Illinois State has been tabbed the favorite in both men's and women's golf by a vote of head coaches. The Redbird men were a unanimous choice, receiving all 10 first-place votes and 100 total points. Valparaiso was the second choice by coaches in MVC men's golf. ISU's women's team received 8 of 12 first-place tallies and 137 total points to outdistance Bradley in the women's poll. [Scroll down to see the entire poll for both genders.]
Illinois State's men's team is the highest-rated MVC team in the NCAA and ranks No. 63 nationally entering the spring season. Alex McCulla (127 national rank) and Valentin Peugnet (157 national rank) lead the 'Birds. Southern Illinois, the third pick in the coaches' pre-season rankings, is the next-highest-rated MVC team in the NCAA team rankings (No. 149) and Valpo (156) is right behind. Caleb VanArragon of Valparaiso highlights MVC men's golf with a No. 43 national rank to top all MVC golfers. Edouard Cereto leads the Salukis with his 70.27 stroke average through five fall events and 15 rounds.
The 2024 MVC Men's Golf Championship will be at The Club at Porto Cima (April 21-23) in Sunrise Beach, Mo., and Missouri State is the host institution. The Championship Tees for the men's course will play at 7,060 yards.
Meanwhile, Illinois State's women's team is the top-rated MVC program in the NCAA rankings, clocking in at No. 133 as a team through four fall tournaments. Jinyoung Yun posted a team-best 70.8 stroke average during the fall and leads ISU and the MVC in the national player rankings (No. 237). She fired three separate rounds of 67 in the fall, earned medalist honors at the Coyote Creek Classic, and had three Top-5 individual finishes. Bradley's No. 143 national rank is second-best in the MVC. The Braves' Grace Aromando had a spectacular fall campaign, winning the Redbird Invitational on Sept. 10-11. She was in the Top 5 on the individual leaderboard in two other fall events. Her stroke average this past fall was 73.3.
The 2024 MVC Women's Golf Championship will be at the par-72, 6,176-yard layout at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill. UNI is the host school. Teams will play 18 holes each (April 14-16).
Missouri State earned the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship, going wire-to-wire, shooting a tournament first-day low of 315 on Sunday and following that up a 315 on Day 2 and a 313 on Tuesday, April 18, for a three-round 943 -- nine strokes ahead of co runners-up Belmont and Evansville. The championship was played at the par-72, 6,176-yard layout at Annbriar Golf Course in Waterloo, Ill.
In one of the most exciting finishes in MVC women's golf championship history, Evansville freshman Kate Petrova won a 2-hole playoff to become the third individual in Purple Aces program history to win the conference championship. Tuesday’s final round saw Petrova card a 4-over 76 to finish with a 231. She finished in a 3-way tie with Kristen Giles (Drake) and Payton Carter (Murray State) atop the standings. The three took to the 18th hole at Annbriar Golf Course where each earned a par in the first playoff. They replayed the 18th hole where Petrova earned a birdie to clinch the championship.
The playoff for medalist honors marked just the third time the MVC Women’s Championship has had an individual playoff, with the last occurring in 2019. Drake's Giles was the 2022 MVC Championships medalist, just narrowly missing a repeat. Carter was MVC Golfer of the Year. She becomes a rare player that has won two-straight league honors, after she won the award in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022. Carter was also named to the All-MVC Team.
Setting marks for the lowest single-round team total at the Missouri Valley Conference Golf Championship since 1998 in each of the first two rounds, the Illinois State men's golf team ran away with the 2023 MVC Championship, the program's sixth conference title, and the first conference crown since 2007. ISU's final-round 284 put the 'Birds with a three-round 836, which is the lowest three-round tournament score in program history and second-best in MVC championship history.
With the win, the Redbirds advance to the NCAA Division I Regional round. The selection show will be Wednesday, May 3 at 1 p.m. ET on the Golf channel. Regionals take place May 15-17 at six regional sites: Auburn, Alabama (Auburn University Club); Salem, South Carolina (The Cliffs at Keowee Falls); Bath, Michigan (Eagle Eye Golf Club); Las Vegas, Nevada (Bear's Best Las Vegas); Norman, Oklahoma (Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club); and Morgan Hills, California (The Institute Golf Club). The Championship takes place from May 26-31 at the Grayhawk Golf club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Redbirds' three-round total of 836 distanced themselves from Valparaiso (849), Northern Iowa (856), Bradley (858), Murray State (862), Southern Illinois (862), Evansville (863), Belmont (869), Missouri State (882), and Drake (883).
For the second consecutive season, Valparaiso sophomore Anthony Delisanti was medalist. After making a miraculous comeback in the third and final round at last season’s championship, this year Delisanti was near the top of the leaderboard from the outset and led the tournament for much of the final two days. The route to get there was different, but the end result was identical, as Delisanti once again stands alone atop the conference and has earned an automatic NCAA Regional berth. Delisanti shattered the MVC Championship record and the modern program record with his 54-hole score of 200 (-13), breaking a record that stood for more than 70 years.