Friday, October 11, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – The fall 2013 women’s golf season winds down as four GNAC schools have a final tournament before resuming play in the Spring of 2014.

Northwest Nazarene crosses the border to participate in the University of Victoria Shootout in Victoria, B.C., from Oct. 14-15.

Western Washington heads to Rohnert Park, Calif., on Oct. 21 for the two-day Sonoma State Invitational.

Simon Fraser and Saint Martin’s will be the final GNAC schools on the course in 2013 competition, traveling to Hawaii as the Clan participates in the Hawaii Hilo Invitational, while the Saints tee off in the Dennis Rose Invitational, both on Oct. 28-29.

Montana State Billings wrapped up its fall 2013 slate with the final round of match play against Rocky Mountain College on Oct. 10.

RECAP

Western Washington finished in third place in both major tournaments this week, posting a team score of 645 (326-319) at the Saint Martin’s Invite on Oct. 4-5, and following with a 633 (313-320) at its own invitational on Oct. 7-8.

Saint Martin’s finished directly behind WWU in both tournaments, logging a score of 653 (330-323) at its invitational and improving to a 638 (317-321) at the WWU Invite.

Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser saw less success as a team in the two tournaments against GNAC opponents, as the schools finished seventh and eighth at the SMU Invite and 11th and 12th at the WWU Invite, respectively.

Despite NNU’s high team scores of 676 (340-336) and 668 (329-339) last week, freshman Samantha Miller (Fr., Hillsboro, OR – Hillsboro) gave the Crusaders something to smile about.

Miller kicked off her collegiate career by shooting a 152 (74-78) at the SMU Invite, which was good enough for second place. The two-round total was just two strokes off of the pace set by the tournament champion, and Miller followed her performance with a 156 (77-79) at the WWU Invite. Miller was named GNAC Female Golfer of the Week for the period ending Oct. 6 for her efforts.

Right on Miller’s heels was Mandy Wittmier (Sr., Ferndale, WA – Ferndale) of Saint Martin’s, who finished third at the SMU Invite with a score of 153 (77-76). The senior followed Miller’s lead at the WWU Invite, as the two tied for eighth, Wittmier also posting a 156 (79-77).

Another standout for SMU was Jennifer Liedes (So., Olympia, WA – Olympia), whose tournament-low round of 71 on the first day of the WWU Invite helped her to a two-day total of 151 and a tie for third place.

Kristin Hansen (So., Spokane, WA – Mead) of WWU was the third GNAC golfer to post a pair of top-10 finishes this week, shooting a 158 (80-78) at the SMU Invite for ninth place, and a 153 (75-78) at the Vikings’ Invitational to tie for sixth on the leader board.

While the other four GNAC schools competed with one another, Montana State Billings remained in its home state to participate in the Rocky Mountain Invitational from Sept. 29-30. The Yellowjackets finished third as a team, shooting a 948 (311-322-315).

MSU Billings’ top-10 finishers included the Fish twins – Cayley and Katie – who finished with nearly identical scores of 232 (75-78-79) and 233 (766-77-80), respectively. Capri Ingram (Sr., Livingston, MT – Park Senior) landed in a tie for 10th, posting a three-round total of 235 (78-81-76).

NOTABLE

Miller and Haley Gochnour (So., Boise, ID – Cole Valley Christian) each posted a score of 77 in the first round of the WWU Invite, which helped NNU to a school-record low round score of 329…Liedes’ mark of 71 was the lowest single round score in Saint Martin’s school history…Hansen’s first-round score of 75 at the WWU Invite was the third-lowest GNAC total of the week, behind Miller’s 74 in her first-ever collegiate round at the SMU Invite, and Liedes’ 71…the top four GNAC individuals in scoring average thus far are all from different schools.