GRINNELL, Iowa – Riding a string of 13 consecutive conference titles and three straight trips to the NCAA Division III Championships, the Grinnell College women's golf team is looking to extend that successful string in the 2026-27 campaign.
Senior veterans leading the team are Saya Geisendorfer '27, Emily Lackershire '27 and Meilin Hoshino '27, with
Waverly Yang '28 serving as the squad's lone junior. "All four have achieved All-Conference credentials multiple times in their careers, three have played at nationals and Meilin is a two-time conference champ," said Grinnell coach
Connor McKay. "This group will be great leaders for the team."
Grinnell has won the last seven St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) titles after claiming the previous six crowns as part of the Midwest Conference. Hoshino was the SLIAC individual champ as a first-year and sophomore before missing most of last season with an injury. Lackershire is a three-time All-SLIAC selection, including a runner-up finish as a sophomore and fourth-place tie with Yang last season. Yang and Geisendorfer are both two-time All-SLIAC selections.
Hoshino owns the top career stroke average in GC history at 74.90, while Lackershire and Yang rank seventh and ninth at 77.98 and 78.72, respectively.
"All four came from different backgrounds, but all are great players," said McKay. "Madison has had a great junior career and played a lot of large events in the Northeast, and Coco has played a lot of competitive golf in California and Chinese professional events. Sammi has played several junior events, most notably a big Pro-Am tournament at Pebble Beach, Caroline placed in the top five of a national tournament."
That combination of experience and youth should spell good things for Grinnell in 2026-27. "We will play some national events this fall, which will show where we stack up early on against some great competition," said McKay. "We want to continue to improve on last year's national ranking."
