OLLU's Ward and LCU's Francis earn RRAC Golfer of the Week honors
WACO, Texas (March 16, 2026) – Our Lady of the Lake's (Texas) Kendall Ward has captured the RRAC Women's Golfer of the Week and Louisiana Christian's Blake Francis has won Men's Golfer of the Week for the dates of March 9-15. This is the fourth set of the weekly awards.
RRAC Women's Golfer of the Week – Kendall Ward – Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)
Junior Kendall Ward guided the Saints to a fifth-place finish out of 10 teams at the Las Vegas Warrior Women's Invitational. The event took place March 11-12 at the Legacy Golf Club in Henderson, Nev., and was hosted by NCAA D2 Winona State (Minn.). Ward finished in ninth place with a +21 (+7, +8, +6).
OLLU finished at +128, posting rounds of +31, +53, and +44. The Saints finished ahead of NW Nazarene (Idaho), Eastern Wyoming, Quincy (Ill.), Carroll (Mont.), and Jamestown (N.D.). Winning the tournament was British Columbia-Okanagan, followed by Missouri Southern, Winona State, and Saint Martin's (Wash.)
Ward is a native of Spring, Texas. This is her second golfer of the week award.
OLLU is ranked No. 50 in the Scoreboard NAIA rankings. Ward is ranked No. 174 over 900 individuals in the NAIA.
Additional RRAC women's golfer of the week nominee: Ella Dieter from Texas A&M-Texarkana
RRAC Men's Golfer of the Week – Blake Francis – Louisiana Christian
Senior Blake Francis finished in a tie for 22nd place at the Lawrence Tech Spring Break Invitational. The event took place at the Grand National GCS in Opelika, Ala., and was hosted by Lawrence Tech (Mich.). He shot a round one 74, round two 79, and round three 75 for 228 (+12).
The Wildcats placed 11th ahead of Siena Heights (Mich.) and Lourdes (Ohio). LCU posted a +105, with a round one 340, round two 359, and round three 380 for 969. Winning the tournament was Point (Ga.).
Francis, a senior, is a native of Rayne, La.
LCU is ranked No. 145 in the Scoreboard NAIA rankings. Francis is ranked 289th among more than 1,000 NAIA golfers.
Additional RRAC men's golfer of the week nominees: None
RRAC Notebook:
- TAMUT junior Ella Dieter finished in a tie for 48th in the 2026 Arkansas Collegiate. She tallied +22 and +10, and the Eagles placed 12th.
2026 RRAC Golfer Weekly Selections:
|
Dates |
Male Winner |
Female Winner |
|
Feb. 16-22 |
Florion Simon (TAMUV) |
Madeline Pate (TAMUV) |
|
Feb. 23-March 1 |
None |
Kendall Ward (OLLU) |
|
March 2-8 |
Jorge Molinar III (USW) |
Sophia Vidal (USW) |
|
March 9-15 |
Blake Francis (LCU) |
Kendall Ward (OLLU) |
This week in the RRAC:
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