WEST CHESTER, Pa.- The West Chester University women's golf team is finishing its preparations for the 2026 edition of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships, which are set to be held once again at Berkleigh Golf Club in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The 54-hole Tournament will begin on Wednesday morning and conclude with the third and final round on Sunday.
The PSAC has launched a Championship Central page, which is available
here. Live results are expected to be available via this
link.
West Chester heads to the Conference Championships for the final scheduled Tournament of the 2025-26 season, the Golden Rams' third season under the tutelage of head coach
Chris Merce. West Chester enters the weekend with tremendous momentum as the Golden Rams have finished in the top five of every Tournament but one this year and have won six Tournament titles, including four of five Tournaments in the fall and two in the spring, with the most recent victory coming at the Cottrell Invitational at Penn Oaks earlier in April.
West Chester enters the PSAC Championships ranked 10
th in the latest NCAA Division II women's golf regional rankings and 74
th nationally with a 314.3 adjusted scoring average, including a low round of 296 at the Country Club of Bristol (Par 71) in the final round of the King University Invitational in late September.
"We have had a really strong season to this point," acknowledged Merce. "I think with the success we have had, the team has a lot of confidence in one another, and we all know what everyone in our lineup is capable of doing when they are playing well."
West Chester has played 54 holes once already this season, playing 54 holes over the course of two days in late March at the Patsy Rendleman Invitational in Salisbury, North Carolina. West Chester finished third as a team with a 54-hole score of 969 (307, 326, 336), led by
Hanna Lignell (Gothenburg, Sweden/Kitas Gymnasium), who fired a +14 (69, 78, 80; 227), including an opening round of 69 to finish in a tie for second on the individual leaderboard.
Cara Murphy (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) was the second-highest finisher for West Chester in a tie for 22
nd with a +31 (77, 84, 83; 244).
West Chester finished second at the PSAC Women's Golf Championships last Spring, which matches the team's best finish at the Conference Championships under Merce and the team's best finish overall since its first and only PSAC Title in 2018, which was part of a year that saw West Chester sweep the men's and women's PSAC Tournament titles. Last spring, West Chester finished with a 54-hole score of 986 (328, 320, 328) and had three players in the top-10 as
Cierra Griffith (Pottstown, Pa./Spring-Ford) finished sixth at +27 (82, 79, 82; 243),
Morgan Kunze (Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford) finished seventh at +28 (80, 77, 87; 244) after residing in the top three for much of the weekend, and
Kirsten Vanderhorst (Gambrills, Md./Bishop McNamara) finished eighth at +30 (87, 77, 82; 246).
The Golden Ram lineup is expected to be comprised of Lignell,
Fatima Rizvi, Murphy, Brandt, and Kunze, with
Margaux Solis ready to step in as a sub once again if called upon.
"With four new players in the lineup, it was good to have them play Berkleigh in the fall. It is a pretty straightforward course, but winning an event there earlier this year and having some familiarity should give our players some confidence heading into the week," said Merce.
Lignell is the top-ranked Golden Ram heading into the Championships, ranked 180
th in the Nation and 23
rd in the Region, with a 75.9 adjusted scoring average and five top-three finishes, including a win at the King University Invitational, where he posted back-to-back even-par rounds of 71 to lead the Golden Rams.
Rizvi has a top-three finish of her own this season, placing second at the Battle at Bulle Rock in October and fourth at the Dr. Edwin B. Cottrell Invitational, and has an adjusted scoring average of 79.3 heading into the PSAC Championships.
Murphy is ranked 59
th in the latest Regional Rankings and has a 79.0 adjusted scoring average with three top-three finishes in nine Tournaments, including back-to-back Individual titles at the WCU Battlefield Classic and the Millersville Fall Classic at Berkleigh Golf Club in early September. In her first visit to Berkleigh, Murphy fired rounds of 77 and 76 to finish atop the leaderboard with a 36-hole score of +9 (153).
Brandt enters the Championships with one top-three finish as she placed third at the WCU Battlefield Classic to begin her collegiate career and finished in the top five three times, along with a ninth-place finish at the Dr. Edwin B. Cottrell Invitational at Penn Oaks earlier in April. Brandt enters the weekend with an 80.8 adjusted scoring average over the course of her 19 rounds this spring.
Kunze has played in seven Tournaments for West Chester this season and has an adjusted scoring average of 80.5, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Battle at Bulle Rock in October, as she carded a 36-hole score of +23 (86, 81; 167).
Available as a lineup sub if needed, Solis has a scoring average of 80.9 through nine Tournaments, including a pair of top-three finishes with a win at the Battle at Bulle Rock in October with a 36-hole score of +16 (80, 80; 160). For Solis, her top finish of the spring came earlier this month when she placed 18
th at the Dr. Edwin B. Cottrell Invitational at Penn Oaks with a 36-hole score of +31.
"Top to bottom, we have a really strong lineup, and depth has been a strength of ours all season. I'm really confident in the group of players we have in the lineup this weekend. For our returning players, Morgan had a really good showing at last year's championship. She played in the final pairing in the final round last year, and I think that experience will only benefit her this week. Margaux has a solid history at Berkleigh, and we're really confident that she can step into a post after a good round from the sub spot if she's called upon. Our transfers, Hanna and Fatima, have conference championship experience from their previous schools, which will be valuable this week. Our two first-years, Cara and Taryn, have contributed to our lineup all season, and we're confident that they'll be ready for the added pressure of a conference championship setting."
West Chester will get its Tournament underway on Wednesday morning at 10:50 a.m. when
Hanna Lignell leads West Chester off in a group with Cloe Mateo of Gannon and Ashden Stitt of Millersville. The final Golden Ram off the first tee will be
Morgan Kunze at 11:30 a.m., when she goes off alongside Emily Donahue of Gannon and Rachel Schuda of Millersville. The full list of first-round pairings and tee times is available
here.
