Donny Cortez

Women’s Golf Prepares for CCIW Championship

Titans top pre-championship poll

9/30/2026 4:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON & NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The No. 18 Illinois Wesleyan women's golf team will trek to Metamora, Ill. for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship this Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 1-3, in hopes of claiming its fifth straight conference title and 21st overall. The 54-hole tournament will take place at par-71, 5,738 yard Metamora Fields Golf Club, which has hosted the Championship the past four years. Tee times will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

The CCIW office announced its annual pre-championship poll Wednesday, Sept. 30, where Illinois Wesleyan secured the top ranking with six first-place votes and 62 points overall. Augustana came in second with two first-place votes and 54 total points, and Millikin followed in third with one first-place vote and 47 points. Carthage (46) and North Central (35) rounded out the top five. Elmhurst (24), Wheaton (22), and North Park (8) finished out the nine-team poll.

The Green and White will bring a lineup of six to Metamora, led by freshman Natalie Ocheltree (Normal, Ill.-University High). She will be joined by seniors Emily Gastrau (Wauwatosa, Wis.-Wauwatosa East) and Nora Cerroni (Waukesha, Wis.-Waukesha North), classmate Merritt Bell (Palatine, Ill.-Fremd), and juniors Grace Fagan (Kirkwood, Mo.-Visitation Academy) and Gigi Zera (Glenview, Ill.-Loyola Academy). The four upperclassmen will return to the championship stage, while Ocheltree and Bell will each make their conference tournament debuts.

The 2025 season saw IWU take home their fourth consecutive CCIW Championship, with Gastrau winning the individual title on a career-best performance around Metamora Fields. Four other Titans landed in the top-10, with Zera tying for third, Cerroni taking the fifth spot, and Fagan following in eighth. All five landed on the First Team All-CCIW, and Gastrau and Fagan shared the CCIW's Elite 26 Award.

The CCIW Championship will open Thursday, Oct. 1 with the Titans teeing off at 9 a.m. Live scoring will be available through the Scoreboard powered by Clippd, and can be found here.

2026 CCIW Women's Golf Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll
1. Illinois Wesleyan (6 first-place votes), 62 points
2. Augustana (2 first-place votes), 54 points
3. Millikin, (1 first-place vote) 47 points
4. Carthage, 46 points
5. North Central, 35 points
6. Carroll, 27 points
7. Elmhurst, 24 points
8. Wheaton, 22 points
9. North Park, 8 points

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