Friday, October 1, 2021

Montana State Billings was the most active and successful of four GNAC women’s golf teams to compete over the past two weeks, highlighted by an individual win for senior Kinsey Irvin and a third-place team finish at the Hardrocker Fall Invitational in Rapid City, S.D. from Sept. 20-21.

The Yellowjackets then stepped up to hold their own against much tougher competition at the RJGA Shootout at Estrella from Sept. 27-28, finishing in 19th place but with a lower overall team score than at the Hardrocker. Two other GNAC teams made the trip to Goodyear, Arizona, with Western Washington finishing in ninth and Saint Martin’s finishing in 17th place.

At the Hardrocker, Irvin held off 44 challengers to win with a 36-hole score of 155, two strokes ahead of Westminster’s Tuesday Epperson. Heading into the final day in a three-way tie for second, Irvin shot a 76, tying the lowest single-round score of the tournament, to ice it. Senior Tierney Messmer joined Irvin in the top 10, coming in fifth place with a score of 160.

The Shootout at Estrella featured the Yellowjackets, Saint Martin’s, Western Washington and 16 other programs from across the western United States. Vikings junior Sarah Shea was the GNAC’s top finisher in 19th place with a score of 7-over-par 151. Irvin was right behind her, tying for 20th with a score of 152, three strokes better than her tournament-winning performance a week prior.

In addition, Simon Fraser competed at the DBU Women’s Classic at the Wildhorse Golf Club in Denton, Texas from Sept. 20-21, placing 19th as a team with Shirin Anjarwalla as SFU’s top finisher. Montana State Billings sent a “B” team to the Beartooth Invitational in Laurel, Montana from Sept. 27-28, coming in fourth place as freshman Meilyn Armstrong recorded an individual sixth-place finish.

Saint Martin’s and Western Washington will compete this Monday and Tuesday at the Sonoma State Invitational in Santa Rosa, California. The Vikings will then meet Montana State Billings, Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser at the Westminster Wasatch Invitational taking place in South Jordan, Utah next Friday and Saturday.

LAST WEEK’S TOURNAMENTS

DBU Women’s Classic (Sept. 20-21 at Wildhorse Golf Club, Denton, Texas): Team - 1, Lynn, 871. 19, Simon Fraser, 991. Individual - 1, Madeline Ananthasane, North Georgia, 209. T-76, Shirin Anjarwalla, Simon Fraser, 239. T-82, Natasha Kozlowski, Simon Fraser, 240.

Hardrocker Invitational (Sept. 20-21 at Red Rocks, Rapid City, S.D.): Team - 1, Chadron State, 658. 3, MSU Billings, 665. Individual - 1, Kinsey Irvin, MSU Billings, 155. 5, Tierney Messmer, MSU Billings, 160. T-14, Brennan Larson, MSU Billings, 175. T-14, Jalen Wagner, MSU Billings, 175. T-27, Meilyn Armstrong, MSU Billings, 187.

RJGA Shootout at Estrella (Sept. 27-28 at Golf Club of Estrella, Goodyear, Ariz.): 1, Cal State San Marcos, 598. 9, Western Washington, 627. 17, Saint Martin’s, 644. 19, MSU Billings, 661. Individual - T-1, Brianne Horn, Cal State San Marcos, 143. T-1, Drishti Karumbava, Cal State East Bay, 143. T-1, Raquel Prado, Point Loma, 143. 19, Sarah Shea, Western Washington, 151. T-20, Kinsey Irvin, MSU Billings, 152. T-36, Claire Moon, Western Washington, 157. T-36, Hoku Nagamine, Saint Martin’s, 157. T-42, Jada French, Saint Martin’s 158. T-44, Kathryn Crimp, Saint Martin’s, 159. T-51, Megan Billeter, Western Washington, 160. T-51, Tierney Messmer, MSU Billings, 160. T-51, Jaclyn Yoo, Western Washington, 160. ,

Beartooth Invitational (Sept. 27-28 at Laurel Golf Club, Laurel, Mont.): Team - 1, Rocky Mountain, 675. 4, MSU Billings, 729. Individual - T-6, Meilyn Armstrong, 172. T-12, Karissa Tranas, 177. T-19, Sierra Brubaker, 186.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings played three tournaments over the past two weeks, while no other GNAC school played more than one. They recorded a third-place finish at the Hardrocker Invitational with a 36-hole team score of 665, four strokes behind second-place Westminster College, before splitting their squad last weekend. The “A” team recorded a 19th-place finish at the Shootout at Estrella with a 36-hole team score of 661, while the “B” squad recorded a 4th-place finish at the Beartooth Invitational with a 36-hole team score of 729.
• Senior Kinsey Irvin was the top Yellowjacket on the leaderboard twice. She won the Hardrocker Fall Invitational in Rapid City, South Dakota outright, shooting a 79 followed by a tournament-low 76 to finish at 11-over-par 155, two strokes ahead of second-place Tuesday Epperson of Westminster College. At the Shootout at Estrella, also a par-72 course, Irvin shot an even lower score of 8-over-par 152, which tied for 20th place. Irvin was the second-highest GNAC finisher at the Estrella tournament.
• Fellow senior Tierney Messmer was the second-highest charting Yellowjacket at both the Hardrocker and at Estrella. Messmer shot a 160 with a low round of 79 to finish fifth at the Hardrocker, as Irvin and Messmer sandwiched three Westminster golfers to form the top five. Messmer again shot 160 at Estrella, this time with a low round of 78, which put her in a tie for 51st with several golfers, including Western Washington’s Jaclyn Yoo and Megan Billeter. Senior Jalen Wagner and sophomore Brennan Larson shot identical scores of 175 at the Hardrocker to finish in a tie for 14th.
• Freshman Mailyn Armstrong had a strong week, shooting a 187 to place fifth among MSUB golfers at the Hardrocker. Rather than make the trip to Estrella, Armstrong led the MSUB contingent at the Beartooth Invitational in Laurel, Montana. Armstrong improved to a 172, which gave her a team-high sixth-place finish. Other standout performances from Beartooth included freshmen Karissa Tranas tying for 12th with a score of 177 and Sierra Brubaker tying for 19th with a score of 186.
• Montana State Billings will continue its season next weekend in Utah at the Westminster Wasatch Invitational on Oct. 8-9.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene has not competed since coming fifth in the SMU Invitational at The Home Course on Sept. 13-14.
• At The Home Course, the Nighthawks received outstanding individual performances from redshirt junior Hannah Halloway and sophomore Madison Gridley. Halloway shot a 73 on the final day to rally herself into a tie for third place with a final score of 151. Gridley shot identical rounds of 76 on both days to finish in sixth place at 152.
• Freshman Brianna Shervik shot a 163 in her first tournament, tying for 23rd place. Sophomore Allison MacMillan came 33rd after shooting a 179 while sophomore Hailey Potter’s 196 put her in 35th.
• Northwest Nazarene will next hit the links Oct. 8 and 9 at the Westminster Wasatch Invitational in Utah.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• Saint Martin’s appeared in one tournament, the RJGA Shootout at Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona from Sept. 27-28. The Saints finished in 17th place with a 36-hole team score of 644, one stroke behind MSU Denver and CSU Pueblo, who tied for 15th.
• Junior Hoku Nagamine was SMU’s top finisher, shooting 157 with a low round of 74. Nagamine was on the fringes of the top 10 after day one, but finished tied for 36th.
• Juniors Jada French and Kathryn Crimp were not far behind. French tied for 42nd at 158, while Crimp tied for 44th at 159.
• Seniors Michaela Morris and Katherine Swor rounded out the Saint Martin’s five down in 95th and 97th, respectively. Swor shot a low round of 84 while Morris shot a low round of 86.
• Saint Martin’s will be on the course Monday and Tuesday at the Sonoma State Invitional in Santa Rosa, California.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser took part in the DBU Women’s Classic, hosted by Dallas Baptist University at the Wildhorse Golf Club in Denton, Texas on September 20-21. The team came in 19th place with a 54-hole team score of 991, 55 strokes behind 18th-place Midwestern State.
• Sophomore Shirin Anjarwalla shot a 239 to finish tied for 76th to lead SFU. Anjarwalla recorded a 78, the lowest round by an SFU golfer, to cement her team-high finish.
• Sophomore Natasha Kozlowski was the other Simon Fraser athlete to break 80, posting two rounds of 79 on her way to a final score of 240 that tied her for 82nd. Freshman Ava Koukofikas had a strong start to her collegiate career, finishing in eighth place with a score of 154.
• Freshmen Ava Koukofikas and Brooke Brezovski brought up the field with scores of 251 and 261, respectively, for 94th and 95th place.
• Simon Fraser will join three other GNAC compatriots at the Westminster Wasatch Invitational next Friday and Saturday in South Jordan, Utah.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington was the only GNAC program to crack the top 10 in a competitive field at the Shootout at Estrella. The Vikings came in ninth place with a 36-hole team score of 627, four strokes behind eighth-place Point Loma.
• Junior Sarah Shea led all GNAC golfers with a 19th-place finish, shooting 7-over-par 151 with a low round of 75. Claire Moon was six strokes back of Shea at 157, which put the sophomore in a tie for 36th place with five other golfers, including SMU’s Hoku Nagamine.
• Junior Megan Billeter, coming fresh off a win at the SMU Invitational that included a round of 68 which tied the GNAC all-time record low, shot a 160 with a low round of 78 to finish tied for 51st. Among the six golfers level with Billeter
• Among the six golfers level with Billeter at 160 were teammate Jaclyn Yoo, competing in her first tournament of the year, and MSUB’s Tierney Messmer. Lina Hattenbach wrapped up the scoring for the Vikings with a 166 that put her in a tie for 81st.
• The Vikings will be busy with two tournaments this upcoming week, joining Saint Martin’s at the Sonoma State Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, then joing the other three other GNAC programs in Southern Utah for the Westminster Wasatch Invitational on Friday and Saturday. They are the last two scheduled tournaments for Western Washington in the fall season.