Tuesday, October 4, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – The women’s golf season got started in full with all five GNAC teams taking to the course for the Saint Martin’s Bishop Invitational on Sept 23 and 24.

While four of the five teams had played in one event before last Friday, the tournament in DuPont, Washington was the first chance to see all conference teams on the same course. Western Washington claimed the team victory with a two-round score of 603, finishing five strokes ahead of second-place Simon Fraser.

Megan Billeter took home the individual win for the Vikings with a score of 1-under-par 143. The win was the first of her collegiate career and earned Billeter the GNAC Women’s Golf Player of the Week award.

Prior to the SMU Bishop Invite, Simon Fraser hosted the True North Classic at the Richmond Country Club in Richmond B.C. on Sept. 12 and 13. Western Washington also made the trip up north to compete. The Red Leafs were the highest placed GNAC team at the tournament, placing second with a two-round score of 619. They were 14 strokes ahead of Western Washington in third. Simon Fraser freshman Chloe Tran was the leading GANC player in the True North Classic, carding a score of 151.

Northwest Nazarene was also in action on Sept. 12 and 13 at the College of Idaho Invitational in Caldwell. The Nighthawks finished second in the tournament with a two-round score of 624. They placed all four of their scoring golfers in the top 20, led by Elle McCord in eighth with a score of 152.

Montana State Billings got its season started just four days before the SMU Bishop Invitational at the Hardrocker Fall Invite in Rapid City, South Dakota on Sept. 19 and 20. The Yellowjackets scoring golfers all placed in the top 20 with Hannah Adams leading the way in 11th with a three-round score of 172.

LAST WEEK’S & PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS

True North Classic (Sept. 12-13, at the Richmond Country Club, Richmond, B.C.) Team – 1, UBC Okanagan 603. 2, Simon Fraser 619. 3, Western Washington 633. Individual – 1, Emily Cornwall, UBC Okanagan, 146. 4, Chloe Tran, Simon Fraser, 151. T-5, Shirin Anjarwalla, Simon Fraser, 153. 9, Emma Worgum, Western Washington, 154. T-10, Izzy Ferguson, Simon Fraser, 155. T-10, Kassie Muanyam, Simon Fraser, 155.

College of Idaho Invitational (Sept. 12-13, at TimberStone Golf Course, Caldwell, Idaho) Team – 1, University of British Columbia 574. 2, Northwest Nazarene 624. Individual – 1, Sonja Tang, University of British Columbia, 142. 8, Elle McCord, Northwest Nazarene, 152. 10, Christine Cho, Northwest Nazarene, 154. 11, Madison Grindley, Northwest Nazarene, 155.

Hardrocker Fall Invite (Sept. 19-20, at The Golf Club at Red Rocks, Rapid City, S.D.) Team – 1, Chadron State 675. 3, Montana State Billings 698. Individual – 1, Rianna Garland, South Dakota Mines, 158. T-11 Hannah Adams, Montana State Billings, 172. 14, Brennan Larson, Montana State Billings, 174. T-15, Meilyn Armstrong, Montana State Billings, 175. T-17, Haylee Adams, Montana State Billings, 177.

Saint Martin’s Bishop Invitational (Sept 23-24, DuPont, Wash., at The Home Course) Team – 1, Western Washington 603. 2, Simon Fraser 608. 3, Saint Martin’s 629. 7, Northwest Nazarene 639. 8, Montana State Billings 651. Individual – 1, Megan Billeter, Western Washington, 143. 2, Izzy Ferguson, Simon Fraser, 147. 3, Kassie Muanyam, Simon Fraser, 150, T-4, Kelsie Inouye, Saint Martin’s, 152. T-4, Elle McCord, Northwest Nazarene, 152. T-7 Claire Moon, Western Washington, 153.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings got its season started early at the Hardrocker Fall Invite on Sept. 19-20, placing third with a two-round score of 698. The Yellowjackets were two strokes ahead of the South Dakota Mines “B”.

• Hannah Adams led the way for MSUB, tying for 11th with a three-round score of 172. She was followed by Brennan Larson, Meilyn Armstrong, and Haylee Adams who finished in 14th, tied for 15th and tied for 17th, respectively.

• The Yellowjackets were back in action three days later at the SMU Bishop Invitational and took an eighth-place team finish with a score of 651. Montana State Billings finished 76 strokes clear of ninth-place Pacific Lutheran and 13 strokes behind Northwest Nazarene.

• Adessa Lundberg was the lead MSUB golfer in DuPont, finishing in a four-way tie for 18th with a three-round score of 159. Haylee was the lead Adams sister for the Yellowjackets, just two strokes behind Lundberg in a tie for 24th. Armstrong and Hannah Adams rounded out the scoring.

• Amanda King also competed for the Yellowjackets at the Beartooth Invitational in Laurel, Montana on Sept. 26-27. She finished with a two-round score of 195.

• Montana State Billings will be back in action on Monday and Tuesday at their own Yellowjacket Fall Invitational at the Lake Hills Golf Club in Billings, Montana.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene opened its season with a second-place finish at the College of Idaho Invitational at the TimberStone Golf Club on Sept. 12-13. The Nighthawks finished the tournament with a score of 624. They were led by Elle McCord, who placed eighth with a score of 152 and Christine Cho in 10th two strokes back. Madison Gridley and Paige Vancil rounded out scoring for NNU in 11th and 16th.

• At the Saint Martin’s Bishop Invitational, McCord led the way again for Northwest Nazarene. She tied for fourth with Saint Martin’s Kassie Muanyam and Victoria’s Mackenzie Scott with a two-round score of 152. As a team, the Nighthawks finished seventh with a two-round score of 639. They were 12 strokes ahead of eighth-place Montana State Billings and just one stroke behind sixth-place Hawaii Pacific.

• Cho, Vancil and Gridley all scored for the second tournament in a row as well.

• Northwest Nazarene will continue its season on Thursday at the Ridgecrest Golf Club in Nampa for a dual tournament with College of Idaho.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• Saint Martin’s opened its season by hosting the SMU Bishop Invitational on Sept. 23-24. The Saints completed an all-GNAC top three by placing third in the tournament. They had three golfers in the top 20 and a three-round score of 629 finishing three strokes ahead of fourth-place Hawaii Hilo.

• Kelsie Inouye led the way for the Saints with a score of 152 in a three-way tie for fourth place.

• Jada French, Kathryn Crimp and Katherine Swor also scored for SMU and tied for 15th, 17th and 24th, respectively.

• Saint Martin’s will have a week off before playing in the Western Washington Invitational on Oct. 10-11.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser got its season started by hosting the True North Classic at the Richmond Country Club on Sept. 12-13. The Red Leafs placed second with three of their scoring golfers in the top 10 and Chloe Tran placing fourth in the tournament while competing as an individual.

• Shirin Anjarwalla was the leading scorer for SFU in a four-way tie for fifth. She carded a two-round score of 153, one stroke ahead of Western Washington’s Emma Worgum in ninth and just two strokes behind teammate Tran in fourth.

• Izzy Ferguson and Kassie Muanyam finished the tournament tied in 10th while Meera Minhas completed the scoring for the Red Leafs in a tie for 13th.

• Simon Fraser followed up one second-place finish with another at the Saint Martin’s Bishop Invitational on Sept. 23-24. The Red Leafs finished with a three-round score of 608. They were 21 strokes ahead of third-place Saint Martin’s and five strokes behind first-place Western Washington.

• This time it was Ferguson leading the way for SFU, taking second place in the tournament with a score of 147, three strokes ahead of Muanyam in third place. Minhas and Anjarwalla finished tied for 13th and 17th, respectively.

• Simon Fraser will be back in action on Oct. 10-11 at the WWU Invitational in Bellingham.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington opened its season at the True North Classic in Richmond, BC, finishing third with a score of 633. The Vikings were four strokes ahead of fourth-place Fraser Valley and 14 strokes behind hosts Simon Fraser.

• Western Washington placed all four of its scoring golfers in the top 20 of the tournament, led by Emma Worgum in ninth with a three-round score of 154. She was two strokes ahead of the second highest WWU finisher, Elise Sumner who tied for 13th. Megan Billeter and Dani Dailey rounded out the scoring for the team in 19th and tied for 20th.

• In their second tournament of the season at the SMU Bishop Invitational, the Vikings took both the individual and team wins. Billeter took the individual win with a two-round score of 1-under par 143, four strokes ahead of second place Izzy Ferguson from Simon Fraser. As a team, the Vikings finished with a score of 603 and were five strokes ahead of second-place Simon Fraser.

• While Billeter won the tournament, all of WWU’s scoring golfers placed in the top 10. Claire Moon was tied for seventh with teammates Bailey and Worgum tied for ninth along with Tori Hironaga from Hawaii Hilo.

• Western Washington will be back on the course on Oct 10-11 for the Vikings’ own Western Washington Invitational.