The Grinnell College women’s golf team punched their ticket to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III (NCAA DIII) tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 7 by winning a seventh consecutive St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) title. The win is their 13th consecutive Conference title overall.
The SLIAC championship, held at the Birch Creek Golf Club 50 miles west of St. Louis, consisted of three 18-hole rounds over three consecutive days. Grinnell combined to shoot 40 over par in a dominant performance, finishing 43 strokes ahead of second-place Lake Forest.
Kavya Keshav `26 was the top scorer of the event with 218 total strokes, shooting two over par on Sunday, Oct. 5 before hitting an even par on both Monday, Oct. 6 and Tuesday, Oct. 7. This was her second SLIAC individual championship after finishing in first place in 2022.
“I just stick to the same routine and approach to every shot,” explained Keshav on her consistent play. “I don’t let my mind wander by thinking about the past and the future.”
Seven Grinnell golfers finished in the top twelve overall. Vidushi Keni `26 finished in second place with a score of 227, shooting 6 over par on the first day of the tournament before improving to two strokes over par in the second round and three strokes over par in the third round.
Waverly Yang `28 and Emily Lackershire `27 tied for fourth place individually with 230 strokes each, and Amy Nguyen `26 rounded out the top 8 with a 237.
Team members Saya Geisendorfer `27 and Sara Meneses `26 competed as individuals, scoring a 233 and a 245 respectively.
This was the first time the team had played on the Birch Creek course for a Conference championship, which Keni said brought some challenges early on.
“You learn more and more every time you play. This is why it’s nice to have three rounds because you gradually start understanding how the course works and what is needed to score low,” she said.
The team cut their overall score by over half from the first round to the second, going from 21 over par to 9 over par.
Unusually, this was only the team’s second competition of the season, having finished third overall at the Wartburg Invitational in September. While the team had also intended to play at the NCAA DIII Preview in California earlier this fall, Coach Connor McKay says the plans fell through due to travel issues.
“This naturally makes you feel less prepared going into Conference, but we made up for that through our consistent and effective practice,” Keshav said.
The team stayed ready for competitive play with a matchplay event against the Grinnell men’s golf team, which the women’s team won, Keni said. They also lifted regularly as a team during their time off. Keni and Nguyen credited strength and conditioning coaches Steve Lewis and Maddy Griess with helping them to become stronger golfers and reducing their injury risk.
“Everyone has a lot of commitments outside of golf but we’re diligent when it comes to doing our best on the course,” Keni said. “Everyone knows their game really well and is able to figure out exactly what to work on before and after tournaments.”
Both Keshav and Keni said that the team culture is one of the women’s golf team’s greatest strengths and a huge piece of their success.
“We are a supportive, close-knit team on and off the course,” Keshav said.
“Even though golf is an individual sport, I have felt part of a team here since day one,” Keni said. “We have also bonded a lot outside of golf, whether it’s doing fun stuff like going ice skating and cooking in the global kitchen or even just studying together.”
“I have high hopes for our incoming year and the ones that will follow,” Keshav said. The Conference championship win, she said, just serves as motivation for continued improvement.
John Horn • Oct 13, 2025 at 12:56 pm
Very impressive team and win. Congrats to the players and Coach Connor.