FOREST, Va. --- ODAC women's golfers completed a little more than half of their normal season in 2020 before competition halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, what we saw from fall tournaments and those played early last spring left plenty of anticipation for the start of the 2021 season. In prelude to competition, the conference's coaches conducted the annual ODAC Women's Golf Coaches Poll.

Washington and Lee University appeared #1 in the first-ever ODAC women's golf poll in 2020 and that trend continues with the Generals topping the chart with 63 points including seven first place votes. The University of Lynchburg sits second with 55 markers and the remaining two top nods. Bridgewater College rounds out the top-three with 53 tallies.

This season's process was a bit more difficult for the coaches. Normally they would have a fall season to gauge the potential of each team entering the spring championship season. Below we take a look at each program and highlight some team storylines and top returning golfers.

TEAM PREVIEWS

• BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE (Poll: 3rd - 53 pts.) Head coach John Rogers (3x ODAC COY - 2016-18) has built the Eagles into a two-time ODAC champion since the conference inaugurated the sport in 2013. All-ODAC Second Team choice Savannah Scott (82.3 avg | 10 rounds) leads a very experienced BC contingent. Scott won her first outing of the season at the Knights Invitational in September 2019. BC will also lean on Heather Donnelly (85.0 | 10), Hannah Woodson (86.7 | 10), and Abby Papke (90.2 | 10).
  
  
• EMORY & HENRY COLLEGE (Poll: unranked) Head coach Bill Mannino is a proven teacher of the game evidenced by national qualifiers from his time at Hollins, the last of those standouts being Elizabeth Cheng in 2013 and 2014. The program at E&H continues to build with a pair of first-years in McKenna Quillen and Emily Smelcer competing this spring.
  
  
• FERRUM COLLEGE (Poll: 6th - 24 pts.) Head coach Erick Cox features a four-player squad this spring season. Three of those Panthers bring experience in Hunter Tharpe (91.1 | 8), Caroline King (110.9 | 8), and Arin Bunker (123.5 | 8). Jiwanan Masoot will also feature in Ferrum's rotation.
  
  
• UNIVERSITY OF LYNCHBURG (Poll: 2nd - 55 pts.) Head coach Mike Veverka -- whose staff includes 2017 NCAA and three-time ODAC champion Christina Herbert -- didn't get to see his squad challenge for an ODAC title in its first season due to the pandemic. Expectations are high for the Hornets with All-ODAC third Team pick Ivy Foran (83.0 | 10) and late-season addition NoraNoel Nolan (81.5 | 2) leading the way. Nolan won last year's Hill City Invitational, while Foran posted four top-10's including two top-fives in six starts. Lynchburg will lean on a strong first-year class -- Emily Brubaker, Gracie Cannon, Emily Erickson -- to challenge for a title this season.
  
  
• RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE (Poll: 5th - 37 pts.) Head coach Barry Pfitzner begins his first full season guiding R-MC's women's golfers after taking over during 2019-20 campaign. His squad featureds a quartet of experienced players led by Chae Han (93.0 | 6) and Madeline Brahler (98.5 | 6). Molly Bauhan (102.3 | 3) and Elizabeth Magee (103.5 | 4) will compete with freshmen Emma Bonovitch and Anna White for rotation spots.
  
  
• SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY (Poll: 4th - 41 pts.) Head coach Scott Singhass features a good mix of experience and youth in his 2021 squad that looks to take that next step forward. Natalie Hill (85.4 | 14), and All-ODAC Third Team selection in 2019, and Katie Davis (95.6 | 14) lead the returning contingent that includes Kasey Charles. Hill posted five top-10 finishes including a victory in the season-ending Shenandoah Spring Fling in March. Newcomers Parris Hague, Alex Pallozzi, and Sydney Vaillancourt will challenge for lineup positions.
  
  
• SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE (Poll: 8th - 21 pts.) Head coach Adam New has retooled the Vixens' roster as they look to climb the ODAC ladder. Annika Kuleba (91.8 | 5) leads a group that includes a trio of first-years in Jayden Gawronski, Kayle Humes, and Emma Winn.
  
  
• VIRGINIA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY (Poll: 7th - 22 pts.) The Marlins are under new leadership this season with David Nelson taking the reins after four seasons coaching Hampton University. Only Ashlee Bobzin (89.0 | 4) returns with ODAC experience udner her belt. Nelson will be looking to a combination of junior Shamere Tyler and first-years Raven Denton, Avery Sutherland, and Samantha Vos to fill out his rotation.
  
  
• WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY (Poll: 1st - 63 pts.) Washington and Lee has grown into a perennial national qualifier under previous head coach Pete Gyscek and now reigning ODAC Coach of the Year Kelsie Carralero. The Generals have successfully retooled their roster year-after-year to capture an ODAC-best three titles of the seven competed since 2013. Megan Kanaby (77.9 | 8) burst on the scene to garner ODAC Golfer of the Year honors in her first collegiate season in 2020. She is the lone returning ODAC golfer with a sub-80 average after leading the conference ranks last season. Three-time All-ODAC competitor Beth Ann Townsend (81.4 | 8), two-time All-ODAC honoree Savannah Johnson (82.3 | 7), and sophomore Cassie Robinson (84.9 | 8) add further firepower to Washington and Lee's lineup. Each posted sub-85 averages and ranked 11th or better on the conference table.

THE SCHEDULE AND TOURNAMENT

• The ODAC women's golf schedule is fluid and determined by each school based upon their availability to compete and enter tournaments within their respective travel allowances. Events and results will be updated on the school and ODAC websites.
• The 2021 ODAC Women's Golf Championships return to Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center just outside of Greensboro, N.C. in Browns Summit. The competitors will compete in a modified 36-hole format over two days. All teams will be able to practice on Saturday, April 24, followed by 18 holes of competition on Sunday, April 25, and Monday, April 26.
• The selections for the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Tournament will be announced on Monday, May 3. Competition is set for May 11-14 at Forest Akers Golf Coureses in Lansing, Mich.

Listed below is the 2021 ODAC Women's Golf Coaches Poll. For more information on ODAC women's golf, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2021 ODAC WOMEN'S GOLF COACHES POLL