Wednesday, April 28, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – All great golfers need to be consistent, and no player in the conference was more consistent this season than Western Washington freshman Elise Sumner.

Sumner was named the Player of the Year and leads the selections to the 2020-21 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golf All-Conference Team. Earning First Team All-GNAC honors for the second time in as many years, Sumner leads the conference with a 79.5 stroke average over 10 rounds. She is the only player in the GNAC with an average under 80.

Sumner has three top-10 finishes this season, which includes a pair of top-five performances. She opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the Nighthawks Invitational with a score of 157. She ended the regular season with a tie for fourth place at the Western Washington Spring Invitational at 164 before placing sixth at the GNAC Championships at 158.

After leading Western Washington to its sixth conference title and its first in six years, Luke Bennett was named the GNAC Women’s Golf Coach of the Year in his third season at the helm of the women’s program. The Vikings lead the conference with a 320.7 stroke average. They finished in the top-five at three of their five tournaments, which included back-to-back victories at the Western Washington Spring Invitational and the GNAC Championships.

The Vikings’ young but talented roster took the GNAC by storm this season. Dani Bailey was named the GNAC Freshman of the Year and earned first-team honors after ranking second in the conference with an 80.7 stroke average. She had three top-10 finishes, including a tie for third place at the GNAC Championships with a score of 156 to help lead the Vikings to the team title.

Western Washington swept the special awards as junior Kolby Heggenes earned the Newcomer of the Year award. Heggenes has an 83.5 stroke average over eight rounds. Her top performance came at the GNAC Championships as she carded a score of 157 to finish in fifth place.

Western Washington dominated the All-Conference Team with all four of its selections landing on the first team. Joining Sumner and Bailey are freshman Sophia Schmidt and sophomore Sarah Shea. Rounding out the first team are Saint Martin’s sophomores Kathryn Crimp and Hoku Nagamine, who finished in first and second place at the GNAC Championships, respectively.

Schmidt is third in the conference with an 81.2 stroke average. Her season was highlighted by earning medalist honors at the Western Washington Spring Invitational with a five-stroke victory at 156. Shea is ranked fourth in the conference, just behind Schmidt, with an 81.3 stroke average. She tied for fourth place at the WWU Spring Invitational at 164 and then tied for third with Bailey with a score of 156 at the GNAC Championships.

Crimp was selected to the first team after earning second-team honors in 2019-20. She finished fifth in the conference with an 81.4 stroke average over 10 rounds with a pair of top-five finishes. Crimp captured the Saints’ first-ever individual title at the GNAC Championships with a score of 9-over-par 153. Her tournament included a 77 in the first round and a season-low 76 in the second. She also placed second at the Western Washington Spring Invitational at 161.

Nagamine joins Crimp on the first team and rounds out the Saints’ selections after she placed second at the GNAC Championships with a score of 155. She finished the season with an 82.6 average and a low round of 77, which came at the GNAC Championships.

The entire second team is made up of players from Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene. The Yellowjackets had two All-GNAC selections while the Nighthawks led the conference with five selections. Northwest Nazarene senior Hannah Holloway earned second-team honors for the second straight season.

Western Washington was one of nine teams selected to compete at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf West Regional, which will be played on May 3-5 at the Wildhorse Golf Club at Robson Ranch in Denton, Texas. This is the Vikings’ 11th Division II Championships appearance.

2020-21 GNAC WOMEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Player of the Year: Elise Sumner, Western Washington
Coach of the Year: Luke Bennett, Western Washington
Freshman of the Year: Dani Bailey, Western Washington
Newcomer of the Year: Kolby Heggenes, Western Washington