2008-2009 MCC Finish: 6th out of 9
Letterwinners returning/lost: 2/2

Notable returners:
Dena Hugen       Jr.       Oskaloosa
(87.3 avg., low of 76)
Mayci Rule          So.      Idaho Falls, Idaho
(91.1 avg., low of 84)

Notable losses:
Kolby Baetsle
(Letterwinner)
Janna Eveland
(Letterwinner)

Notable newcomers:
Leah Early           Fr.         Cedar Rapids
Jordan Morris       Fr.         Brooklyn

A hometown all-conference player will lead the Lady Statesmen on the links as the William Penn women's golf team enters the 2009-2010 season.

Dena Hugen (Jr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) led the Lady Statesmen to a sixth-place finish at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships last spring and will be looked upon to help this year's squad to an even higher placing this year.

Hugen, who had six top-ten finishes and six rounds under 90 in her first campaign at Penn, earned honorable-mention all-MCC laurels in the program's first season in competition since 2001.

Mayci Rule (So., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Skyline HS) also returns to bolster the team as she owned four rounds under 90 a year ago.

"With a year of collegiate golf under their belt, I am excited to have both Dena and Mayci back," Second Year Head Coach Connie Groet said. "They have experience and have been playing a lot this summer and fine-tuning their golf games. I look for both girls to have a lot of strong showings this fall and next spring."

Leah Early (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids Jefferson HS) and Jordan Morris (Fr., Brooklyn, Grinnell HS) join the Lady Statesmen team and Groet feels both will help assist Hugen and Rule to move Penn up the league ladder.

"Leah and Jordan have a lot of learning to do coming into this season, but both have worked hard during the summer on improving their games," Groet said. "They will play at tougher courses, play 18 holes instead of nine, and add nearly 1,000 yards to the courses they played in high school, so it will be a major change, but I believe both girls will adjust well. These two girls seem quite level-headed and I am hoping they will play well day in and day out."

Schedule/Conference

The Lady Statesmen will open their fall slate on August 28 at Hunter's Ridge Golf Course for the Mount Mercy Invitational, while the season concludes October 11-12 at Sunnyside CC for the MCC Preview Tournament. The MCC title will be fought over next spring at Otter Creek GC in Ankeny on April 23-24.

Groet expects defending league champion St. Ambrose to be the favorites in the MCC again this year.

"The conference is loaded with talented teams, but I look for St. Ambrose to be the team to beat," Groet said. "I think Mount Mercy has improved their young team and they should contend with Waldorf and Ashford. We should be in the middle of the pack and hopefully improve on last year's sixth-place finish."

"Dena and Mayci finished strong at the conference meet last spring and hopefully, with the addition of Leah and Jordan, we will be able to build upon that," Groet said.