Kathy Niepagen, the 2000 Division III national women's golf "Coach of the Year", has been women's golf coach at Illinois Wesleyan since January 1997 and has been an aggressive and vital component of the University's athletic program.
Her teams have won 11 straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin championships (2002 through 2012) and, since 1997, 58 Illinois Wesleyan players have earned all-conference honors, including Katie Klosterman, Rose Kelly, Brittany Levens, Megan Geraghty, Michelle Schoch and Rebecca Candra in 2012. On 10 occasions since 1998 has an Illinois Wesleyan women’s player won the individual medalist honors at the league tournament, most recently Rose Kelly in 2012.
Eleven teams during her tenure have participated in NCAA Division III national championships and the Titans tied for ninth in the 2013 national championships.
In 2012, IWU was eighth in the NCAA tournament as Katie Klosterman was named to the second team of the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American squad.
In 2011, IWU finished in third place as Rose Kelly finished tied for sixth individually and was a Division III All-American.
The Titans were 13th in the 2010 NCAA Division III tournament, when Erica Woodall was named to the second team and Lindsey Haines earned honorable mention on the NGCA All-American teams.
The IWU women’s team placed ninth in the 2009 national championships, when Lindsey Haines earned second team NGCA All-American honors.
The women’s golf team placed fourth nationally in 2008, the highest finish ever for the Wesleyan women golfers. IWU finished sixth in 2007, 2006 and 2000, eighth in 2005 and 10th in 2002.
In 2007, Taylor Paskell was named a second team NGCA All-American and finished a team-low 23rd in the NCAA Division III national tournament. In the 2006 national tournament, Paskell finished seventh, the lowest ever for an IWU national competitor, and in the 2005 national championships, Paskell was 17th and Alison Mayer tied for 26th.
In two other NCAA tournaments, Illinois Wesleyan has also been represented by players as individuals - Gail Nelson finished eighth in 2003, and Stephanie Morton placed 47th in the 2004 Division III meet.
Since 1997, 56 of her student-athletes have earned National All-Scholar Awards and the IWU women's team tied for fourth among all NCAA division schools in the 2007-2008 NGCA All-Scholar Team GPA Award with a combined 3.662 grade-point average. The 2005 and 2006 teams earned top 10 academic awards across Divisions I, II and III.
Currently in her 16th year as head coach, Niepagen has been the Division III Director of the National Golf Coaches Association since 2002. Named NGCA Region Three "Coach of the Year" in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006 by NGCA membership, Niepagen is also a seven-time recipient of the CCIW "Coach of the Year" award (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012). Representing Illinois Wesleyan, she was tournament director for the 2000 Division III national championships, hosted at Bloomington's Prairie Vista Golf Course, and volunteered as tournament director for the inaugural COUNTRY Youth Classic in 2002.
A native of Bloomington, Ill., and graduate of Central Catholic High School and Illinois State University, she is an avid golfer and a regular participant in women's city championship tournaments. She worked at Bloomington's Highland Park Golf Course for eight years and also worked at Inverrary Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Niepagen is married to six-time Bloomington-Normal city golf champion Frank Niepagen, who serves as her volunteer assistant coach.
1999-2000• 6th place, NCAA Division III championships
• "Coach of the Year", NCAA Division III
• "Coach of the Year", NGCA Region Three
2001-02• 10th place, NCAA Division III championships
2002-03• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", NGCA Region Three
2003-04• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
2004-05• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 8th place, NCAA Division III championships
• "Coach of the Year", NGCA Region Three
2005-06• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 6th place, NCAA Division III championships
• "Coach of the Year", NGCA Region Three
2006-07• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 6th place, NCAA Division III championships
2007-08• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 4th place, NCAA Division III championships
2008-09• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 9th place, NCAA Division III championships
2009-10• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 13th place, NCAA Division III championships
2010-11• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 3rd place, NCAA Division III championships
2011-12• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• 8th place, NCAA Division III championships
2012-13• 1st place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• "Coach of the Year", College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
• Tie for 9th place, NCAA Division III championships
2013-14• 3rd place, College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin
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Updated July 16, 2013
