Yellowjacket women tied for fourth after Day 1 of GNAC Championships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, April 18, 2016 Yellowjacket women tied for fourth after Day 1 of GNAC Championships

Finishing with a team score of 323 in the first round, MSUB’s women’s golf team is in a tie for fourth place at the GNAC Championships with the second and final round scheduled for Tuesday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – Posting the second-best individual round of the first day at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championships, Montana State University Billings sophomore Bailee Dexter carded a 5-overpar 76 to lead the Yellowjackets in the first round at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Monday.

Dexter is in a three-way tie for second place with one round to play, as she trails individual frontrunner Michelle Waters of Simon Fraser University by just two strokes.

As a team, the Yellowjackets completed a score of 323 and are tied with Concordia University (Ore.) for fourth place. The second and final round will begin on Tuesday morning as all teams remain in the hunt for a conference title.

“Overall I felt that we got off to a good start, and as a team we were playing well on the first six holes,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “We lost our momentum in the middle third of the round, but we finished strong. The key tomorrow will be to find our momentum, and I like the way we came back at the end. If we can register a lower round

tomorrow, we can really make up some ground. There were a lot of tough pins out there, but the weather was awesome.”

Sammy Walter is also in the top-10 so far with a first-round score of 79.

Kortney McNeil is tied for 21st, with an 82, Anna DeMars is tied for 26th with an 86, and Haley Shackelford is in 30th with an 89.

Dexter had a solid round for the ‘Jackets, that included a dramatic birdie on the par-4, 293-yard 13th hole. After a lengthy drive, Dexter dropped the ball onto the green around 15 feet from the hole. Her long putt came off the club too fast, and rattled the back of the cup before popping up and coming to rest on the lip. But as Dexter took a step towards her ball, it trickled down into the hole off the edge.

Dexter made 13 pars in the opening round, including two different stretches of four straight holes at par. “Bailee played a wonderful round, and consistently hit the ball great,” Woodin said. “She regulated a lot of greens, and had a lot of birdie putts. It is nice to see her able to be tied for second at this point.”

Sammy Walter heads into Tuesday’s final round in the top-10 as she fired a 79 her first time through the course Monday.

Walter used a pair of birdies to stay below 80 in the first round, and she played holes 1-through-5 at even-par. McNeil and DeMars each had a birdie apiece in their rounds, while Shackelford carded a pair. “Sammy played very well early, but had a stretch in the middle where she lost some momentum,” Woodin said. “She got it back together though, played last five holes at even par, and that was exceptional.”

Dexter and Walter each handled the most challenging hole of the day, making par on the world-famous floating green on the par-3 14th hole.

Simon Fraser leads the team race with a first-round score of 308, while Western Washington is in second with a 312. The ‘Jackets are just two strokes behind third-place Northwest Nazarene (321), and lead sixth-place Saint Martin’s (324) by just one stroke.

THE BUZZ: Dexter was picked as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…Dexter was MSUB’s top finisher at the GNAC Championships last year as she tied for sixth with a score of 157 (80-77)…MSUB has been the runner-up at the tournament in each of the last two seasons.

“As a team we are capable of shaving off a significant number of strokes,” said Woodin. “I felt we didn’t putt great as a team and if we can improve on that we could knock off 10 or more shots. Hopefully that would move us up in the standings.”

2016 GNAC Women’s Golf Championships – Round 1 Results Coeur d’Alene Resort | Coeur d’Alene, Idaho | April 18, 2016 Team – 1. Simon Fraser, 308. T4. MSU Billings, 323. Individuals – 1. Michelle Waters, SFU, 74; T2. Bailee Dexter, MSUB, 76; T9. Sammy Walter, MSUB, 79; T21. Kortney McNeil, MSUB, 82; T26. Anna DeMars, MSUB, 86; 30. Haley Shackelford, MSUB, 89.

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