Oilers Win G-MAC Championship in Chaotic Fashion | Keep Perfect Season Alive
Lexington, Ky.- Had this been a year ago, the Oilers would have been crowned the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Champions after playing 54-holes of stroke play. However, Tuesday Apr. 19 the G-MAC debuted the medal match play system to determine a champion, which is also used to crown the men's and women's NCAA Division II National Champions. The Oilers were matched up with the Tiffin Dragons for the final 18 holes which led to a dramatic finish, giving the Oilers their fourth straight Great Midwest Championship title.
In Tuesday's final round, Findlay put together a score of 303 (+15) which put them at 901 (+37) for the tournament, by far the best in the field, thirty-nine shots ahead of Tiffin.
Leading the Oilers in Tuesday's final round was senior Kristina Kniesly. Kniesly earned G-MAC Individual Champion after finishing at four-over par with rounds of 73, 75, 72. Kniesly was named the individual champion at the SVSU Spring Invite, Findlay Spring Invitational, and now the 2022 Great Midwest Championship. This gives her five individual titles which ties the record for most individual wins in the NCAA era which was set by former standout Makenzie Torres.
Finishing behind Kniesly was sophomore Gabby Woods. Woods was the runner-up with scores of 72, 75, 74 to finish at five-over par and one shot shy of Kniesly. The Oilers also had the third finisher in freshman Mary Kelly Mulcahy. She shot rounds of 75, 78, 75 to come in at twelve-over par. Freshman Erin Mulcahy finished tied for seventh at 22-over par after rounds of 80, 76, 82. Kniesly, Woods, M. Mulcahy, and E. Mulcahy finished in the top eight to secure all-conference honors. Rounding out the lineup was senior Jill Schmitmeyer. Schmitmeyer finished in eleventh after a tough final round. She carded rounds of 74, 81, 87 to put her at 26-over par.
Moving into the medal match play portion of the event, the Oilers and Dragons were set to square off. The event would be decided by each of the five matchups as players went head-to-head against each other. The winner of a match would be determined by total strokes and the team that wins at least three matches, declared the conference champion.
The match was back and forth throughout as each team held a three-match lead at least once during the round. The first match in was Schmitmeyer who shot 72 (E) and overpowered Tiffin's Michaela Lindahl, winning by eight strokes. This put the first point on the board for the Oilers.
Gabby Woods was the next to finish. Woods shot 77 (+5) to fall to Tiffin's Jordan Van Meter. Van Meter shot her career low 73 (+1).
Kristina Kniesly came in next to win her match against Tiffin's Alexis Savage. Kniesly never trailed in the match after winning the first hole. Kniesly shot a 76 (+4) to take down Savage who shot 79 (+7).
Erin Mulcahy hung tight with Tiffin's veteran Amanda Johansson however ultimately fell after shooting 82 (+10). Johansson shot 75 (+3). This brought the matches to a 2-2 draw.
With the event tied, it was then up to freshman Mary Kelly Mulcahy. The freshman standout trailed the entire match until the 16th hole. M. Mulcahy birdied the par five, 16th while Tiffin's Lisa Marie Schumacher made bogey, swinging the match in Findlay's favor. She then held a one shot lead on Schumacher going into the final two holes. Mulcahy and Schumacher split the 17th to keep Mulcahy ahead by one. On the 18th, Mulcahy's approach shot came up short leaving a chip short of the green from the rough. Meanwhile, Schumacher put her approach on the green to leave herself a lengthy putt for birdie. M. Mulcahy could not get up and down and Schumacher two-putted to leave the match tied.
The Oilers and Dragons finished the medal match play tied. The G-MAC regulations dictate the proper protocol for tie breaking. The first tie breaker used was the total team scores. The five players from Tiffin scores added up to 385, the same as the Oilers five players. The next tiebreaker is the lowest individual score from either team. Jill Schmitmeyer shot a 72 (E) which bested Tiffin's Jordan Van Meter's 73 (+1) to secure the victory for the Oilers.
This win is Findlay's fourth consecutive Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship and fifth consecutive conference championship to date back to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The Oilers also have held the individual conference titles for the past five years. This is the Oilers sixth consecutive win this spring. They have the team titles for the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate, the SVSU Spring Invite, Findlay Spring Invitational, NC4K Classic, the Cav Classic, and now the G-MAC Championship. They also have individual champions in Gabby Woods, Kristina Kniesly, and Mary Kelly Mulcahy respectively.
The Oilers will begin preparation for the NCAA Division II East Regional which will be held May 2-4. They will travel to Kansas City, Mo. to continue their journey to the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship.
