Wednesday, March 9, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Washington was not only the busiest GNAC women’s golf team over the past week but also the most successful.

To start, WWU earned a 10th place team finish at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout at the Chuck Cortica Golf Complex in Alameda, California from Feb. 28-Mar. 1, the best out of four GNAC teams to take part. The Vikings were then the only GNAC team to play the CSUSM Fujikura Invite hosted by Cal State San Marcos at Shadowridge Country Club in Vista, California on Mar. 7-8. Western Washington again placed 10th out of 19 programs and received an individual seventh-place finish from junior Megan Billeter, who carded a 6-over-par 150.

Other WWU standouts included Claire Moon finishing tied for 15th at 6-over-par 150 at the Pioneer Shootout and Elise Sumner tying for 12th at 7-over-par 151 at the Fujikura Invite.

Across other programs at the Pioneer Shootout, Simon Fraser’s Shirin Anjarwalla finished 32nd at 155, Northwest Nazarene’s Hannah Halloway was tied for 33rd at 156 and NNU’s Christine Cho and Saint Martin’s Kathryn Crimp were among a group tied for 44th at 159.

After Western Washington, Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s and Simon Fraser restarted in Alameda and Montana State Billings previously played in two February tournaments, all five GNAC programs are underway in the spring season.

The Yellowjackets finished 14th at the Lincoln Memorial Spring Kickoff in St. Augustine, Florida on Feb. 14-15 and sixth in the Bay Area Invitational in Livermore, California on Feb. 21-22.

The Pioneer Shootout was an important measuring stick for conference programs as no more than two GNAC teams will play at the same tournament until the first weekend in April. All five teams head to the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Arizona on Apr. 1-2, two and a half weeks ahead of the GNAC Championships in Coeur D’Alene from Apr. 19-20.

PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS

Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout (Feb. 28-Mar. 1 at Chuck Cortica Golf Complex, Alameda, California) Team - 1, Sonoma State, 589. 2, Cal State East Bay, 590. 3, Cal State Monterey Bay, 599. 10, Western Washington, 632. 11, Northwest Nazarene, 641. 13, Saint Martin’s, 654. Simon Fraser, incomplete. Individual - 1, Claire Shubin, Dominican (Calif.), 141. 2, Drishti Karumbava, Cal State East Bay, 142. T-15, Claire Moon, Western Washington, 150. 32, Shirin Anjarwalla, Simon Fraser, 155. T-33, Hannah Halloway, Northwest Nazarene, 156. T-40, Sophia Schmidt, Western Washington, 158. T-44, Christine Cho, Northwest Nazarene, 159. T-44, Kathryn Crimp, Saint Martin’s, 159. T-49, Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene, 160.

CSUSM Fujikura Invite (Mar. 7-8 at Shadowridge Country Club, Vista, California): Team - 1, Cal State San Marcos, 594. 2, Lynn, 597. 3, Biola, 605. 10, Western Washington, 630. Individual - 1, Diana Delgado, Cal State San Marcos, 143. 2, Alice Gotbring, Barry, 145. T-7, Megan Billeter, Western Washington, 150. T-12, Elise Sumner, Western Washington, 151. T-61, Claire Moon, Western Washington, 163. T-74, Sarah Shea, Western Washington, 168.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings did not compete this past week. They previously competed twice in February, placing 14th with a 54-hole score of 1,051 at the Lincoln Memorial Spring Kickoff in St. Augustine, Florida from Feb. 14-15. They finished 23 strokes behind 13th-place Catawba and nine strokes ahead of 15th-place King. The Yellowjackets also competed at the Bay Area Invitational in Livermore, California from Feb. 21-22, finishing sixth with a 36-hole score of 711, 10 strokes behind fifth-place Hawaii Pacific.
• Senior Kinsey Irvin was MSUB’s best performer at both tournaments. Irvin finished 50th at the expansive field at the Spring Kickoff, shooting a consistent 252 with a low round of 83 and a high round of 85. Irvin shot a 168 at the Bay Area Invitational to finish 16th, with a low round of 80 on the first 18 holes.
• The Yellowjackets had the same players in spots 1-4 on the team leaderboard in both tournaments. With Irvin leading the way, junior Tierney Messmer was the second MSUB finisher in both events, carding a 254 with low rounds of 84 to finish tied for 53rd at the Spring Kickoff and tallying a 176 with a low round of 87 to finish tied for 23rd at the Bay Area Invitaitonal. Junior Avery Gill rallied with an 84 on the final day to finish in 70th with a final score of 268 at the Spring Kickoff before finishing 25th with a 179 in Livermore.
• Senior Jalen Wagner and sophomore Brennan Larson rounded out MSUB’s scoring five in South Florida. Freshman Karissa Tranas replaced Larson for the Bay Area Invitational.
• Montana State Billings will appear at a tournament with another GNAC school for the first time in the spring season on Mar. 20-21, when they take part in the El Cheapo Classic in Pueblo, Colorado alongside Simon Fraser.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene finished in 11th place at the Pioneer Shootout, shooting a 36-hole score of 641, nine strokes behind 10th-place Western Washington and four strokes ahead of 12th-place Western New Mexico.
• Junior Hannah Halloway and freshman Christine Cho were each individually in the top-20 through day one after carding identical 76s. Halloway shot an 80 on day two to finish at 12-over-par 156, tied for 33rd place, while Cho finished with an 83 for a two-day total of 159, tying her for 44th place.
• Sophomores Madison Gridley and Paige Vancil added to the theme of strong first days for NNU, shooting their low rounds of 79 in the first 18 holes. Gridley finished tied for 49th at 160 and Vancil finished tied for 63rd at 166.
• Allison McMillan, competing as an individual, shot an 84 on the final day to rally to a two-day score of 175. Freshman Brianna Shervik completed NNU’s scoring five by carding a 186.
• Northwest Nazarene will next hit the links at their own Northwest Nazarene Invitational in Nampa from Mar. 28-29.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• Saint Martin’s finished in 13th at the Pioneer Shootout with a 36-hole team score of 654, nine strokes behind Western New Mexico.
• Junior Kathryn Crimp shot the team’s two lowest rounds with a 79 on day one and an 80 on day two, finishing at 15-over-par 159 to tie for 44th place.
• The Saint Martin’s golfers were nothing if not consistent. Four of SMU’s five golfers had a one shot or less difference between their day one score and day two score.
• Junior Jada French carded rounds of 82 and 81 to finish tied for 57th with a final score of 163. Senior Katherine Swor and freshman Hannah White finished tied for 63rd at 166. White hit identical rounds of 83 to arrive at her score while Swor carded an 81 on the final day to pull even with her teammate.
• Saint Martin’s is the only GNAC team playing in the next several days, as they travel to Palm Desert, California for the Augustana Spring Fling on Thursday and Friday.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser sent golfers to the Pioneer Shootout, but fell short of the required number to qualify for a team score due to health and safety protocols. The four SFU golfers able to tee off competed as individuals.  
• Shirin Anjarwalla provided the top finish for SFU, storming up the leaderboard with a 74 on the final day to finish at 11-over-par 155 in 32nd place. Anjarwalla was the GNAC’s second-highest finisher in the tournament.
• Sophomore Claire Lovan was the team leader through day one after shooting a 78 and finished tied for 57th with a score of 163.
• Freshman Brooke Brezovski and sophomore Kassie Muanyam each had low rounds of 84 for SFU. Brezovski finished in 72nd place, but her 84 on day two was a 12-stroke improvement over her day one score. Muanyam shot her 84 on day one, but was forced to withdraw from the tournament before teeing off on day two.
• Simon Fraser will hope to be able to field a team closer to its “A” roster by the time they travel to Pueblo, Colorado to compete in the El Cheapo Classic on Mar. 20-21.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington has recorded a pair of 10th-place tournament finishes this spring. At the Pioneer Shootout, they tallied a 36-hole team score of 632, nine strokes ahead of 11th-place Northwest Nazarene. At the 19-team Fujikura Invite, the Vikings improved slightly to a 36-hole score of 630, finishing a stroke behind ninth-place Cal State LA and a stroke ahead of 11th-place Colorado Christian.
• Western Washington posted the top GNAC finisher at the Pioneer Shootout in Claire Moon, who finished tied for 15th place. The sophomore carded a 6-over-par 150 with a 77 on day one and a 73 on day two, a score bested by only five competitors in the field on the final day. Moon carded a 163 at the Fujikura Invite.
• Junior Megan Billeter and sophomore Elise Sumner gave WWU a pair of top-12 finishes at the Fujikura Invite. Billeter shot a 6-over-par 150 with a low round of 72 to finish tied for seventh while Sumner was one stroke behind at 151 to tie for 12th. Sumner’s low round of 74 also came on day two, and the sophomore made the most of her opportunity to crack the Vikings’ scoring five after not competing in the Pioneer Shootout.
• Sophomore Sophia Schmidt carded a 158 with a low round of 77 to tie for 40th place at the Pioneer Shootout, the second-highest WWU score at that tournament. Schmidt posted a final score of 173 at the Fujikura Invite.
• Western Washington will not compete until the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Arizona on Apr. 1-2, the final tune-up for all five GNAC teams before the GNAC Championships in Coeur D’Alene.