz played on the professional “minitour” for 18 years and has been an instructor at both the Golf Digest and John Jacobs golf schools. He has served as the golf professional at several courses, including the Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu, Hawaii and the Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook, Ill. Genz is currently a certified PGA instructor and a teaching professional at the at the Libertyville Golf Learning Center in Libertyville, Ill.
The Conference: The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, in its 62nd year in 2007-08, began sponsorship of women's golf as a championship sport in 1996, and Carthage won the inaugural title. The Lady Reds also won the 1997, 1998 and 1999 titles before Millikin ended the string by winning both the 2000 and 2001 titles. Illinois Wesleyan University won seven-consecutive championships between 2002 and 2008.
2008 CCIW Championship Notes: Illinois Wesleyan’s Lindsey Haines took medalist honors at the 2008 CCIW Women’s Golf Championship with a 76-83-159, winning s sudden-death playoff over Brittany Bronson from Wheaton (Ill.), who was second with a 77-82-159. Carthage’s Sarah Joers (Fr., Waukesha, Wis./West, team-leading 82.3 season average) earned All-CCIW honors with an eighth-place finish and a score of 92-78-170. Amy Binstein (So., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South, 88.3) tied for 14th at 84-90-174, Heidi Hoffman (So., Appleton, Wis./North, 93.6) tied for 29th at 95-89-184, Brooke Mix (Fr., Westfield, Ind., 91.7) tied for 33rd at 92-95-187, Katie Ramirez (So., Darien, Ill./Hinsdale-South, 88.0) finished 35th at 90-98-188, and Aubrie Morano (Fr., North Prairie, Wis./Wales-Kettle Moraine, 94.4) tied for 38th place with a 104-95-199.
The Record Book: Carthage’s Sarah Joers (Fr., Waukesha, Wis./West) made a run on the record book in 2008. Her round of 76 on the second day of the Sept. 20-21 Illinois Wesleyan “Fall Classic” tied Whitney Shartle’s 2004 Carthage record for the best all-time round. Joers’ two-day score of 156 at the Sept. 27-28 Millikin “Red Tail Run Invitational” set a Carthage record for a two-day tournament score, and her season average of 82.33 broke Shartle’s 2005 mark of 83.90.