The Loop
Conference Championship previews, Part III
Here are a look at the conference championships that start today and tomorrow. Men's schools in italic do not yet meet the ".500 rule" requirement for an at-large berth into NCAA regionals.
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__[#image: /photos/55ad7220b01eefe207f68b2b]|||ACC 10mgolfchampsec.jpg|||
__ (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Old North State Club, New London, N.C.
April 23-25
Field (Golfstat ranking): Boston College (N/A), Clemson (15), Duke (22), Florida State (9), Georgia Tech (17), Maryland (119), North Carolina (42), N.C. State (34), Virginia (21), Virginia Tech (61), Wake Forest (32)
Defending champion: Georgia Tech (-18/846) by three strokes over Clemson; N.C. State's Matt Hill and Clemson's David May (-10/206) shared the individual title
Skinny: Something about Old North State Club, site of the ACC Championship since 1995 (with the exception of 1997) appeals to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have won the outright title or a share six times since moving to the course. Next closest school is Clemson at four.
[__Big 12 Championship
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](http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&KEY=&ATCLID=204883208) (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Whispering Pines GC, Trinity, Texas
April 23-25
Field: Baylor (50), Colorado (90), Iowa State (84), Kansas (111), Kansas State (79), Missouri (64), Nebraska (81), Oklahoma (74), Oklahoma State (3), Texas (7), Texas A&M (5), Texas Tech (12)
Defending champion: Oklahoma State (+29/1,149) by 14 strokes over Colorado; Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffmann (-4/276) by three strokes over Baylor's Bill Allcorn
Skinny: Three-time defending champion Oklahoma State comes in with the best ranking, but reigning NCAA champion Texas A&M might have the most momentum after their big win at home last weekend at the Aggie Invitational. It's been a while since A&M won a conference title. You have to go back to the Southwestern Conference and 1987.
__ (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Baltusrol GC, Springfield, N.J.
April 23-25
Field: Brown (261), Columbia (207), Cornell (225), Dartmouth (223), Harvard (161), Penn (186), Princeton (228), Yale (131)
Defending champion: Columbia (+18/858) by one stroke over Penn; Dartmouth's Peter Williamson (+1/211) in a playoff over Princeton's Eric Salazar
Skinny: Yale looks to have distanced itself from the rest of the pack. A victory likely allows them to stay at home NCAA regional bid are handed out (Yale GC hosts the Northeast).
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WOMEN
__[#image: /photos/55ad721fb01eefe207f68b26]|||Ohio Valley Golf 2010.jpg|||
[__Ohio Valley Conference Championship
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](http://www.ovcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=6200&ATCLID=204759785) (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Greystone GC, Dickson, Tenn.
April 22-24
Field: Austin Peay State (178), Eastern Illinois (203), Eastern Kentucky (156), Jacksonville State (139), Morehead State (127), Murray State (136), Tennessee State (N/A), Tennessee Tech (181)
Defending champion: Murray State (+88/952) by eight strokes over Jacksonville State; Eastern Illinois' Carrie Riordan (+14/230) by three strokes over Tennessee Tech's Megan Bradford
Skinny: Morehead State is moving into uncharted territory; the school has never won the OVC title while nearest competitors Murray State and Jacksonville State have claimed the title between them each of the last eight years.
__ (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
University Ridge GC, Verona, Wis.
April 23-25
Field: Illinois (76), Indiana (59), Iowa (126), Michigan (68), Michigan State (10), Minnesota (60), Northwestern (40), Ohio State (12), Penn State (132), Purdue (8), Wisconsin (64)
Defending champion: Purdue (+57/1,209) by 43 strokes over Michigan State; Purdue's Maria Hernandez and Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (+9/297) shared the individual title
Skinny: What appeared to be a two-team race (Purdue vs. Michigan State) a few months ago has added a third-party candidate with Ohio State posting five top-fives this spring, including a win at the Lady Buckeye last weekend.
[__Big 12 Championship
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](http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10410&KEY=&ATCLID=204883210) (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Jimmie Austin GC, Norman, Okla.
April 23-25
Field: Baylor (52), Colorado (62), Iowa State (56), Kansas (81), Kansas State (94), Missouri (63), Nebraska (67), Oklahoma (72), Oklahoma State (26), Texas (29), Texas A&M (25), Texas Tech (43)
Defending champion: Oklahoma State (+45/909) by 13 strokes over Texas A&M; Texas A&M's Ashley Freeman (+9/225) in a playoff over Oklahoma's Kendall Dye
Skinny: Seven schools rank in the top 62 but none better than 25th, suggesting a good deal of parity in the conference. With that, picking a winner is dangerous. When in doubt, go with the chalk: A&M
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](http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/champ-event.asp?intSID=14#a)[#image: /photos/55ad7220add713143b42388f]|||Ivy League 2010.gif|||
[__Ivy League Championship
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](http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/champ-event.asp?intSID=14#a) (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Baltusrol GC, Springfield, N.J.
April 23-25
Field: Brown (205), Columbia (N/A), Dartmouth (212), Harvard (47), Penn (112), Princeton (119), Yale (128)
Defending champion: Harvard (+40/904) by two strokes over Yale; Princeton's Susannah Aboff (+3/219) by five strokes over Yale's Harriet Owers-Bradle
Skinny: Harvard remains far and away the leader of this bunch.
__ (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Hawthorns G&CC, Fishers, Ind.
April 23-25
Field: Akron (116), Ball State (92), Bowling Green State (202), Eastern Michigan (95), Kent State (33), Northern Illinois (186), Ohio (184), Toledo (124), Western Michigan (125)
Defending champion: Kent State (+65) by 39 strokes over Eastern Michigan; Kent State's Mercedes Germino (+12/300) by one stroke over Kent State's Kirby Dreher
__Skinny:__A 12th straight title for Kent State seems a virtual certainty.
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__[#image: /photos/55ad7220b01eefe207f68b41]|||Northeast COnf. wgolf10(sm).jpg|||
__ (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
ChampionsGate GC, ChampionsGate, Fla.
April 23-25
Field: Central Connecticut State (221), Fairleigh Dickinson (N/A), LIU-Brooklyn (217), Monmouth (N/A), Mount St. Mary's (237), Robert Morris (226), Sacred Heart (216), St. Francis (N.Y.) (N/A), St. Francis (Pa.) (N/A), Wagner (N/A)
Defending champion: Fairleigh Dickinson (+56) by 23 strokes over LIU-Brooklyn: Fairleigh Dickinson's Michele Holzwarth (+7/223) by LIU's Natalie Desjardins
Skinny: FDU's one-two punch of Lisa Warrilow and Michele Holzwarth look to be difficult to stop. Between the two of them, they won the conference player-of-the-week honors seven out of 13 weeks.
__ (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)
Kearney Hill GL, Lexington, Ky.
April 24-25
Field: Butler (177), Cleveland State (222), Detroit Mercy (204), Loyola (Md.) (193), Wisconsin-Green Bay (224), Youngstown State (165)
Defending champion: Youngstown State (+104/968) by 17 strokes over Cleveland State; Youngstown State's Samantha Formeck (+23/239) by two strokes over three others.
Skinny: A successful post-season run for the Butler men's basketball team foretells good things for the Bulldog golf team, which had won four conference titles in a row until having the streak snapped last spring.
