The UW-Stout women’s golf team’s victory this month at the conference championship, where they triumphed by a near-record margin, isn’t the culmination of a season: It’s a sign of things to come for a young, focused and talented Blue Devils team.
Sophomore Julia Imai and junior Brin Neumann placed first and second individually at the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference Championship Oct. 3-5 in Reedsburg, topping the leaderboard and driving the Blue Devils to a 48-stroke victory over runner-up UW-Whitewater, the eight-time defending champions. It was the fourth conference title for the Blue Devils, who last won the WIAC crown in 2016, as well as Imai’s second individual championship.
It was also the second consecutive season that Head Coach Sophia Connett was named WIAC Coach of the Year. At this year’s WIAC tournament the Blue Devils managed their emotions — and their play — better than they had the previous year, when they came within nine strokes of the title, Connett said.
“This year we made it our main focus to address our fears and nerves and just go in with the killer mindset, which I’d say was exemplified by our margin,” Connett said, noting the team took a 19-stroke lead on the first day of this year’s championship and didn’t look back.
“After day one we had a chat with the girls about staying focused and keeping the same mindset even though we were winning by that much,” Connett continued. “We just wanted to go and do the exact same thing again, and we did.”
Because of the split nature of the college golf season, the Conference Championship wasn’t the end of the road for this year’s Blue Devil golfers: Barely a week later they finished XX out of 24 teams at the Golfweek October Classic in Sandestin, Florida. The team will now take a break until spring, when they will begin the second half of the 2025-26 season, culminating in a trip to the NCAA Championship May 19-22 in Palm Desert, California.
“Having nationals in May makes the spring season a little bit more focused and a little bit more competitive, which I would say is exciting for all of us,” Connett said.
‘Championship mentality’ lauded
“We are incredibly proud of our women’s golf team for winning the WIAC Championship,” said Erin Sullivan, the university’s director of Athletics and Recreation. “Their unwavering focus and championship mentality were evident throughout the tournament. This marks our first championship of the academic year, and it sets a strong tone for the months ahead. We look forward to supporting the team as they prepare for the national championship in May. They continue to represent UW-Stout and Stout Athletics with excellence and pride.”
The championship is also the latest in a string of success for UW-Stout’s women’s teams, including the basketball team’s trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four last spring and the flag football team’s victory in the first-ever Midwest College Women’s Flag Football League Championship.
Fit to a tee: New Pat Kell Golf Center perfect match for Blue Devil teams, golf management majors
Continue ReadingAndrew Delong, the university’s director of golf, said the women’s golf program has been building toward a WIAC championship over the past few seasons. “To fight for a goal and finally see it accomplished is tremendously rewarding,” Delong said. “Achievements like this take a whole community. While our student athletes played exceptionally and deserve the spotlight, the contributions of so many others in and around Menomonie cannot be overlooked.”
In particular, Delong credited Tanglewood Greens, a Menomonie golf course, for providing access to help players develop their skills, as well as the flexibility that UW-Stout instructors give to student athletes during the season. Donors are also critical to the program’s success, Delong said.
“The Pat Kell Golf Center, our indoor facility made possible by Mike Kell and his family, has given our players an incredible space to train over the winter months,” he added. “Finally, the support and pride demonstrated by Chancellor Katherine Frank and our upper administration is contagious and our golfers carry it out on the course.”
Competing at a high level
Imai and Neumann — who finished with three-round scores of 230 and 233 respectively — were part of a strong UW-Stout squad at the WIAC Championship, where all five players ended in the top nine, including junior Ashleigh Johnson and senior Hallie Tulip, who tied for fifth at 239, and freshman Sarah Chaffee, who placed ninth with a score of 242.
In just her third season as head coach, Connett said she has been able to form a team with strong bonds on and off the course. “Pretty quickly we got a bunch of girls that I would say all share the same mindset,” she explained. “They all want to work hard. They all want to get better. They all want to compete at a high level.”
And they certainly have competed at a high level. Consider Imai, who was chosen as WIAC Golfer of the Year and WIAC Newcomer of the Year last season as a freshman.
“I’ve always felt that if I do good for myself it’s good for the team,” said Imai, a food science major from Brookline, Massachusetts. “What’s best for me is best for the team.”
Reflecting on last year’s second-place WIAC finish, Imai added: “Knowing where we were last year, being so close as a team, and then just to be able to actually compete all three days and take home the win, that was very fulfilling for us.”
Neumann added that competing at the WIAC Championship was different from taking part in other tournaments. “When you go to conference and you’re representing Stout, you’re playing for the entire school,” said Neumann, a professional and technical communication major from Warrens. “It’s such a big privilege that out of the whole university population, we get to go out and do that.”
And representing UW-Stout in an overwhelming victory was particularly satisfying, Neumann added. “People asked me, ‘Oh, wouldn’t you want a closer finish?’ And I said, ‘Heck no,’” she laughed.
