INA, Ill. (June 4, 2020) — Alex Sadler wasn’t riding on pure luck when she aced a hole at the William Baptist University Invitational in Wynne, Ark. last fall.
It’s a feat only three other Rend Lake College women’s golfers have accomplished in the program’s history. But Sadler showed time and again she had the skills to compete with the very best in the National Junior College Athletic Conference. And for all her accomplishments on the links last season, Sadler was named the NJCAA Region 24 Player of the Year.
“It is a very special honor to be named the Region’s Player of the Year,” said Women’s Head Golf Coach James Gray. “All of the player’s golfing resumes and statistics are voted on by all the coaches in the Region. They collectively select the very best player and name her the Player of the Year.”
And this year that honor is bestowed on Sadler who led the Lady Warriors with an average of 80 over a shortened season. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic knocked out the back half of the spring tournaments, but Sadler was still able to rack up several accolades in the fall. Her hot streak started immediately at the Indiana Wesleyan Tournament in August where she placed 11th overall. Her second day round of 73 was tied for the lowest round of the day.
“And that score ranks as the 14th lowest round in NJCAA this year,” Gray said.
Her efforts at the William Baptist University Fall Invitational, including her hole-in-one, earned her a second-place finish overall. Sadler followed that with a third-place finish in a three-team meeting between RLC, John A. Logan and Danville Area Community College.
“Alex had a fantastic season for the Lady Warriors,” Gray said. “Among her impressive stats are a scoring average of 80, which places her 45th in all of the NJCAA scoring.”
The spring 2020 tournaments may have been canceled, but Sadler plans on returning to Rend Lake College for a few more rounds of golf. The sophomore will be back at RLC next season to try and duplicate her success.