Tuesday, April 25, 2023

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – The top five was all red at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course as Simon Fraser won the 2023 GNAC Women’s Golf Championships, but it was the red of Saint Martin’s freshman Ashley Bruland who came out on top to take medalist honors in her conference championships debut and lead a Saints’ one-two finish.

Simon Fraser took home the team championship with a two-round score of 609, placing all four scoring golfers in the top six. Freshman Meera Minhas led the way for the Red Leafs in third place, carding a two-round score of 9-over-par 151 with a low round of 75 to close out the tournament.

Minhas was followed by fellow SFU freshman Izzy Ferguson and junior Natasha Kozlowski in a tie for fourth with scores of 152. Junior Shirin Anjarwalla rounded out the scoring for Simon Fraser in sixth place with a score of 154

The team victory marks the fourth time in conference history that the Red Leafs have won the GNAC championship and the first time since 2019. Simon Fraser also took home hardware from Coeur d’Alene in 2016 and 2017.

After coming into the day leading the chasing field by three strokes, Bruland carded a score of 2-over-par 73 in the final round to secure her championship victory with a two-round score of 3-over-par 145. Bruland stayed ahead of the competition throughout the day, shooting under par for four holes.

Bruland was followed immediately by fellow freshman teammate Kelsie Inouye in second place with a two-round score of 8-over-par 150. She posted a low round of 3-over-par 74 to close out the tournament. Rounding out the scoring for the Saints was sophomore Hannah White in a tie for 15th and senior Jada French in a tie for 18th with scores of 162 and 164, respectively.

As a team, Saint Martin’s finished in second place with a two-round score of 630, its highest team result since 2013 when the Saints were also runners-up. For the second day of the tournament, all athletes, coaches, officials and GNAC staff wore a patch in memory of the late Bob Grisham, the longtime athletic director and women’s golf coach of the Saints who passed away unexpectedly in January.  

Breaking into the top 10 for fourth-place Western Washington was freshman Emma Worgum in seventh with a two-round score of 156. Worgum shot a low round of 80 on the second day for the best round of the Vikings’ tournament. As a team, Western Washington finished with a two-round score of 642.

Montana State Billings also placed a golfer in the top 10. Freshman Hannah Adams carded a two-round score of 159 to finish in 10th place. Adams’ 6-over-par 77 in the first round was the lowest round for any MSUB golfer in the tournament. As a team, the Yellowjackets finished in fifth place with a score of 683.

With the GNAC Championships victory, Simon Fraser receives the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships West Regional on May 8-10 in Dallas, Texas.