2024-25 Shocker Women's Golf

[1972Shocker]

McCurdy Signs Domine on National Signing Day

Head women's golf coach Tom McCurdy announced the signing of Argentina native Magdalena Domine to next year's team on Thursday afternoon.

Coach McCurdy is thrilled to land the talented Argentinian.

"Magdalena is a fantastic golfer," said McCurdy. "She has competed in the best events in South America and has a rock solid resumé."

Domine will come to Wichita State with an already very decorated career and full trophy cabinet. She has won the Argentinian Girls Youth National Championship twice and has recorded a top five finish in all of five of her appearances in her division at the national championship. She recently won the Chilean Junior Open last August, finishing two strokes under par. Additionally, she has won two regional championships and took home the title at the South American Youth Championship in Ecuador in October of 2021.

"Magdalena is very positive and has a wonderful attitude and approach towards the game of golf," said McCurdy. "She is going to be a great addition to our team, and I couldn't be happier that she has chosen to be a Shocker."

The Shocker women's golf roster for the 2025-26 season now sits at eight players.

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The 2024-25 rosters currently has 9 players listed. So apparently 2 of those players will not be returning. 1 of those is Sarah Lawson who will complete her eligibility this year. Not sure who the other player will be.

Coach McCurdy seems to be leaning hard into the international recruiting as 5 players on this year's roster as it now stands are international recruits from England, France, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia. Possible that one of those has already informed Coach McCurdy they won't be back next year. But with this new recruit from Argentina the team will still have at least 5 international players next year as things now stand.

[1972Shocker]

Kayla seems like a solid addition especially if that stroke average of 74 can hold up. Kate Tilma led the Shocks this fall with a stroke average of 74.5 over 12 rounds followed by Mackenzie Wilson at 75.3 over 12 rounds.

The team could certainly use a boost.

[SubGod22]

Go Shockers - McCurdy Adds Van de Ven to 2024-25 Roster

Head women's golf coach Tom McCurdy announced the addition of New Zealand native Kayla Van de Ven to his squad's 2024-25 roster on Friday afternoon.

Coach McCurdy is excited to add the talented Kiwi to the team for the rest of this season.

"Kayla is a very talented golfer with a strong junior golf resume," said McCurdy. "She has a great mind for the game, and she is going to fit right I with our program. I anticipate that she will have an immediate positive impact on our team this year."

Van de Ven, a native of Napier, New Zealand, will join the Shockers for the 2025 spring semester. She has a tournament average round score of 74. She recently won the 2024 senior women's club championship in New Zealand

In the past year, she has won the Praparaumu Junior Open, Wellington Girls Matchplay, the Feilding Golf Club Open, and the Manawatu District Stroke Play Championship.

Van de Ven will be the ninth and final Shocker on the 2024-25 women's golf roster and she will be the fifth international player on this year's team.

The Shocker women's golf team begins the spring campaign in Blanco, Texas in the Texas State Invitational on February 3.

[1972Shocker]

Shockers Tie for 13th at Diamante

The Lady Shockers close out their fall season with another less than stellar performance finishing tied for 13th at 29-over par in the 18 team field. 45 strokes off the pace set by tournament champion Florida Gulf Coast.

Kate Tilma led the Shocks at 3-over par which tied for 25th on the player leaderboard. McKenzie Wilson the low 18 for the Shocks shooting a 3-under 69 in round 2. That was the only sub-70 round shot by a Shocker during the fall.

FGU's Louisiane Gauthier lit up the course shooting 67-69-65 = 201 (-15) to take medalist honors.

[1972Shocker]

About the only reasonable goal for this Shocker team for tomorrow's final round is to try to dig out of last place.

Not sure what the Shockers goal was but what they got was far below what they needed to achieve this modest goal.

Mackenzie Wilson shot a very solid 3 birdie, 2 bogey, 13 par round of 71 (-1).

Unfortunately, none of her teammates could the groove today with Katie Tilma at 76 (+4). Amelie Paul at 77 (+5), Brooklyn Benn at 82 (+10) and Sammie Straight at 86 (+14) resulting in a team score of 19-over 306. Not only the Shocks worst team score of the weekend but the highest team round of the tournament. That put the Shocks at the bottom of the team leaderboard at 43-over for the Tournament 13 storkes behind 14th placed Wyoming and 60-strokes behind the tournament winner UNLV.

The playing field included a total of 81 players. None of the Shockers finished in the Top 40. Mackenzie was tied for 41st at 5-over. Kate was tied for 46th at 7-over, with Amelie and Brooklyn tied for 73rd at 16-over and Sammie finish by her self in 81st at 27-over par.

I guess if you had to pick a sport to be your weakest program Women's golf is perhaps the one you would pick.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks knocked 7 strokes off their Round 1 score but still only had the 12th best score of the round at 9-over par putting them at 25-over and still in last place. However, they did close to within 4 strokes of Wyoming in 14th place. K-State crushed it in Round 2 with an 11-under 277 to take the lead at 12-under for the tournament. UNLV trails KSU by 2 strokes.

Freshman Amelie Paul led the way with a 73 (+1) followed by Kate Tilma 74 (+2) and Mackenzie Wilson and Brooklyn Benn duplicate their 3-over 75s from round 1.

Kate 3-over of the tournament but that is only good for a tie for 35th place on the 80 player leaderboard. Amelie is tied for 75th and Sammie Straight is tied for 80th.

About the only reasonable goal for this Shocker team for tomorrow's final round is to try to dig out of last place.

[1972Shocker]

Thank goodness they aren't using Clippd for the live scoring. IMO Birdiefire and Golfstat are both far superior of live scoring of golf tournaments.

All of the Shocks teed off on the back 9 (10th hole) in Round 1. The top 5 Shockers finished the 9 at 4-over par. Not too bad. However, at that point that had lost any cushion they might have as Amelie Paul was already at 9-over par. And while her score is not counted in the Shocks team score it means the other four Shocker players would need avoid any stumbles on the front line.

Unfortunately, Sammy Straight played the first 5 holes of the front 9 coming in in 5-over and the Shocks team score has ballooned to 10-over par which puts them last in the 15-team field with about 6 holes left in the round.

Amelie recovered from her struggles on her opening 9 holes to finish the final 9 holes in 1-over but she still had the throw away score at 10-over 82. Unfortunately, Sammie followed up her first 9 2-over with a 7-over on her final 9 holes for a 9-over 81 that the Shocks did have to count.

Kate Tilma led the Shocks with a 73 (+1) while Mackenzie Wilson and Brooklyn Benn both shot 75 (+3).

The Shocks teams score of 16-over is last in the 15-team field. The Shocks are 8 strokes behind Wyoming who sits in 14th at 8-over par. Denver and Minnesota are tied for the lead at 8-under par and Colorado State follows at 6-over.

[1972Shocker]

WGLF Preview: Ron Moore Intercollegiate

Fast Facts – Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Dates: Friday, October 4 – Sunday, October 6
Host: Golfweek; Location: Denver, Colo.
Venue: Highlands Ranch Golf Club
Yardage: 6,611 yards; Par: 72
Live Scoring: Birdiefire
The Field – 15 Teams: New Mexico, Colorado, Texas State, Hawaii, Wichita State, Tulane, Colorado State, San Diego State, Denver, Middle Tennessee State, UNLV, Wyoming, Minnesota, Xavier, Kansas State

"In the past, the teams that have a patience and strong self-discipline have done well at this course," said McCurdy. "This course is set up to be scored on with big, well-maintained, greens which makes for good putting opportunities."

Shocker Five: Mackenzie Wilson (Jr.); Kate Tilma (Jr.); Amelie Paul (Fr.); Brooklyn Benn (Jr.); Samantha Straight (Jr.)

Sammie Straight gets her first chance as part of the Shockers team lineup.

[1972Shocker]

Did WSU offer Grier’s granddaughter a scholarship? Understand she did receive an offer from KU
She just shot a 58 up at Heston! I don’t care how short the course might be playing. That is an incredible score.

That is an incredible score.

But does it really matter much if WSU offers her? If she is that good I would be surprised that she would even contemplate going to Wichita State. Women's golf at WSU is not exactly a powerhouse and Wichita's late winter, early season spring weather is not exactly a golfer's paradise. It's not like you are going to stay at home so your family can watch you play. The Shocks rarely play tournaments in or around Wichita. The only one in the last 10 years was the MVC Preview in October 2017 at Sand Creek Station in Newton which ironically came in the Shocks first year in the AAC.

I suppose an offer as a courtesy would be the thing to do. But my expectations of her ending up at Wichita State are very slim. I would love to be proven wrong on that though.

[Veritas]

Did WSU offer Grier’s granddaughter a scholarship? Understand she did receive an offer from KU
She just shot a 58 up at Heston! I don’t care how short the course might be playing. That is an incredible score.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks are off to a horrible start in round 2. The are 14-over par roughly 6 holes into the round and have dropped into last (16th) 6 shots behind the next closest team. And that doesn't include Lara Stifter's 7-over par that includes a snowman on the par 4 12th. The Shockers again started on the back 9 in this round. Yesterday the played the back 9 much better than they did front 9 which is a bit foreboding.

The Shocks finished off the back 9 at 15-over thanks to a pair of Eagle 3s on the 512 yard 18th from both Mackenzie Wilson and Brooklyn Benn. Mackenzie and Brooklyn playing pretty well but that's about it today through the first 9 holes.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks, who all started on the back 9 (10th hole), got off to a decent start coming in at 3-over after their opening 9 holes, but that kind of fell apart as they were 7-over coming home on the front 9 to finish Round 1 at 10-over par. That puts them in 11th place in the 16-team field.

Fr. Amelie Paul and Jr. Kate Tilma both shot even par 72 to lead the Shockers. Amelie was at 2-under with 3 holes to play but bogeyed to of those holes. Kate shot even par on both rounds but it was not exactly a steady Eddy round. Kate had 5 birdies, 3 bogeys, a double bogey and 9 pars in her round. Mackenzie Wilson post a 3-over 74. Mackenzie was 4-over after 6 holes but rallied to play her final 12 holes in 2-under par including an eagle 3, birdie 2 and a bogey 6 to go along with 9 pars. Brooklyn Benn was 2-over on the back but struggled coming home as she was 6-over on her last 7 holes to finish with an 8-over 80.

Lara Stifter again had the throw away score at 9-over 81. Triple bogey 7s on the #11 and #7 par 4 holes crashed Lara's round.

Would be nice to see Mackenzie get hot and stay hot. But that won't help much if we can't get better play from the 4 and 5 spots.

Live Scoring: https://results.golfstat.com/public/...ants&tid=29284

[1972Shocker]

WGLF Preview: Golfweek Red Sky Classic

Head coach Tom McCurdy is preparing his squad for the difference in altitude that the team will experience at the elevation of the golf course, as Eagle, Colorado is over 7,000 feet above sea level.

"The ball will travel about 15% further here than it would normally," said McCurdy. "It's a big adjustment that we'll have to make in a short time and have to get our bodies adjusted as well."

Fast Facts – Golfweek Red Sky Classic
Dates: Monday, September 23 – Wednesday, September 25
Host: Golfweek
Location: Eagle, Colorado; Venue: Red Sky Ranch Golf Club
Yardage: 6,623 yards; Par: 72
Format: Stroke Play
The Field – 14 Teams: Mercer, South Dakota State, UNC-Asheville, Northern Arizona, Denver, Kansas, Arkansas State, Eastern Michigan, Boise State, East Tennessee State, Pepperdine, Sacramento State, Wichita State, UC-Irvine

Shocker Five: Mackenzie Wilson (Jr.); Kate Tilma (Jr.); Brooklyn Benn (Jr.); Amelie Paul (Fr.); Lara Stifter (Fr.)

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Interesting that Lara Sifter is still in the lineup. She struggled quite a bit in her Shocker debut at the K-State tournament. She was 35-over. Troy transfer Sammy Straight playing as an individual in the K-State Tournament finished at 17-over (4th best of the 6 Shockers who played in that tournament, 1 shot behind Amelie Paul and 2-shots ahead of Mackenzie Wilson).

[1972Shocker]

In today's 3rd and final round the Lady Shocks matched the 23-over par they shot in yesterday's 2nd round to finish at 55-over par and tied for 8th place in the 16 team field. Coming in I wanted to see how the compared to North Texas, the one other AAC school in the field. Not too bad after Round 1 but then not good over the final 2 rounds. North Texas finished 2nd at 16-over par.

Brooklyn Benn led the Shocks at 9-over shooting 76-75-74 = 225 finishing in a tie for 20th on the player leader board.
Kate Tilma finished at 11-over after a good start shooting 70-80-77 = 227.
Newcomer Amelie Paul was pretty good yesterday in the first 2 rounds but struggled today. She finished at 16-over with scores of 73-77-82 = 232.
Mackenzie Wilson was consistent but not at the level she needs to be and, I think, is capable of. She finished at 19-over with score of 78-79-78 = 235.
Newcomer Laura Stifter struggle big time in her Shocker debut finishing at 35-over with scores of 81-84-86 = 251 as none of her scores were counted in the Shocker team scores.

Troy transfer Sammy Straight, playing individually, finished at 17 over par with scores of 77+77+79 + 233.

I suppose the bright side is that how well the women's golf program performs on the course is not especially critical to the Shocker athletic department. The ladies are generally good student-athletes who represent Wichita State well.

[WuDrWu]

I much prefer the golfstat scoreboards over the clippd scoreboards.

Man, you ain't lyin.

The Shocks finish round 1 at 9-over par. 9 strokes behind K-State, 3 behind North Texas and 1 behind of Austin Peay and 6 strokes ahead of Dayton and Central Arkansas.

Kate Tilma shot a 2-under 70 putting her in a 3-way tie for 2nd on the player leaderboard. Amelie Paul 73 (+1), Brooklyn Benn 76 (+4), Mackenzie Wilson 78 (+6 ) rounded out the scoring for the Shocks. Lara Stifter had the throw away score of 81 (+9) as she struggled in her Shocker debut. I believe Lara started he round on the 3rd hole. Over her first 9 holes she was 7-over, but only 2-over on her final 9 holes. So perhaps just some nerves at play for her.

Mackenzie has odd round. She had 14 pars but only 1 birdie. What did her in was 2 double bogeys and a triple bogey.

Mackenzie just didn't play well today. She's capable of much better. 43-36 in round 2, perhaps will give her some confidence heading into the last round.

Kansas State and North Texas are separating themselves from the field early on in the 2nd Round.

The Shocks have pretty much imploded as they are 19-over roughly half way through round 2, putting them at 28-over for the tournament.

The Shocks have made a comeback from the bad start in round 2. They are now 12-over for the round picking up 7 shots to par through the middle holes of their rounds.

The course is playing much easier on the back 9, but hopefully some good play coming home will elevate the Shocks tomorrow.


Round 2

Kate 43-37 (and that's with a bogey-triple finish on 17 & 18) puts her in a tie for 12th at +6
Amelie 40-37 also in a tie for 12th at +6
Brooklyn 42-33! in a tie for 16th at +7
Mackenzie 43-36 +13
Lara 46-38 +21 Lara's Triple, bogey, double, double start put her in a deep hole from which she could couldn't recover, but the back nine was solid.

Sammy 40-37 +10 has her in a tie for 30th. Had she been part of the top 5, her score would have counted in both rounds. The Shocks would still be in 5th, just closer to 4th than they are.