Friday, April 6, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – It was a freshman who paced the GNAC earlier this week as Concordia’s Kendall Freeman carded a 10-over par 154 to lead all GNAC players at the Sonoma State Spring Invite with a seventh-place finish.

The Cavaliers ended the invitational in third place while Simon Fraser captured fifth. Northwest Nazarene rounded out the GNAC competitors with a 12th-place finish. Simon Fraser senior Michelle Waters and Concordia sophomore Cammie Decker joined Freeman as the GNAC’s top-10 finishers. Waters opened the tournament with an impressive 2-over par 74 while Decker closed the event by shooting a 3-over par 75 to earn her second top-10 finish of the year.

The GNAC will field four teams at next week’s Mustang Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz. Concordia, Montana State Billings and Saint Martin’s will make the trip while Western Washington features in its first tournament since the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout on Mar. 6.

LAST WEEK’S TOURNAMENTS

Bulldog Classic (Mar. 26-27 at Indian Springs GC, Indio, Calif.): Team – 1, Embry Riddle, 608 (311-297). T10, Northwest Nazarene, 662 (333-329). Individuals – 1, Jessica Williams, Embry Riddle, 146 (77-69). T34, Stephanie Miller, Northwest Nazarene, 163 (83-80). T41, Natalie Beggrow, Northwest Nazarene, 165 (84-81). T49, Hannah Holloway, Northwest Nazarene, 168 (80-88). T64, Trinity McCarthy, 172 (92-80). T76, Ragan McGilvery, Northwest Nazarene, 175 (86-89).

Sonoma State Spring Invite (April 2-3 at Foxtail Golf Club, Rohnert Park, Calif.): Team – 1, Sonoma State, 602 (299-302). 3, Concordia, 628 (312-316). 5, Simon Fraser, 639 (317-322). 12, Northwest Nazarene, 683 (388-345). Individual – 1, Samantha Oliva, Sonoma State, 145 (73-72). 7, Kendall Freeman, Conocordia, 154 (76-78). T8, Michelle Waters, Simon Fraser, 155 (74-81). 10, Cammie Decker, Concordia, 156 (81-75). T20, Erin Farner, Simon Fraser, 160 (80-80). T20, Jaya Rampuri, Simon Fraser, 160 (79-81).

AROUND THE GNAC
CONCORDIA
LAST WEEK: Sonoma State Spring Invite, 3rd of 13, 628 (312-316)
NEXT WEEK: April 9-10 at Mustang Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz.

• After taking the entire month of March off, Concordia led all GNAC teams with an impressive third-place finish at the Sonoma State Spring Invitational on Tuesday.

• Freeman achieved her second top-10 finish of the season as she led all GNAC players with a seventh-place finish after shooting a 10-over par 154.

• Decker continued her strong campaign by ending the tournament 12-over par for a 10th place finish. Despite opening the event with a 9-over par 81, Decker was able to shave six strokes off her second-round score to salvage her second top-10 finish of the year.

• Sophomore Caitlyn Villatora rounded out Concordia’s top-three by ending the tournament in a tie for 20th place. Villatora was one of two Cavs to shoot better than a 77 in the opening round but managed an 11-over par 83 to close the event.

• Decker remains second in the GNAC with a 78.4 stroke average while junior Shantel Antonio is third shooting 78.9 strokes per round.

• Concordia will be one of four GNAC teams to take part in the Mustang Intercollegiate next week in Goodyear, Ariz.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
LAST WEEK: Idle.
THIS WEEK: April 9-10 at Mustang Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz.

• Suspended in the second round due to heavy rainfall on Mar. 20, Montana State Billings finished with a team score of 338 after the Otter Invitational was officially scored as an 18-hole, one-day event.

• The Yellowjackets were led by senior Bailee Dexter who tied for 41st with a 78. Junior Shealyn Hafer was the second-highest MSUB finisher at 13-over par while senior Sammy Walter ended the tournament with an 86.

• Hafer, Dexter, freshman Renae Heisler and junior Sarah Schroefel lead MSUB with 11 rounds played this season. Dexter leads the pack with an 80.7 stroke average while Hafer is at 80.9 strokes per round.

• Montana State Billings returns to action next week at the Mustang Intercollegiate on April 9.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
LAST WEEK: Bulldog Classic, Tie 10th of 17, 662 (333-329). Sonoma State Spring Invite, 12th of 13, 683 (338-345).
NEXT WEEK: Idle.

• The only GNAC team to play in the Bulldog Classic last week, Northwest Nazarene shaved four strokes off its first-round score to tie for 10th.

• Junior Stephanie Miller paced the Nighthawks with a tie for 34th after seeing a three-stroke improvement in her final round to end at 163 (83-80). Miller leads the team this season with an 84.3 stroke average.

• Sophomore Natalie Beggrow finished second for NNU after she finished two strokes behind Miller to tie for 49th place. Beggrow ended the tournament with a 165 after shooting a 9-over par 81 in her final round.

• In the Sonoma State Spring Invitational on Tuesday, the Nighthawks were unable to build any momentum as they finished with a team score of 683. Freshman Trinity McCarthy led the team with a 23-over par 167 while Beggrow finished one stroke behind her.

• Miller is among five Nighthawks that have played all 16 rounds this season. Beggrow is tied for second on the team with McCarthy at 85.8 strokes per round.

• With the upcoming week off, Northwest Nazarene returns to action on April 16-17 when it hosts the NNU Intercollegiate.

SAINT MARTIN’S
LAST WEEK: Idle.
NEXT WEEK:April 9-10 at Mustang Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz.

• Saint Martin’s last played at the Augustana Spring Fling on Mar. 16, where it earned a 10th-place finish after carding a 696 (338-358).

• Senior Hannah Reynolds led Saint Martin’s by finishing in a four-way tie for 14th with a 159 (80-79). Shooting a team-low 7-over par 79 in the opening round, junior Celia Beyke ended the tournament tied for 34th with a 170 (79-80). Senior Lisa Zelasko rounded out the Saints’ top-three scorers in 44th after shooting a 176 (86-90).

• Beyke leads the team with an 81.4 stroke average through 11 rounds. She is joined by junior TiAnna Ford with 11 rounds played this season. Ford is averaging 88.1 strokes per round.

• The Saints return to the golf course on April 9 where they will be one of four GNAC teams playing in the Mustang Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz.

SIMON FRASER
LAST WEEK: Sonoma State Spring Invite, 5th of 13, 639 (317-322).
THIS WEEK:Idle.

• One of three GNAC teams participating in the Sonoma State Spring Invite this week, Simon Fraser ended the tournament in fifth place after carding a 52-over par 628.

• Waters achieved her best finish of the season as she led the Clan in a tie for 8th. The majority of her success came in the opening round as Waters fired a 2-over par 74 to lead all GNAC players.

• Playing in her sixth event of the year, senior Erin Farner ended the invitational in a tie for 20th place (16-over par 160) with teammate sophomore Jaya Rampuri. Farner scored a pair of 80’s while Rampuri ended the tournament with a 7-over par 79.

• Despite an uncharacteristic performance at the tournament, junior Emily Leung remains the GNAC leader with a 77.6 stroke average. With her quality performance, Waters improves to second on the team with 79.3 strokes per round.

• Simon Fraser closes its regular season with the rest of the conference at the GNAC Championships on April 23-24 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Idle.
NEXT WEEK: April 9-10 at Mustang Intercollegiate in Goodyear, Ariz.

• In its last competition, the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout on Mar. 6, senior Jenn Paul carded back-to-back rounds of 6-over par to finish with a two-round total of 156. In addition to Paul’s top-15 finish, junior Stephanie Sewell tied for 44th at 21-over par while junior Annie Leete tied for 52nd at 168.

• Paul is among GNAC leaders with a 79.3 stroke average and is one of four Vikings to play more than 12 rounds this season. Sewell is second on the team shooting 80 strokes per round.

• With the entire month of March off, the Vikings will be well rested heading into the Mustang Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz., on April 9.