Thursday, April 7, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – With all five GNAC programs among 28 schools at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic on Apr. 1-2, Northwest Nazarene’s Madison Gridley established herself as a possible contender for the upcoming GNAC Championships, shooting an even-par round on day one and finishing tied for 21st at 5-over-par 149, the top conference finisher in an ultra-competitive field of 146 golfers.

Gridley finished three strokes clear of any other GNAC golfer at the Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Arizona, as NNU’s Christine Cho and Simon Fraser’s Shirin Anjarwalla were each among five golfers to tie for 38th at 8-over-par 152. On the team side, Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser were part of a three-way tie for 19th place to pace the conference, each tallying 36-hole scores of 627. Western Washington was two strokes behind that group in 23rd place, with Saint Martin’s tied for 25th and MSU Billings in 27th.

While the Palm Valley Classic was an important dress rehearsal for each program as the postseason nears, three teams competed in additional tournaments. Once again, it was the Nighthawks finding the most success.

Northwest Nazarene hosted their own NNU Intercollegiate tournament on Mar. 28-29, welcoming athletes from Westminster (Utah), College of Idaho and Spokane CC, but the home team dominated. The Nighthawks finished nine strokes clear of Westminster with a 36-hole team score of 626 to win the team title while junior Hannah Holloway earned individual medalist honors, shooting 9-over-par 153 over 36 holes and taking down Westminster’s Tuesday Epperson on the second playoff hole to seal the win. Cho came in third place two strokes back while Gridley and Paige Vancil tied for fourth.

Simon Fraser competed at the Sonoma State Spring Women’s Invite on Monday and Tuesday and tied for sixth as a team, led by a trio of golfers (Anjarwalla, Natasha Kozlowski and Kassie Muanyam) who tied for 21st. Montana State Billings brought a “B” squad to the South Dakota Mines Hardrocker Invitational on Monday and placed eighth out of 11 teams, led by Sierra Brubaker’s 12th-place finish.

All eyes now turn to the GNAC Championships at the Couer D’Alene Golf Resort on Apr. 19-20. The conference tournament returns to Coeur d’Alene for the first time since 2019 after being contested at The Home Course in Dupont, Washington in 2021. Western Washington will be looking to defend its team title while SMU’s Kathryn Crimp will try to peak at the right time once again after being a slightly surprising champion on her home links a year ago.

PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS

NNU Intercollegiate (Mar. 28-29 at Ridgecrest Golf Club, Nampa, Idaho) Team - 1, Northwest Nazarene, 626. 2, Westminster, 635. 3, Spokane CC, 667. Individual - 1, Hannah Holloway, Northwest Nazarene, 153. 2, Tuesday Epperson, Westminster, 153. 3, Christine Cho, Northwest Nazarene, 155. T-4, Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene, 159. T-4, Paige Vancil, Northwest Nazarene, 159. 12. Brianna Shervik, Northwest Nazarene, 168.

RJGA Palm Valley Classic (Apr. 1-2 at Palm Valley Golf Club, Goodyear, Arizona): Team - 1, Northeastern State, 588. 2, Cal St. Monterey Bay, 590. 3, Cal St. East Bay, 594. T-19, Northwest Nazarene, 627. T-19, Simon Fraser, 627. 23, Western Washington, 629. T-25, Saint Martin’s, 644. 27, MSU Billings, 650. Individual - 1, Faith Kilgore, Colorado Christian, 137. T-2, Jasmin Krishna, Cal St. East Bay, 143. T-2, Gam Songprasert, West Texas A&M, 143. T-21, Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene, 149. T-38, Christine Cho, Northwest Nazarene, 152. T-38, Shirin Anjarwalla, Simon Fraser, 152. T-63, Kathryn Crimp, Saint Martin’s, 156. T-63, Jada French, Saint Martin’s, 163. T-72, Claire Moon, Western Washington, 157. T-82, Megan Billeter, Western Washington, 158.

SD Mines Hardrocker Invitational (Apr. 4 at Arrowhead Country Club, Rapid City, South Dakota): Team - 1, Sioux Falls, 681. 2, South Dakota Mines, 689. 3, Chadron State, 696. 8, MSU Billings, 768. Individual - 1, Megan Hinker, Dakota Wesleyan, 158. 2, Rianna Garland, South Dakota Mines, 160. T-12, Sierra Brubaker, MSU Billings, 175. T-26, Avery Gill, MSU Billings, 182. 49, Karissa Tranas, MSU Billings, 205. 50, Adessa Lundberg, MSU Billings, 206.

SSU Women’s Spring Invite (Apr. 4-5 at Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club, Santa Rosa, California): Team - 1, Cal St. East Bay, 597. T-2, Dominican, 607. T-2, Holy Names, 607. T-6, Simon Fraser, 639. Individual - 1, Dasa Urbankova, Menlo, 137. T-2, Jasmin Krishna, Cal St. East Bay, 148. T-2, Regina Parra, Holy Names, 148. T-21, Shirin Anjarwalla, Simon Fraser, 157. T-21, Natasha Kozlowski, Simon Fraser, 157. T-21, Kassie Muanyam, Simon Fraser, 157.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings finished in 27th place at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Arizona with a 36-hole team score of 650, seven strokes ahead of last-place Chico State. The Yellowjackets sent an entirely different group of golfers to the Hardrocker Invitational and placed eighth with a 36-hole score of 768.
• Junior Tierney Messmer was MSUB’s top finisher, tying for 82nd place in the deep field with a score of 14-over-par 158. Messmer carded an 80 on day one and earned the team’s low round of 6-over-par 78 on day two.
• Messmer’s high round of 80 was equal to the low round of three other Yellowjackets, with seniors Kinsey Irvin and Jalen Wagner and freshman Meilyn Armstrong all shooting 80s on day two. As a team, MSUB improved their day one score by 14 strokes on day two. Irvin finished tied for 103rd at 161 with Wagner at 166 and Armstrong at 169. Sophomore Brennan Larson carded a pair of 85s to finish at 170.
• Four Yellowjacket golfers competed in the Hardrocker Invitational, none of whom made the trip to Arizona. Sierra Brubaker was the “B” squad’s top finisher in South Dakota, tying for 12th at 175 with a low round of 86. Avery Gill followed, tying for 26th at 182 and carding a low round of 90. Karissa Tranas (205) and Adessa Lundberg (206) rounded out the Yellowjacket participants.
• Montana State Billings is ranked No. 131 in the latest Golfstat rankings, fifth among GNAC programs. They compete next at the GNAC Championships in Coeur d’Alene on Apr. 19-20.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene won its own NNU Intercollegiate before recording the top GNAC individual finish and tying for the top GNAC team finish at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Arizona, tying for 19th place with a 36-hole team score of 627. The Nighthawks were two strokes behind 18th-place Point Loma, a stroke ahead of 22nd-place MSU Denver and level with Colorado Mesa and Simon Fraser.
• Junior Hannah Holloway rocketed out a two-stroke lead over teammate Christine Cho at the NNU Intercollegiate, with Holloway’s 2-over-par 74 leading Cho’s 4-over-par 76 after the first 18. Westminster’s Tuesday Epperson caught fire with a 74 of her own on day two to tie Holloway at 9-over-par 153 after 36 holes. Despite Epperson having all the momentum of a tournament-low round, Holloway won the playoff by birdieing the second hole to win medalist honors. Cho finished third two strokes behind at 155 while sophomores Madison Gridley and Paige Vancil tied for fourth at 159.
• The home course win gave the Nighthawks momentum headed into the competitive Palm Valley Classic. This time, it was Gridley getting out to a hot start, shooting an even-par 72 on day one which had her tied for seventh in a field of over 140. Gridley carded a 77 on day two to finish at 5-over-par 149, tied for 21st and still the top GNAC finisher. Gridley was honored as the GNAC Golfer of the Week for Mar. 28-Apr. 3 for her conference-best performance at the prestigious event.
• After shooting an 80 on day one, Cho matched Gridley’s round one score with an even-par 72 on day two, charging up the leaderboard to finish tied for 38th at 8-over-par 152. Halloway followed up her victory by tying for 103rd with a score of 161, carding a low round of 79. Freshman Brianna Shervik shot a 165 and Vancil carded a 169 to complete NNU’s five.
• Northwest Nazarene is ranked No. 91 in the latest Golfstat rankings, second among GNAC programs. They compete next at the GNAC Championships in Coeur d’Alene on Apr. 19-20.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• Saint Martin’s finished tied for 25th at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Arizona with a 36-hole team score of 644. The Saints were level with Fort Lewis and six strokes ahead of MSU Billings.
• Juniors Kathryn Crimp and Jada French tied for 63rd place at 12-over-par 156, a score topped by only three other GNAC golfers. Crimp was the more consistent of the two, breaking 80 twice with rounds of 77 and 79, but French rallied to tie her teammate with a team-low round of 76 on day two.
• Senior Katherine Swor (165) and freshman Hannah White (167) each carded low rounds of 82 on the second day, helping the Saints make up a three-stroke deficit on day one to pull even with Fort Lewis. Tia Taitingfong rounded out SMU’s scoring five at 206.
• Saint Martin’s is ranked No. 114 in the latest Golfstat rankings, fourth among GNAC programs. They compete next at the GNAC Championships in Coeur d’Alene on Apr. 19-20.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser finished tied for 19th at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Arizona with a 36-hole team score of 627, securing the joint-highest GNAC team finish. The team was two strokes behind 18th-place Point Loma, a stroke ahead of 22nd-place MSU Denver and level with Colorado Mesa and Northwest Nazarene. Simon Fraser then attended the SSU Women’s Spring Invite in Santa Rosa, California and tied for sixth with a score of 639.
• Shirin Anjarwalla was the top SFU performer at both events. At the Palm Valley Classic, Anjarwalla carded scores of 75 and 77 to finish at 8-over-par 152, tying for 38th place with four other golfers, including NNU’s Christine Cho. At the Spring Invite, Anjarwalla was one of three SFU golfers to end up shooting a 13-over-par 157 but was the only one to do so by breaking 80 twice, carding scores of 78 and 79. Anjarwalla broke 80 in all four of her competitive rounds over the past week, something no other Simon Fraser golfer did more than twice.
• Sophomore Natasha Kozlowski finished tied for 63rd at the Palm Valley Classic, making a day two charge with a team-low round of 2-over-par 74 over the final 18 holes to finish at 156. Sophomore Claire Lovan was two strokes behind at 158 with identical rounds of 79.
• Anjarwalla, Kozlowski and sophomore Kassie Muanyam all tied for 21st at the Spring Invite in Santa Rosa but got to the score of 13-over-par 157 in very different ways. While Anjarwalla was consistent, Kozlowski again improved on day two with her low round of 77, while Muanyam joined the party with a team-low round of 74 on the final day. Lovan was once again a metronome, carding two identical rounds of 84 to finish 37th at 168 while Brooke Brezovski tied for 44th by carding a 178.
• Simon Fraser is ranked No. 92 in the latest Golfstat rankings, third among GNAC programs. They compete next at the GNAC Championships in Coeur d’Alene on Apr. 19-20.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington had an uncharacteristic showing at the Palm Valley Classic in Arizona, finishing 23rd with a 36-hole team score of 629, one stroke behind 22nd-place MSU Denver and ten strokes ahead of Hawaii Hilo.
• After a layoff of nearly a month, it was the first tournament of the spring season in which the Western Washington women did not finish in the top 10. Additionally, the Vikings were the only GNAC team and one of eight teams in the 28-team field to fail to improve their day one score on day two.
• Despite the performance in Arizona, the Vikings will be the undisputed favorites to defend their crown at the GNAC Championships in just under two weeks, largely because of their talent and depth. The team was clustered on this occasion, all finishing within five strokes of one another, the smallest gap from No. 1 to No. 5 of any team in the field.
• Sophomore Claire Moon was the Vikings’ top finisher, tying for 72nd at 13-over-par 157 with a low round of 76 on day one. Junior Megan Billeter was one stroke behind at 158 with a low round of 77 on day one. Sophomore Dani Bailey shot a 159 and boasted the team-low round of 75 on day two, while Elise Sumner (160) and Sarah Shea (162) were within striking distance.
• Western Washington is ranked No. 66 in the latest Golfstat rankings, highest among GNAC programs. They compete next at the GNAC Championships in Coeur d’Alene on Apr. 19-20.