Friday, October 12, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – All six women's golf teams were in action this week with the Saint Martin's and WWU Invitationals being contested over a five-day span.

It was Montana State Billings who highlighted the group in Olympia, taking first place by 14 strokes with a two-round total of 640. Montana-native Shealyn Hafer led the way for the Yellowjackets in their fourth tournament of the 2018-19 campaign, finishing with rounds of 79 and 77 to record a second-place finish individually. In total, 40 individual competitors made the trip to Olympia.

Up in Bellingham, Western Washington was the highest GNAC placer at their own WWU Invitational. Led by junior Lacy Sheldon (6-over-par 152), the Vikings finished in second-place, just eight strokes behind first-place Sonoma State.

LAST WEEK'S TOURNAMENTS
Saint Martin's Invitational (Oct. 5-6 at Olympia Golf & Country Club, Olympia, Wash.): Team – 1, Montana State Billings, 640 (329-311). 2, Simon Fraser, 654 (329-325). 3, Concordia, 655 (331-324). 5, Northwest Nazarene, 699 (361-338). 7, Saint Martin's, 715 (359-356). Individuals - 1, Cammie Decker, Concordia, 151 (77-74). 2, Shealyn Hafer, Montana State Billings, 156 (79-77). 3, Jaya Rampuri, Simon Fraser, 157 (77-80). 4, Kinsey Irvin, Montana State Billings, 159 (77-82). 5, Tierney Messmer, Montana State Billings, 160 (85-75). T6, Belinda Lin, Simon Fraser, 162 (82-80). T8, Renae Heisler, Montana State Billings, 165 (88-77). T8, Kylie Jack, Simon Fraser, 165 (85-80). 10, Shantel Antonio, Concordia, 166 (82-84).

WWU Invitational (Oct. 9-10 at Bellingham Golf & Country Club, Bellingham, Wash.): Team – 1, Sonoma State, 610 (298-312). 2, Western Washington, 618 (304-314). 3, Concordia, 619 (313-306). 5, Simon Fraser, 631 (314-317). 10, Montana State Billings, 658 (331-327). 11, Northwest Nazarene, 672 (328-344). 13, Saint Martin's, 684 (331-353). Individual – T3, Cammie Decker, Concordia, 152 (80-72). T3, Lacy Sheldon, Western Washington, 152 (72-80). T8, Kylie Jack, Simon Fraser, 153 (77-76). T8, Kaley Saludares, Concordia, 153 (75-78). T10, Brianna Esvelt, Western Washington, 154 (76-78). T10, Belinda Lin, Simon Fraser, 154 (77-77).

AROUND THE GNAC
CONCORDIA
• The Cavaliers continued their season with a pair of third-place finishes this week.

• Up in Olympia, the team put together a two-day total of 655 to finish just one stroke behind second-place Simon Fraser. It had a similar result three days later in Bellingham, finishing one stroke behind second-place Western Washington at the WWU Invitational.

• Junior Cammie Decker received medalist honors at the Saint Martin's Invitational, shooting a 5-over-par 151 over the two days. She also tied for the best finish among GNAC individuals in Bellingham (T3) with rounds of 80 and 72.

• Decker sits at No. 3 in scoring average in the GNAC with a team-leading 76.0.

• Concordia will return to the course on Oct. 22-23, traveling to Rohnert Park, Calif. for the Sonoma State Fall Invitational.  

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Playing in their fourth tournament of the season, the Yellowjackets took home the title at the Saint Martin's Invitational.

• Senior Shealyn Hafer led the way for MSUB, turning in rounds of 79 and 77 to finish in second place individually. 

• It's Hafer who leads the team in scoring average through rounds with an average of 79.4. The Butte, Montana native is currently ranked eighth in the GNAC in that category.

• Montana State Billings' busy fall season continues draws to a close next week as it stays in Billings for the Leslie Spalding Cup. The match play-variant event against Rocky Mountain will run from Oct. 18-20 at Peter Yegen Jr. Golf Club and Lake Hills Golf Club. 

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Nighthawks opened the month of October with a fifth-place showing at the Saint Martin's Invitational before finishing 11th in Bellingham.

• The solid trip to Olympia was highlighted by freshman Taylor Entenman, who bounced back from a first-round 87 to shoot an 80 on the final day. Entenman finished in a tie for 11th among competing individuals.

• Entenman and senior Stephanie Miller paced NNU at the WWU Invitational, finishing in a tie for 30th with matching two-day totals of 162.

• Northwest Nazarene will return to the course for its final tournament of the fall on Oct. 29-30 at the CSU San Marcos Invitational in San Diego, Calif. 

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Just getting into the swing of things, Saint Martin's finished seventh at their own Saint Martin's Invitational before placing 13th at the WWU Invitational. The tournaments marked the team's first action of the 2018-19 season.

• Freshman Katherine Swor leads the team in scoring average through four rounds with an average of 84.3. Swor's rounds of 83 and 88 put her in a tie for 16th individually in Olympia.

• The Saints will return to the links once more this fall, taking to Rohnert Park, Calif. for the Sonoma State Fall Invitational. The tournament is scheduled to run Oct. 22-23. 

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan continued their season with a pair of top-five finishes this week.

• Matthew Steinbach's team placed second at the Saint Martin's Invitational with a two-round total of 654, then followed that up with a fifth-place showing in Bellingham.

• B.C.-products Jaya Rampuri and Kylie Jack paced Simon Fraser this week. Rampuri finished third in Olympia (11-over-par 157), while Jack tied for eighth at the WWU Invitational (7-over-par 153). 

• Balance has been the name of the game for SFU this season, and it's senior Belinda Lin who leads the team in scoring. Her 79.0 average is ranks sixth in the GNAC.

• Simon Fraser returns to action at the end of the month in the CSU San Marcos Invitational.  

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington played just once this week, placing second at their own WWU Invitational.

• Junior Lacy Sheldon led the Vikings, carding rounds of 72 and 80 for a 6-over-par 152. The opening-round 72 was her team's lowest score of the week.

• Junior Brianna Esvelt was the other Viking to place inside the top-10. She carded a two-day score of 154.

• Up next for WWU is the CSU San Marcos Invitational in San Diego, Calif. The tournament will run from Oct. 29-30.

GNAC Women’s Golfer of the Week (Oct. 8, 2018)
Cammie Decker (Concordia, Jr., Keizer, Ore. – McNary): Decker had a pair of top-20 finishes as the Cavaliers played in two tournaments last week. Competing against primarily Division I competition, Decker opened the week by tying for 15th place at the Rose City Collegiate with a three-round score of 227. She tied with teammate Shantel Antonio as the pair were the top non-Division I finishers. Decker returned to the course to win the Saint Martin’s Invitational on Saturday, carding a two-round score of 5-over-par 151.

Also Nominated: Shealyn Hafer (Montana State Billings), Katherine Swor (Saint Martin’s), Jaya Rampuri (Simon Fraser), Lacy Sheldon (Western Washington).