COON RAPIDS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's and women's golf teams close out their seasons beginning Saturday, taking part in the 54-hole Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships at Bunker Hills Golf Course.
 
The MIAC Championships Men's Field:
• Saint John's, St. Olaf, St. Thomas, Concordia, Gustavus, Bethel, Carleton, Augsburg, Macalester, Saint Mary's
 
The MIAC Championships Women's Field:
• Gustavus, St. Olaf, Saint Benedict, Carleton, St. Thomas, Saint Mary's, Augsburg, Bethel, Concordia, Macalester, St. Catherine
 
MIAC Championships Live On The Web
• Live Stats: Men * Women | Saint Mary's Video Preview |
Championships Homepage | Men's MIAC Preview | Women's MIAC Preview
 
The MIAC Championships Course:
• Course Website | Directions
 
Cardinal Men At 2015 MIAC Championships:
• Blake Westerberg (Red Wing, Minn.) closed out his final Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championships the same way he started it. In fact, the beginning, middle, and end were eerily similar for the Cardinal senior. Westerberg carded his third straight seven-over-par 79 on Monday for a team-best 237 54-hole total, while leading Saint Mary's to a 10th-place team finish | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap * Day 3 Recap
 
2015 Men's MIAC Championships Recap:
• The 2015 MIAC Championships couldn't have been much closer, as Augsburg held off a furious final-day charge by St. Thomas to win its second conference title in school history by a single shot. Augsburg shot a 292 Saturday and a 298 Monday to take a 10-shot lead into the final day, which evaporated midway through the round as a result of St. Thomas' impressive comeback. However, the Auggies regained the lead on the back nine and never looked back, shooting 305 Monday to win the title by just one shot over the Tommies. Augsburg finished with a winning score of 895 (292-298-305). Individually, St. Thomas' Piete Sienko displayed remarkable consistency throughout the week to capture individual medalist honors. Sienko finished off his individual title with an even-par 72, and won by three shots with an even-par total score of 216 (71-73-72). Augsburg's Michael Barrette carded a 73 Monday and finished as the runner-up at 219 (76-70-73), and both Concordia's Cade Montplaisir (73-70-77) and Gustavus' Max Savini (74-75-71) shared third place with identical scores of 220 | Tournament Recap
 
Cardinal Women At 2015 MIAC Championships:
• The Cardinals entered the final round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships hoping they had saved their best for last. Unfortunately, after opening the 54-hole tournament with a 362, and following that up with a second-round 359, Saint Mary's struggled to a final-round 369 to finish 10th in the team standings. Kaitlin Kling (LeRoy, Minn.) turned in Saint Mary's best round of the day over the event's final 18 holes, carding an 88 for a team-best 261 54-hole total. The sophomore opened the event with an 88 and followed that up with an 85 | Day 1 Recap * Day 2 Recap * Day 3 Recap
 
2015 Women's MIAC Championships Recap:
• St. Thomas followed up its record-setting second round with another solid effort on the final day of the 2015 MIAC Championships to capture the team title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships in the spring. The Tommies shot a tournament-record 297 Sunday to leap from third to first, and they held on for the win by shooting a 311 over Monday's final 18 holes. St. Thomas finished with a three-day total of 937 (329-297-311) to win by 22 shots. This is UST's 10th MIAC women's golf championships, and second in three years after also winning in 2013. Individually, Carleton senior Grace Gilmore became just the fourth MIAC women's golfer to win back-to-back medalist honors at the conference championships. Gilmore shot a final-round 81 to win by three shots with a three-day total of 231 (76-74-81). She is the first repeat champ since Gustavus' Katie Schenfeld in 2009 and 2010. St. Thomas' Emily Thul and Saint Benedict's Natalie Amundson shared second place, three shots behind Gilmore, with identical scores of 234. Thul shot 78 Monday and Amundson had a 76 to share runner-up honors. Carleton's Ziyi Wang carded a 78 Monday and a 235 overall to finish fourth, and the Tommies' Rachel Morris finished strong with a 76 and a three-day total of 237 in fifth.
| Tournament Recap
 
Saint Mary's Cardinal Men On The Links:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Blair Sanders (Lee's Summit, Mo.) heads into his first MIAC Championships as the Cardinals' leader, boasting a team-best 78.44 scoring average. … Sanders has recorded seven rounds of 79 or better this season, including a season-best two-over-par 74 during the MacMary Dual on Sept. 1. … Kyle Brodt (Roseville, Minn.) is second to Sanders in scoring average with a 78.56, and owns the team's low round of the season, a one-over-par 72 during the second round of the Carthage/Tim Kopka Memorial Tournament on Sept. 10. … David Iten (Fridley, Minn.)—who, like Brodt, put together a season-best one-over 72 during the second round of the Carthage/Tim Kopka Memorial Tournament on Sept. 10—also enters the season-ending conference championships averaging below 80.00, coming it at 79.89, while Brett Jackson (Edmonton, Alberta) and Hunter Rau (Rushford, Minn.) are close behind with 80.33 and 80.43 averages, respectively. … Jackson turned in the Cardinals' best 36-hole performance of the season at the Midwest Region Classic on Sept. 25-26, carding rounds of three-over-par 75 and two-over 74 for a 149 total. … Sanders' second-round 78 during the Augsburg Invitational on Sept. 4 was highlighted by his first career hole-in-one. The freshman aced the 190-yard fourth hole at Majestic Oaks Golf Course, using a five-iron. … The Cardinals' second-day 297 at Carthage's Tim Kopka Memorial Tournament on Sept. 10 tied the single-day school record. … With their win over Macalester on Sept. 1, the Cardinals snapped an eight-year Scots' winning streak in the annual MacMary Dual. Saint Mary's had last beaten Macalester Aug. 31, 2007.
 
Saint Mary's Cardinal Women On The Links:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Kaitlin Kling (LeRoy, Minn.) enters her third MIAC Championships having enjoyed her best season as a Cardinal, capped by her record-setting 159 36-hole total at the D3 Classic on Sept. 17-18. Kling opened the two-day tournament with an 80, and followed that up with a second-round 79. … Kling's 159 total at the D3 is four shots better than the previous school record of 163 (82-81) set by Andrea Hanke at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational in 2004. … After not recording a round below 82 in her first three seasons, Kling has recorded four rounds of 80 or better this season—including a pair of 79s and a career-best five-over-par 77 during the first day of the Saint Benedict Invitational on Sept. 3. … Kling's career-best 77 was just three shots shy of the school record 74 shot by Andrea Hanke at the Luther Invitational during the 2004 season. … With her 80 and 79 at the D3 Classic, Kling has now shot 88 or better in 15 of her last 17 competitive rounds. … Madison Gately opened the D3 Classic with a career-best 82, while Ana Reding (Orting, Wash.) chipped in her best collegiate score, an 88, during the second round of the two-day tournament. … Michaela Heuckendorf (Plymouth, Minn.) shot a career-best second-round 95 at the Wartburg Invitational on Sept. 11. … Kling heads into the season-ending MIAC Championships owning a team-low 82.3 scoring average, with Gately second at 90.5. As a team, Saint Mary's carded a season-best 363 during the second round of the Wartburg Invitational on Sept. 11.