MSUB women in 14th after first round at WNMU Invite Monday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, September 19, 2016 MSUB women in 14th after first round at WNMU Invite Monday

MSUB’s women’s golf team opens the 2016-17 season with a team score of 316 in its first round, and is being led by junior Bailee Dexter after a 76 on Monday.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Opening its 2016-17 season with its first official round on Monday, the Montana State University Billings women’s golf team shot a team-total of 318 and sits in 14th place after Day 1 of the Western New Mexico University Invitational at Golf Club of Estrella.

Among the field of 20 teams, MSUB and the three teams directly ahead of it are separated by just six strokes heading into Tuesday’s final round. “It took a little time for them to settle in and get comfortable, but overall they did pretty well getting into the flow of a competitive round again,” commented MSUB assistant coach Jeff Allen. “Our main concern was to get them ready to play a long round in the heat, and to stay patient and focus on hitting good shots.”

Junior Bailee Dexter is leading the team after Day 1, as she opened the fall with a 4-over-par 76 at the par-71, 6,087-yard course. Dexter had birdies on holes four, 12, and 16, playing both the front-nine and back-nine at 2-over par. Her best

stretch of the day came on holes four-through-10, where she played at 1-under par. Dexter heads into the final round in a tie for 21st place.

One stroke behind Dexter is fellow junior Sammy Walter, who used four birdies on her way to shooting a 3-over-par 77 on Monday. Walter saved a stroke on holes eight, 11, 13, and 16, and caught a groove on holes 7-through-13 where she played at 3-under. Using her strength out of the tee box, Walter played the course’s four par-5 holes at 3-under-par in her opening round.

Sitting in a tie for 42nd place is sophomore Shealyn Hafer, who was the third Yellowjacket to break 80 with a 78 in her first round of the season. Checking in just one stroke off her career-best round of 77, Hafer made birdie on holes two and 16, and finished strong at 2-over-par on the back-nine.

Also carding a pair of birdies on Day 1 was senior Haley Shackelford, who finished the round tied for 84th place with a score of 85. Shackelford handled the 141-yard, par-3 third hole perfectly, sinking a birdie putt to save a stroke. She caught fire on holes 10-through-13, where she played at 1-under-par including a birdie on the par-4, 326-yard 12th hole.

Rounding out the field for the ‘Jackets was sophomore Kortney McNeil, who is tied for 94th place after shooting an 86.

McNeil made par on eight holes in her first round, including back-to-back pars on holes seven and eight, and again on 10 and 11.

Leading the team race after Day 1 is Tarleton State University, which was one of three teams to break 300 at 297. Chico State University and Midwestern State University are tied for second place, as each school is two strokes off of the leader at 299.

Individually, Mary Weinstein of Regis University leads the pack after a 2-under-par 70. Tarleton State’s Breann Smith is one stroke off of Weinstein after a 71, and she and Beatriz Prados are each in the top-10 for the team leader at the event.

Western Washington University is the other Great Northwest Athletic Conference team participating in the tournament, and the Vikings sit in seventh place after a 305 team score on Day 1.

“The greens were pretty tricky today, and it was tough to get used to them,” Allen said. “All five of our players are hitting the ball really well from tee-to-green, and it’s just a matter of missing in the right place. I’m hoping that our players got a good feel for the course today, and I’m pretty confident every one of them can shave several strokes tomorrow.”

Dexter was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day for the ‘Jackets, as she came within two strokes of her personal-best round of 74. The second and final round of the event is set to kick off at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, with live stat coverage available through Golfstat here.

Western New Mexico University Invitational Golf Club of Estrella | Goodyear, AZ Round 1 Results | September 19, 2016 Team – 1. Tarleton State, 297; 14. MSU Billings, 316. Individual – 1. Mary Weinstein, Regis, 70; T21. Bailee Dexter, MSUB, 76; T34. Sammy Walter, MSUB, 77; T42. Shealyn Hafer, MSUB, 78; T84. Haley Shackelford, MSUB, 85; T94.

Kortney McNeil, MSUB, 86.

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