<rleton College women’s golf team has opened the 2013 spring season ranked 20th in the first Golf World/WGCA Division III coaches poll.
The Knights, who open their spring at the Aloha at Oahu Collegiate Classic on March 21-22, started and ended the fall season ranked 18th and were as high as 11th in the coaches poll. The Knights recorded one victory this fall at their own College City Challenge and tallied a pair of runner-up finishes at the D3 Classic and the MIAC Championships.
Carleton is one of four conference teams ranked in the top 25. St. Olaf College, which captured the conference tournament title and the MIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, is 10th. Gustavus Adolphus College ranks 14th, followed by Carleton and University of St. Thomas (24th).
Methodist received all 15 first-place votes to keep its firm grasp on the No. 1 ranking. The Lady Monarchs finished in a tie for second at the BSC Ann Rhodes Invitational to start the spring, losing only to Division I Indiana State. In the fall they claimed three team titles. Washington U. of St. Louis remained in the No. 2 spot while the rest of the top five—No. 3 Centre, No. 4 Mary Hardin-Baylor and No. 5 George Fox—all held firm from the final fall poll. No. 25 Wartburg was the only new school in the top 25.