Thursday, March 11, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – Northwest Nazarene led the GNAC field at its own Nighthawks Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at the Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, California, finishing in third place with a final score of 659 over two rounds.

A pair of freshmen led NNU at the Nighthawks Invitational. Madison Gridley and Paige Vancil finished tied for 13th place with scores of 162. Gridley also finished tied for 18th at the Pioneer Shootout on Mar. 1-2 in Alameda, California.

Junior Taylor Entenman contributed to NNU’s third-place finish at the Nighthawks Invitation, finishing tied for 22nd at 167. Entenman was also named the GNAC Women’s Golf Player of the Week after she led the Nighthawks with a 12th-place finish at the Pioneer Shootout with a score of 160.

A couple of Western Washington players turned in the top performances at the Nighthawks Invitational. Freshman Elise Sumner placed fifth at 157 while fellow freshman Dani Bailey finished tied for sixth at 159 to lead the Vikings to a fourth-place finish with a final team score of 663.

Saint Martin’s Jada French also finished in the top-10 at the Nighthawks Invitational. The sophomore finished tied for eighth place with a score of 160, which included a 78 in the second round.

Sonoma State’s Lexi Nielsen won the Nighthawks Invitational with a score of 6-over-par 150, which included a 1-over-par 73 in the first round. The Seawolves claimed the team title with a final score of 621, 11 strokes ahead of second-place Academy of Art.

LAST WEEK’S TOURNAMENTS
Pioneer Shootout (Mar. 1-2 at the Corica Park South Course, Alameda, Calif.): Team - 5, Northwest Nazarene, 656. 7, Montana State Billings, 677. Individual - 12, Taylor Entenman, Northwest Nazarene, 160. T18, Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene, 163. T18, Tierney Messmer, Montana State Billings, 163. T23, Paige Vancil, Northwest Nazarene, 164. 25, Ragan McGilvery, Northwest Nazarene, 166.

Nighthawks Invitational (Mar. 8-9 at the Poppy Ridge Golf Course, Livermore, Calif.): Team - 3, Northwest Nazarene, 659. 4, Western Washington, 663. 6, Saint Martin’s, 687. 7, Montana State Billings, 691. Individual - 5, Elise Sumner, Western Washington, 157. T6, Dani Bailey, Western Washington, 159. T8, Jada French, Saint Martin’s, 160. T13, Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene, 162. T13, Paige Vancil, Northwest Nazarene, 162.

AROUND THE GNAC
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings opened its season at the Pioneer Shootout on Mar. 1-2 at the Corica Park South Course in Alameda, California, finishing in seventh place with a final score of 677 over two rounds. The Yellowjackets continued their season at the Nighthawks Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at the Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, California, finishing in seventh place again with a score of 691 over two rounds.

• Junior Tierney Messmer paced MSUB at the Pioneer Shootout with a top-20 finish. Messmer finished in a five-way tie for 18th place with a score of 163. Fellow junior Avery Gill just missed the top-25, finishing in 26th at 167.

• Messmer was also the Yellowjackets’ top performer at the Nighthawks Invitational, finishing in 29th place with a score of 171. Gill and junior Kinsey Irvin finished just two strokes behind Messmer, finishing in a three-way tie with Western Washington’s Sarah Shea with scores of 173.

• Montana State Billings will continue its season at the El Cheapo Classic on Mar. 21-22 in Pueblo, Colorado.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene joined Montana State Billings at the Pioneer Shootout on Mar. 1-2 at the Corica Park South Course in Alameda, California, finishing in fifth place with a score of 656. Northwest Nazarene finished in third place at its own Nighthawks Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at the Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, California, with a score of 659.

• Junior Taylor Entenman was named the GNAC Women’s Golf Player of the Week. Entenman was the top GNAC golfer at the Pioneer Shootout, placing 12th with a score of 160. Her performance included a low round of 78 in the first round.

• Freshman Madison Gridley turned in a top-20 performance at the Pioneer Shootout, finishing in a five-way tie for 18th place at 163. Fellow freshman Paige Vancil also impressed, finishing tied for 23rd at 164.

• Gridley and Vancil paced NNU at the Nighthawks Invitational as they were two of four players tied for 13th place with scores of 162. Vancil shot an 84 in the first round but bounced back to shoot a 78 in the second round.

• Entenman tied for 22nd at the Nighthawks Invitational with junior Sienna Quinlivan, who competed as an individual. The two finished with scores of 167.

• Northwest Nazarene will play against College of Idaho on Friday in Nampa before heading to Clarkston, Washington, to compete at the Lewis-Clark State Spring Invitational on Mar. 15-16.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s opened its season with a sixth-place finish at the Nighthawks Invitational on Monday and Tuesday in Livermore, California, with a score of 687.

• Sophomore Jada French led the Saints with an eighth-place finish. She turned in an 82 in the first round and a 78 in the second round to finish with a final score of 160.

• Fellow sophomore Kathryn Crimp placed in the top-20, finishing in 19th place at 165. Junior Katherine Swor wasn’t far back from Crimp, finishing tied for 27th at 169.

• Saint Martin’s will compete next at the Puget Sound Invitational on Mar. 15-16 in DuPont, Washington.

SIMON FRASER
• Due to the closure of the U.S./Canada border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Simon Fraser’s golf season is on hold.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington opened its season at the Nighthawks Invitational on Monday and Tuesday in Livermore, California, finishing in fourth place with a score of 663. The Vikings finished just four strokes behind third-place Northwest Nazarene.

• Freshman Elise Sumner led the Vikings with a fifth-place finish, finishing with a score of 157, which included a 76 in the first round. Sumner leads the GNAC with a 78.5 scoring average.

• Fellow freshman Dani Bailey placed right behind Sumner, finishing tied for sixth place at 159. Her performance included a 76 in the second round.

• Sophomore Sarah Shea finished tied for 30th with Kinsey Irvin of Montana State Billings with a score of 173.

• Up next, the Vikings will head to Pueblo, Colorado, to compete at the El Cheapo Classic on Mar. 21-22.