Friday, February 28, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – Following a nearly four-month layoff, Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s golf is back in action, with three teams having logged rounds already this month and one more making its debut this weekend.

The women’s spring season officially kicked off Feb. 11, as Northwest Nazarene, Simon Fraser and Western Washington participated in the Point Loma Nazarene Invitational. WWU placed sixth (644, 324-320) at the two-round event, while SFU checked in at No. 14 (701, 345-356) and NNU close behind at No. 15 (703, (349-354) in the 18-team field.

This weekend, SFU, WWU, and Saint Martin’s are all in Vallejo, Calif., for the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout, hosted by Cal State East Bay.

Currently, Kristen Hansen of WWU leads the GNAC with an average of 76.7 over 10 rounds so far this season. Following close behind are Jennifer Liedes and Mandy Wittmier of SMU, who are averaging 77.1 and 78.4 over seven rounds, respectively.

Hansen placed in the top-5 twice in the fall, logging a low score of 70 in her very first round of the 2013-14 season on Sept. 23 in Durango, Colo. Anna Bourland also had a strong fall for WWU, averaging 79.1 with a low round of 73. As a team, WWU holds a 3.4 stroke advantage over SMU, averaging 316.5 over 10 rounds as spring action gets underway.

Liedes, a sophomore at SMU also logged a pair of top-5 finishes in the fall including a second-place finish at the Dennis Rose Invitational on Oct. 27-29 in Waikoloa, Hawaii. Fellow sophomore Gracie Dyer and Wittmier helped SMU to an average of 319.9 as a team this fall, as the Saints sit in second place behind WWU.

SFU’s Nicky Jordan led the way in the fall, posting an average of 82.9 to date. The Clan finished as high as fifth place in the first half of the 2013-14 season, accomplishing that feat on Oct. 14-15 at the University of Victoria Vikes Shootout in Victoria, BC.

With only freshmen and sophomores on its roster, NNU enjoyed a solid fall season by Samantha Miller, who averaged 79.4 to lead the Crusaders in her debut collegiate campaign. Miller has finished in the top-10 in four of NNU’s five events thus far, and sophomore Haley Gochnour has made a pair of top-10 finishes.

The NNU women broke into the school record books in the fall, shooting a new single-round school best 323 en route to a third-place finish at the Vikes Shootout in October. NNU faces the College of Idaho in a dual match on March 7 in its next competition of the spring.

Finishing the fall with an average of 320.1, Montana State Billings sits just 0.2 strokes behind SMU heading into the spring season. Katie Fish and Capri Ingram each averaged below 80, at 78.9 and 79.6 over nine rounds, respectively.

MSUB kicked off its fall season by winning the Yellowjacket Fall Invite with a two-round team score of 616, and Fish finished second overall at the tournament with a score of 152 (79-73). The ‘Jackets get back into action this spring at the Yellowjacket Spring Invitational, set for March 20-21 at Pryor Creek Golf Course in Huntley, Mont.

SPRING SCHEDULE: March – 1-2: SFU, WWU, & SMU at Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout. 7: NNU vs. College of Idaho (Match Play). 13-14: SMU at Augustana Spring Fling Invite. 17-18: NNU at Corban Invitational. 20-21: MSUB at Yellowjacket Spring Invitational. 24-25: MSUB at Otter Invitational. 30-31: MSUB & SMU at Western New Mexico Invitational; NNU at NNU Invitational.

SPRING RESULTS

PLNU Invitational (Feb. 10-11 at Presido Course, San Diego, CA): Team Scores – 1. Cal Baptist 622 (317-305) 6. Western Washington 644 (324-320) 14. Simon Fraser 701 (345-356) 15. Northwest Nazarene 703 (349-354) Individuals (Top 30) – 1. Nathalie Silva, Cal Baptist 147 (76-71) T-13. Audrey Orem, WWU 157 (78-79) T-15. Kristen Hansen, WWU 158 (78-80) T-23. Anna Bourland, WWU 161 (80-81).