Friday, October 27, 2023
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. – A busy October around the conference has seen plenty of action as all five GNAC women’s golf hit the links in tournaments across four states.

Montana State Billings played most of its competition close to home taking second at the Beartooth Invitational early in the month before following it up with sixth at the Western Washington Invitational and fourth at its own Yellowjacket Fall Invite to end its fall schedule.

Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s, Simon Fraser and Western Washington will conclude their fall slates on the road in Hawaii at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate on Friday and Saturday after competing in the HPU Sharks Shootout on Monday and Tuesday.

MCCORD’S HISTORY HEADLINES NNU RESULTS: Northwest Nazarene has competed in a pair of tournaments this month, placing third at the Vanguard Invitational in Beaumont, Calif., with a two-round score of 626 before finishing in 10th as the second-highest placed GNAC team at the HPU Sharks Shootout in Waikoloa, Hawaii with a two-round score of 605, just four strokes behind eighth-place Simon Fraser.

Senior Madison Gridley was NNU’s top golfer in California, carding a two-round score of 8-over-par 152 to finish fourth, just four strokes behind individual medalist Taylor Wilczek of Ottawa. Gridley was followed by junior Christine Cho and Elle McCord in a tie for eighth with scores of 156 while junior Paige Vancil rounded out the scoring effort in 23rd with a score of 166.

McCord made conference history once again in Hawaii after her 12 tournaments last season set a GNAC record for the most in a single season. She backed that up earlier this week by becoming just the eighth player in conference history to shoot a round of 69 or better en route to a tie for second place at the HPU Sharks Shootout. McCord’s performance was also the lowest round posted by any player in NNU history. She finished the tournament with a two-round score of 2-over-par 142 to finish five strokes back from individual medalist honors.

Senior Madison Gridley was the next highest NNU finisher in the tournament in 20th followed by junior Christine Cho in a tie for 68th and freshman Tora Timinsky in a tie for 84th. Northwest Nazarene remains in Hawaii to cap off the fall schedule at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate on Friday and Saturday.

ALWAYS BUZZING: Montana State Billings has been one of the busiest teams in the GNAC this month, teeing off in the Beartooth Fall Invitational on Oct. 2-3, the Western Washington Invitational on Oct. 10-11 before hosting the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational on Oct. 16-17 where the team capped off its fall schedule.

It was close quarters in the standings for the Yellowjackets at the Beartooth Invitational as all four of their scoring golfers tied for fourth to lead the team to a second-place team finish with a three-round score of 995. Sophomore Hannah Adams, freshman Orraya Tipasathien, junior Gia Vargas and junior Tatum York-Bement all finished the two-day tournament with the exact same score of 239. Vargas carded the two best rounds of the tournament for the quartet, shooting a 5-over-par 77 in both the first and second rounds.

Montana State Billings placed sixth at the WWU Invite in Bellingham, carding a two-round score of 589. Tipasathien notched her second-straight top 10 result to open her freshman campaign and lead the team in sixth place, carding a score of 149, just six strokes back from individual tournament champion Emily Cornwall of UBC Okanagan. Tipasathien also carded the lowest round of MSUB’s tournament with a 1-over-par 73 on her first trip through the course. Vargas made it two Yellowjackets in the top 20, finishing in a tie for 14th with a score of 154.

If the first two results hadn’t been impressive enough, Tipasathien once again proved her quality with her third consecutive top-10 finish by returning to the top five in fourth at Yellowjackets’ own Fall Invite. Competing in Billings for the first time in her collegiate career, she finished with a two-round score of 153, notching MSUB’s lowest round of the tournament with a 3-over-par 78 to open the event.

The strong freshman effort led Montana State Billings to a fourth-place team finish with a score of 638. Vargas and York-Bemet tied for 14th with scores of 160 while Adams rounded out the scoring four for MSUB in. a tie for 22nd.

FROM WASHINGTON TO WAIKOLOA: Saint Martin’s was one of four GNAC teams to play in the Western Washington Invitational, placing fifth with a two-round score of 616. The Saints were 12 strokes ahead of sixth-place Montana State Billings and just six strokes behind fourth-place Dominican (Calif.). They followed that up with a 14th-place finish at the HPU Sharks Shootout courtesy of a two-round score of 615.

Reigning GNAC Champion Ashley Bruland was the Saints’ top finished in Bellingham, carding a score of 5-over-par 149 to tie for sixth. Bruland’s opening round of 2-over-par 74 was also the best round of any SMU golfer in the tournament. Fellow sophomore Kelsie Inouye and junior Hannah White followed Bruland in a tie for 14th with scores of 154. Sophomore Sabrina Poole completed the scoring four in 25th with a two-round score of 159.

Inouye paced the Saints at the HPU Sharks Shootout with her first top-10 tournament result of the season. Inouye carded a two-round score of 5-over-par 145 to lead SMU, including a low round of 2-under-par 70 to open the tournament. White tied for 31st with a score of 151 followed by Bruland in a tie for 45th.

Along with Western Washington, Simon Fraser and Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s remains in Hawaii to compete in the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate on Friday and Saturday.

REVENGE OF THE SMITH: Simon Fraser has maintained its form as one of the top programs in the conference this fall, notching two more top-10 results in October. The Red Leafs opened the month by placing third at the Western Washington Invitational with a two-round score of 603, just three strokes behind the host Vikings. They followed that up by placing eighth in the HPU Sharks Shootout earlier this week with a two-round score of 601 as the top GNAC contender.

Simon Fraser was led by freshman Dana Smith in both tournaments as she notched the first two top-five results of her collegiate career. Smith tied for third at the WWU Invite, carding a team-leading low-round of 1-under-par 71 en route to finishing the tournament with a two-round score of 3-over-par 147. Smith followed that up by placing fourth in the HPU Sharks Shootout with a score of 3-over-par 143, including a career-low round of 2-under-par 70 to open the tournament.

The Red Leafs remain in Hawaii this weekend to play in the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate along with conference rivals Western Washington, Saint Martin’s and Northwest Nazarene.

HOME COURSE ADVANTAGE: The Vikings led all GNAC competitors at their Western Washington Invitational, placing all four of its top golfers in the top 15. Senior Dani Bailey was WWU’s best golfer in Bellingham, tying for third with a two-round score of 3-over-par 147. Bailey was followed by sophomores Lauren Lee and Emma Worgum in a tie for eighth with scores of 6-over-par 150. Worgum shot WWU’s lowest round of the tournament with an even-par 72 to open the event.

At the HPU Sharks Shootout, it was Lee’s turn to lead Western Washington along with sophomore Kasey Maralack as they both finished with two-round scores of 155 in a tie for 57th. As a team, the Vikings finished 15th with a score of 623. The WWU scoring four was completed by Bailey in a tie for 63rd and senior Claire Moon in a tie for 58th.

Beartooth Fall Invitational (Oct. 2-3, at Laurel Golf Club, Laurel, Mont.) Team – 1, Rocky Mountain, 949. 2, Montana State Billings, 955. Individuals – 1, Valentina Zuleta, Rocky Mountain, 216. T-4, Hannah Adams, Montana State Billings, 239. T-4, Orraya Tipasthien, Montana State Billings, 239. T-4, Gia Vargas, Montana State Billings, 239. T-4, Tatum York-Bement, Montana State Billings, 239. T-15, Haylee Adams, Montana State Billings “B”, 254.

Western Washington Invitational (Oct. 10-11, at Bellingham Golf & CC, Bellingham, Wash.) Team – 1, UBC Okanagan, 598. 2, Western Washington, 600. 3, Simon Fraser, 603. 5, Saint Martin’s, 616. 6, Montana State Billings, 628. Individuals – 1, Emily Cornwall, UBC Okanagan, 143. T-3, Dani Bailey, Western Washington, 147. T-3, Dana Smith, Simon Fraser, 147. T-6, Ashley Bruland, Saint Martin’s, 149. T-6, Orraya Tipasathien, Montana State Billings, 149. T-8, Lauren Lee, Western Washington, 150. T-8, Emma Worgum, Western Washington, 150. T-12, Meera Minhas, Simon Fraser, 153. T-12, Sueah Park, Simon Fraser, 153. T-14, Anaya Bhandal, Simon Fraser, 154. T-14, Claire Dubois, 154. T-14, Kelsie Inouye, Saint Martin’s, 154. T-14, Kasey Maralack, Western Washington, 154. T-14, Gia Vargas, Montana State Billings, 154. T-14, Hannah White, Saint Martin’s, 154.

Yellowjacket Fall Invitational (Oct. 16-17, at Lake Hills Golf Club, Billings, Mont.) Team – 1, Rocky Mountain, 605. 4, Montana State Billings, 638. Individuals – 1, Valentina Zuleta, Rocky Mountain, 144. T-4, Orraya Tipasathien, Montana State Billings, 153. T-14, Gia Vargas, Montana State Billings, 160. T-14, Tatum York-Bement, Montana State Billings, 160. 18, Adessa Lundberg, Montana State Billings, 161. T-22, Hannah Adams, Montana State Billings, 165. 26, Meilyn Armstrong, Montana State Billings, 167.

Vanguard Invitational (Oct. 17-18, at Oak Valley Golf Club, Beaumont, Calif.) Team – 1, Ottawa, 623. 3, Northwest Nazarene, 626. Individuals – 1, Taylor Wilczek, Ottawa, 147. 4, Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene, 152. T-8, Christine Cho, Northwest Nazarene, 156. T-8, Elle McCord, Northwest Nazarene, 156. 23, Paige Vancil, Northwest Nazarene, 166. Tora-Jo Timinsky, Northwest Nazarene, 171. T-35, Allison MacMillan, Northwest Nazarene, 179.

Southwest Airlines HPU Sharks Shootout (Oct. 23-24, at Waikoloa Beach Golf Resort, Waikoloa Village, Hawaii) Team – 1, Cal State San Marcos, 578. 8, Simon Fraser, 601. 10, Northwest Nazarene, 605. 14, Saint Martin’s, 615. 15, Western Washington, 623. Individuals – 1, Madison Murr, Cal State San Marcos, 137. T-2, Elle McCord, Northwest Nazarene, 142. 4, Dana Smith, Simon Fraser, 143. 8, Kelsie Inouye, Saint Martin’s, 145. T-20, Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene, 149. T-23, Meera Minhas, Simon Fraser, 150.

Oct. 23 GNAC Women's Golf Player of the Week

Madison Gridley, Northwest Nazarene

Gridley was the top-performing women’s player in the conference last week, placing fourth among a field of 45 players at the Vanguard Invitational in California. Gridley shot a two-round score of 8-over-par 152 (74-78), helping lead the Nighthawks to a third-place team finish. Gridley ranks fourth in the GNAC in scoring average this fall with a mark of 75.0 strokes per round.

Also Nominated: Orraya Tipasathien, Montana State Billings.

The 2024 GNAC Women's Golf Championships will be held April 22-23 at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. All five programs will compete in the two-round tournament with the team champion receiving the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.