2011-12 GNAC Golfers-of-the-Week
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| Karly Olsen |
Week of Sept. 12-18: Women - Karly Olsen, Saint Martin's (Sr., Bellingham, WA – Sehome) carded a two-over par 74 in the second round and finished ninth overall with a 36-hole score of 156 to lead the Saints to a third-place finish in the Colorado Christian Fall Invitational. Olsen's round was the second best in the tournament and the best in the second round as she helped the Saints post a team score of 304 (the second best in the tournament) after shooting 331 in the first round.
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Week of Sept. 19-25: Men - Nick Varelia, Western Washington (Sr., Kent, WA - Kentwood) tied for second in the Western Washington Invitational with a 36-hole total of three-under par 141. Varelia had the second lowest round Saturday and the third lowest of the tournament, carving out a four-under par 68 to climb into a tie for second in the final individual standings with teammate Dylan Goodwin and Saint Martin's Matt Epstein. Going into the 2011-12 season, Varelia ranks fourth in GNAC history in career scoring average with a 74.85 average. Western Washington University golfers hold down the top six spots and eight of the top 10 on the career list.
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| Webb |
Stanhope |
Week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2: Men - Jake Webb, Western Washington (Jr., Issaquah, WA – Skyline) finished fifth to lead the Vikings to a second-place finish in the Saint Martin's Invitational Monday and Tuesday at the Olympia Golf Club. Webb had a 36-hole total of 143, including a career-best round of 70 Tuesday on the par 71 6,110 yard layout. That was just his fourth par or better round in 24 total career rounds. Women - Kalli Stanhope, Montana State Billings (Sr., Glendive, MT – Dawson County) won the Rocky Mountain Invitational Monday, finishing the 54-hole tournament with a score of 219. Her second-round 70 on the Par 71, 5,989 yard Peter Yegen Golf Club layout in Billings was the lowest in the brief two-year history of women's golf in the GNAC, breaking the record of 71 set last season by Sophie Elstrott of Western Washington. Elstrott shot 71 on four different occasions last season.
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| Goodwin |
Elstrott |
Week of Oct. 3-9: Men - Dylan Goodwin, Western Washington (Jr., Mukilteo, WA – Kamiak), who won the GNAC season stroke title last year with a 72.9 average, finished seventh to lead the Vikings to a third place finish in the Grand Canyon Invitational. Goodwin, who had a 215 total on rounds of 68, 70 and 77, finished in a tie for seventh with teammate Nick Varelia. Women - Sophie Elstrott, Western Washington (Sr., Eugene, OR – South Eugene), who won three tournaments last season, won the Saint Martin's Invitational with a 36-hole score of 148 to lead the Vikings into the team title. Both Elstrott and the Vikings were the defending champions.
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| Hardy |
Taylor |
Week of Oct. 10-16: Men - Nick Hardy, Northwest Nazarene (So., Edmonds, WA – King's) fired a two-under par 70 to win medalist honors in a dual with the College of Idaho Tuesday at the Centennial Golf Course in Nampa. The Coyotes earned a 293-297 victory in the dual with the county rivals. Women - Alex Taylor, Western Washington, shot a 75 Tuesday, equaling the fifth lowest round of the day to lead the Vikings to a tie for the team title in the 18 th annual Western Washington Invitational at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club. Taylor ended up tied for eighth in the tournament with teammate Sophie Elstrott with a 36-hole score of 152.
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Week of Oct. 17-23: Men - Matt Epstein, Saint Martin's (Sr., Monroe, WA) finished seventh with a 54-hole score of 225 at the Lindsay Olive Wildcat Classic at Corning, Calif. Epstein is currently tied for the conference scoring lead with Nick Varelia of Western Washington. Both players are averaging 73.0 strokes per round. Epstein had rounds of 75, 78 and 72 at Corning, leading the Saints to an eighth place team finish. Western Washington, which was led by Jake Webb, finished third. Webb placed 15 th with a score of 227, including a final round 70.
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| Goodwin |
Rachor |
Week of Oct. 24-30: Men - Dylan Goodwin, Western Washington (Jr., Mukilteo, WA – Kamiak), finished fourth to lead the Vikings to the team title in the Cal State Monterey Otter Invitational at Seaside, Calif. Goodwin fired a 67 in the third round as the Vikings shot 288 to rally from a 10-shot deficit and then won the tournament in a playoff with Cal State Stanislaus. Both Goodwin and WWU's third round were the best scores of the tournament. Goodwin finished with a 54-hole total of even par 216, five shots back of medalist Ben Taylor of Nova Southeastern. Women - Claire Rachor, Western Washington (Jr., Bellingham) tied for medalist honors in the Sonoma State Invitational leading the Vikings to their third straight tournament title. Rachor had rounds of 73 and 75 to tie Kylie Barros of UBC who had rounds of 74 and 74. Rachor finished the fall season with a 76.9 scoring average, which currently ranks second in the GNAC trailing only teammate Sophie Elstrott, who has a 75.8 average. Elstrott finished third at the Sonoma meet with a 151 total. WWU opened up a 17-stroke first round lead and finished 11 shots ahead of runner-up UBC.
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| Moore |
Vivian |
Week of Oct. 31-Nov. 6: Men - Brandon Moore, Saint Martin's (Sr., Tacoma, WA – Washington) finished ninth in the Hawaii Hilo Dennis Rose Invitational with a 54-hole total of 218. Moore shot a one-under-par 71 Tuesday as the Saints posted a team score of 287, the second best of the round, to tie Cal State Monterey Bay for fourth place. The Saints trailed the Otters by 18 shots after two rounds. Women - Kim Vivian, Saint Martin's (Jr., Lacey, WA - Timberline) shot rounds of 76, 70 and 77 and finished eighth in the Hawaii Hilo Dennis Rose Invitational with a 54-hole score of 223. Her 70 was the best in the second round and she was the only Saint player to break 80 in either the second or third round. SMU finished seventh with a 54-hole team score of 948.
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Week of Nov. 7-13: Men - Michael Belle, Simon Fraser (So., Burnaby, BC – St. Thomas More) led the Clan to a sixth-place finish Monday and Tuesday in the Cal State San Marcos Fall Classic tying for ninth in the 54-hole total of 224. Jeremy Sanders of Redlands won medalist honors with a two-under par 216. Belle finished the fall season ranked sixth in scoring in the GNAC with a 74.3 average. Host Cal State San Marcos won the team title with a 884 total, 15 shots ahead of Redlands. The Clan had rounds of 312, 302 and 311 to finish at 925.
Previous Golfers-of-the-Week
