YPSILANTI, Mich. – The 17th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack women's golf team made the trip to Ypsilanti, Michigan, this week to compete in their seventh straight NAIA National Championship. The tournament begins with the first round on Tuesday, with the Wolf Pack scheduled to tee off at 12:20 p.m. CDT, as the teams will play 18 holes each day for four days with a 36-hole cut of the Top 15 teams.
Loyola will tee off on its second round at 7:20 a.m. CDT on Wednesday.
The Wolf Pack is sending Catherine Singletary, Blair McKenzie, Sarah Meral, Aaliyah Achary, Aidan McLachland and Sydney D'Avella to compete at the national championship. It's Singletary and McKenzie's third straight appearance, McLachlan's second straight, and Meral, Achary, and D'Avella's are each making their NAIA Championship debut.
Singletary has already picked up a couple of SSAC postseason honors, earning a spot on the All-Conference First Team and being named the SSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Singletary collected four Top 5 finishes and two more Top 10 placements this season. She placed second at the Skyhawk Invitational (+8) in September and the Firehawk Invite (+3) in October, adding a third-place finish at the Ram Spring Invite (+9) and a fourth-place finish at the Wolf Pack Invitational (+12), both coming in February. She added a 10th-place finish at the SSAC Championship last month, and she'll play in the NAIA National Championship as the 36th-ranked golfer in the NAIA.
McKenzie was named to the SSAC All-Conference Second Team and is the 58th-ranked women's golfer in the NAIA. She has two Top 5s and one more Top 10 finish in seven tournaments as a senior. She tied with Singletary for second place at the Skyhawk Invitational (+8), and she added another second-place finish at the Ram Spring Invite (+5) before a 13th-place performance at the SSAC Championship. McKenzie placed 21st at last year's NAIA National Championship at TPC Deere Run.
Meral picked up the SSAC Newcomer of the Year award and SSAC Championship All-Tournament Team recognition after placing third at the conference tournament. She's currently ranked 50th in the NAIA with three Top 5 finishes and two more Top 10s during her first season with the Wolf Pack. Meral began her Loyola career with an eighth-place performance at the Skyhawk Invitational, then finished ninth at the Carey Collegiate and third at the Firehawk Invite, both in October.
Achary joined Loyola's team for the spring schedule, earning SSAC All-Freshman Team honors after playing in four tournaments this season. She started her Wolf Pack career with a ninth-place finish at the Wolf Pack Invitational before a 25th-place performance at the SSAC Championship.
McLachlan started her season with a 12th-place finish at the Firehawk Invitational, then added a seventh-place finish at the Wolf Pack Invitational. D'Avella has played in all eight tournaments this season, beginning the year with an 11th-place performance at the Skyhawk Invitational. She also finished 15th at the Firehawk Invitational and 18th at the Wolf Pack Invitational.
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