PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College women's golf is set to travel to Walla Walla, Washington this weekend to kick off the final stretch of their 2024-25 season. 
 
The Pioneers will compete in the Northwest Conference Spring Classic this weekend and then travel to McMinnville, Oregon for the Northwest Conference Championship Tournament on April 20-21. These two tournaments, combined with the NWC Fall Classic, determine the final NWC Standings and the NWC All-Conference Teams. 
 
This weekend's rounds will kick off at 9:30 a.m. on both days. 
 
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
 
Women's golf was picked to finish sixth in the NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll that came out in early March. The Pioneers who finished sixth out of nine teams at the NWC Fall Classic earned 28 total points. 
 
Eleven-time defending NWC Champions George Fox University took home eight of the nine first-place votes to finish first overall with 64 points. Whitman College, (56 points) who earned one first-place vote, barely edged Whitworth University (51 points), with the pair finishing second and third. Pacific University (43 points) and Pacific Lutheran University (34 points) came in fourth and fifth overall. The University of Puget Sound (23), Linfield University (17) and Willamette University (eight) placed seventh, eighth and ninth. 
 
RECAPPING THE NWC FALL CLASSIC
 
All five Lewis & Clark players competed in their first NWC Tournament event and combined to lead the Pioneers to their best finish at an NWC event since April 2022. The Pioneer sat in fifth after Day One and finished the tournament sixth overall. Lewis & Clark shot a season-best round of 339 on Day One and a 354 on Day Two for a score of 693 (+117). 
 
First year Evie Denton led or was tied for the team lead on both days. She finished the tournament eighth overall with a two-day score of 156 (+12). First year Ahika Jani ended the NWC Fall Classic with a 159 (+15) to finish in a tie for 11^th place. First year Julia Klenk recorded back-to-back 84s (+12) to end the weekend in a tie for 23^rd place with a score of 159 (+15). First years Lydia Schwenker and Natalie Nuñez Lezama came in 39^th and 40^th places. They finished the tournament with score of 214 (+70) and 215 (+71). 
 
George Fox won the tournament on their home course with a team score of 581 (+5). Whitman (+46), Whitworth (+59) and Pacific (+66) were all part of a tight group in second-fourth. The Pioneers finished just seven strokes behind fifth-place Pacific Lutheran University (+110). They were 15 strokes clear of Puget Sound and 45-strokes ahead of Linfield. Willamette University did not and still does not have enough golfers to post a team score.
 
RECAPPING THE SEASON 
 
While the Pioneers have had some ups-and-downs with a roster full of first-year players, they have seemed to turn the corner this Spring. In their three tournaments thus far this Spring, the Pioneers have placed in the top-seven in all three tournaments and they have posted four or their top six rounds as a team. In their last time out at the Regals Invitational in California, the Pioneers turned in their second (345) and third-best rounds (348) of the season and tied for their lowest tournament score of the season (+117). Nuñez Lezama (184, +42) and Schwenker (210, +66) each posted the best tournament scores of their careers at the Regals Classic. 
 
Jani and Denton have consistently finished first or second on the team in every event this season. Jani leads Lewis & Clark with an average round score of 83.67 (+12) and has posted two top-10 finishes in eight events. Jani has recorded four rounds of 80 or less, including posting a collegiate-best score of 77 (+5) at the NWC Fall Classic. Denton owns a scoring average of 84.73 (+13) and has notched three top-10 finishes on the year. She matched Jani with a season-low round of 77 (+5) at the NWC Fall Classic and has carded three rounds in the 70s this year. 
 
Klenk has placed third on the team in seven of her eight events this season. She sits third on the team with an average score of 93.33 (+21). Klenk recorded her two best rounds of the season this year at the NWC Fall Classic with back-to-back 84s. She has turned in 13 rounds in the 80s or 90s and posted her third-best tournament score of the season at the Regals Invitational (185). 
 
Nuñez Lezama and Schwenker will both looking to be one of the team's top-four scorers in the final two events of the year. Nuñez Lezama owns a scoring average of 104.60 (+33). She broke 100 in both rounds at the Regals Invitational (94-92) for just the second time this year. Her round of 92 on Day Two is tied for the lowest round of her season. Schwenker has registered a scoring average of 109.53 (+38). While she is still looking to break 100 in a tournament for the first time, she has posted two of her three lowest scores in her past three rounds. Schwenker notched a 102 in terrible weather at the Langdon Tri Meet and carded a 101 in the first round at the Regals Invitational. 
 
THREE THINGS TO KNOW 

1. The final NWC standings will be determined by a combined stroke total from all three NWC Tournament events. The team with the lowest aggregate score will be crowned NWC Champion and earn an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division III Golf National Championship. The top-six student-athletes by points will earn First Team All-Conference honors. The student-athletes who finish seventh through 12^th will be named to the Second Team All-Conference Team. Points are awarded for the top 12 finishers at the three conference tournaments that determine conference standings. At the Northwest Conference Championship, points are doubled for   the top 12 placements.
2. Lewis & Clark is trying to finish higher than seventh place in the conference for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Pioneers placed fourth overall that academic year: after placing third in the Fall Classic, fifth at the Spring Classic and fourth at the NWC Tournament. Lewis & Clark finished fourth at the 2019 NWC Fall Classic but the other two tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 
3. Jani and Denton are each hoping to earn All-Conference accolades this season. The pair both finished in the top-12 at the NWC Fall Classic. The last Pioneers women's golfer to earn All-Conference honors was Kamryn Ford ('22) in 2022. Lewis & Clark hasn't had multiple women's golfers earn All-Conference accolades since the 2018-19 season when Ford and Annie McCutchan ('19) each were named to the NWC Second Team.