Denison Women, Kenyon Men Lead NCAC Golf Pre-Champ Poll

CLEVELAND, OH – The 2026 NCAC Men's and Women's Golf Championships will tee off next weekend, May 1-3, with the men competing at Avalon Lakes Golf Course in Warren, Ohio, and the women competing at Squaw Creek in Vienna, Ohio. John Carroll University will serve as the host institution for the 54-hole tournament, with 18 holes being played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively.
 
Five-time defending NCAC women's champion Denison collected all seven first-place votes to earn 49 total points and top the women’s pre-championship poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. DePauw, which shares the league-lead of five NCAC titles alongside Denison, claimed second with 42 points, while Kenyon, making its championship debut, tallied 32 points for third. Wittenberg (29), John Carroll (23), Wooster (14), and Ohio Wesleyan (7) round out the seven-team field.
 
The Big Red enter the 2026 NCAC Women's Golf Championship ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Power Index (NPI) Great Lakes rankings, No. 20 in the Clippd rankings and tied for 18th in the latest Mizuno Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Poll. Denison has compiled four top-five team finishes this season, highlighted by victories at the Transylvania Fall Invitational (Sept. 7-8) and the Wittenberg Pahhni Spring Intercollegiate (April 19-20). The Big Red welcome back three All-NCAC honorees from last season, including first-team selections junior Lizzy Grant (Hudson, OH/Hudson) and sophomore Siena Maschke (Cleveland, OH/Laurel School) along with second-team honoree junior Natalia Fanucchi (Carlsbad, CA/Sage Creek). At last year’s conference championship, Grant claimed second after shooting a 231 (+15), while Maschke, the 2025 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, and Fanucchi both tied for sixth after shooting identical 235’s (+19).
 
The Kenyon men received seven of the possible eight first-place votes and totaled 63 points to top the men’s pre-championship poll. Defending NCAC champion Wittenberg took second in the voting, collecting the remaining first-place vote and 53 overall points. John Carroll was tabbed third with 50 points, while Denison received 41 points for fourth and DePauw earned 29 points for fifth. Wabash (26), Wooster (15), and Ohio Wesleyan (11) rounded out the eight-team field.
 
The Owls head into the conference championship ranked No. 3 in the NPI Region V rankings and No. 10 in both the Clippd rankings and the latest Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Bushnell/Golfweek DIII Coaches Poll. Kenyon has compiled four top-five team finishes this season, including a season-best third-place showing at the Sam Snead Collegiate (April 13-14). The Owls return five All-NCAC honorees from last season, led by 2025 Dick Gordin Award winner Jonathan Oakes (Dobbs Ferry, NY/US Performance Academy). The junior and two-time All-NCAC honoree earned first-team recognition in 2025 and tied for fifth (214, -2) at last year’s NCAC Championship. Junior Jaiden Koonar (Alberta, Canada/Webber Academy), a two-time first-team All-NCAC selection and the 2025 NCAC Championship medalist (210, -6), returns alongside sophomore Adrian Jordan (Lawrenceville, NJ/Lawrenceville School), who earned second-team honors as a first-year and finished 11th (219, +3) at the 2025 championship. Juniors Rafael Frias IV (Parkland, FL/American Heritage School) and Oliver McGovern (Greenwich, CT/Fordham Prep), both third-team All-NCAC selections a season ago, add further depth to the lineup. McGovern tied for 16th (224, +8) at last year’s championship, while Frias finished tied for 32nd (238, +22).
 
Championship action starts at 8:00 a.m. each day, beginning on Friday, May 1, with both the men and the women teeing off on hole one of their respective courses. NCAC tee markers will be used, with the men playing from the blue tees and the women playing from the red tees.
 
2026 NCAC Men's & Women's Golf
Pre-Championship Coaches Polls
WOMEN MEN
Rank School (1st place votes) Points Rank School (1st place votes) Points
1 Denison (7) 49 1 Kenyon (7) 63
2 DePauw 42 2 Wittenberg (1) 53
3 Kenyon 32 3 John Carroll 50
4 Wittenberg 29 4 Denison 41
5 John Carroll 23 5 DePauw 29
6 Wooster 14 6 Wabash 26
7 Ohio Wesleyan 7 7 Wooster 15
8 Ohio Wesleyan 11
 
 

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