Thursday, March 24, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. – As the weather forced significant audibles at the Pack Classic, Simon Fraser’s Shirin Anjarwalla remained steady to climb into a fourth-place finish at the event, helping Simon Fraser finish tied for fourth as a team.

A rapidly advancing storm forced the Pack Classic, originally scheduled to be a two-day tournament on March 20-21 at the Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colorado, to play all 36 holes on March 20 instead. After carding a 76 over the opening 18 holes, Anjarwalla battled through increasingly high winds to shoot a 2-over-par 74, the second-lowest score in the field over the final 18. She finished at 6-over-par 150 in fourth place.

Simon Fraser finished dead-even with Colorado Mesa for fourth place in the team standings, two strikes behind host CSU Pueblo for third. There was nothing between SFU and Colorado Mesa throughout the day, as both programs shot a 312 in round one and a 311 in round two. Grace Killins, who finished tied for 16th at 11-over-par 155, and Natasha Kozlowski, who finished tied for 22nd at 156, helped boost Simon Fraser’s team score.

Montana State Billings, the other GNAC team in attendance at the Pack Classic, finished 11th as a team but had a good individual outing from Kinsey Irvin, who was in contention for a podium after shooting an under-par 71 through the first 18 holes but struggled in the winds and finished tied for 14th at 10-over-par 154.

Saint Martin’s has been the only other GNAC team to hit the links recently, appearing at the Augustana Spring Fling in Palm Desert, California back on March 10 and 11. The Saints notched a solid fourth-place finish out of seven competing teams, with Katherine Swor, Jada French and Kathryn Crimp all finishing between 20th and 26th.

In the upcoming week, Northwest Nazarene will appear at their own invitational on Monday and Tuesday before 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

Augustana Spring Fling (Mar. 10-11 at Desert Willow Golf Resort, Palm Desert, California) Team - 1, Indianapolis, 606. 2, Grand Valley State, 612. 3, Augustana, 632. 4, Saint Martin’s, 681. Individual - 1, Katelyn Skinner, Indianapolis, 149. 2, Cathi Graf, Indianapolis 150. T-20, Katherine Swor, 166. 23, Jada French, Saint Martin’s, 167. T-26, Kathryn Crimp, Saint Martin’s, 170. T-38, Hannah White, Saint Martin’s, 178.

Pack Classic (Mar. 20 at Walking Stick Golf Course, Pueblo, Colorado): Team - 1, Nebraska-Kearney, 607. 2, Colorado Christian, 610. 3, CSU Pueblo, 621. T-4, Colorado Mesa, 623. T-4, Simon Fraser, 623. 11, MSU Billings, 650. Individual - 1, Faith Kilgore, Colorado Christian, 142. 2, Victoria Hart, CSU Pueblo, 146. 4, Shirin Anjarwalla, Simon Fraser, 150. T-14, Kinsey Irvin, MSU Billings, 154. T-16, Grace Killins, Simon Fraser, 155. T-22, Natasha Kozlowski, Simon Fraser, 156. T-32, Tierney Messmer, MSU Billings, 159.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings took 11th place at the Pack Classic in Pueblo, Colorado, compiling a 36-hole score of 650, eight strokes behind 10th-place Western New Mexico and six strokes ahead of 12th-place Bethany (Kan.).
• Senior Kinsey Irvin shined for the Yellowjackets before the weather derailed a promising run. Irvin shot a 1-under-par 71 over the first 18 holes and was tied for second in the tournament, but the final 18 holes brought high winds and Irvin slipped to an 83 in the second round, finishing tied for 14th.
• Junior Tierney Messmer was the second MSUB finisher and the only other Yellowjacket to break the top 50. Messmer tied for 32nd with a score of 159, shooting a low round of 79 in the second round. Messmer has finished second to Irvin out of five competing Yellowjackets in all three of MSUB’s spring tournaments so far.
• Senior Jalen Wagner tied for 52nd at 166, with a low round of 81 in the first round. Avery Gill (172) and Meilyn Armstrong (174) rounded out MSUB’s five.
• Montana State Billings will appear next at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Arizona alongside the other four GNAC programs on April 1-2.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene has not competed since they finished in 11th place at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Alameda, California on Feb. 28-Mar. 1, shooting a 36-hole score of 641.
• 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 fourth at the Augustana Spring Fling back on March 10-11, carding a 36-hole score of 681 as a team, three strokes ahead of fifth-place Concordia-Saint Paul.
• The Saints placed three golfers in between 20th and 26th place. Senior Katherine Swor finished tied for 20th at 166 while junior Jada French was 23rd at 167. Both golfers had low rounds of 82. Junior Kathryn Crimp shot two consecutive rounds of 85 to finish tied for 26th at 170.
• Freshman Hannah White carded a 78, breaking 90 with her low round of 88 on day one. Savannah Vincent recorded a 192 as an individual and Tia Taitingfong rounded out SMU’s scoring five.
• Saint Martin’s shot team scores of 339 on day one and 342 on day two. Boosted by low rounds from French, White and Taitingfong, the Saints did enough on day one to hold off the chasing pack of fifth-place Concordia Saint-Paul and sixth-place Metro State, as SMU was the only team in the seven-team field not to improve its day one score on the second day.
• Saint Martin’s will golf next at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Arizona alongside the other four GNAC programs on April 1-2.  

 SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser finished tied for fourth at the Pack Classic, which became a one-day, 36-hole tournament due to inclement weather. Simon Fraser finished with a score of 623, level with Colorado Mesa, two strikes behind CSU Pueblo and two strokes ahead of Chadron State.  
• The tournament was the first of the spring season in which SFU was able to compile a team score. The team teed off at the Pioneer Shootout on Feb. 28-Mar. 1, but due to health and safety protocols were limited to four golfers and were not eligible for the team competition. The fourth-place finish becomes SFU’s first team result since achieving eighth at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate in October.
• Shirin Anjarwalla recorded a fourth-place individual finish in an 81-golfer field to lead the team and the GNAC at the event. Anjarwalla carded a 76 in round one but did much better than the rest of the field at adjusting to the stormy conditions of round two. Over the final 18 holes, Anjarwalla shot a two-over-par 74, the second-lowest round two score in the field, and moved up to fourth with a final score of 6-over-par 150.
• Competing in her first tournament of the season after also playing for Simon Fraser’s basketball team, freshman Grace Killins made her presence felt by tying for 16th place with an 11-over-par 155, hitting a low round of 76 over the first 18 holes. Sophomore Natasha Kozlowski was just behind, tying for 22nd at 156. Freshman Brooke Brezovski and sophomore Kassie Muanyam rounded out SFU’s scoring five outside the top 50, each shooting low rounds of 81.
• Up next for Simon Fraser is the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Arizona alongside the other four GNAC programs on April 1-2.  

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington has not competed since March 7-8, but recorded 10th-place tournament finishes in both tournaments they have appeared in this spring. At the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout from Feb. 28-Mar. 1, they tallied a 36-hole team score of 632, nine strokes ahead of 11th-place Northwest Nazarene. The following week, at the Fujikura Invite from March 7-8, the Vikings improved slightly to a 36-hole score of 630.
• 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 compete at 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.