Yellowjacket women seeking a run at GNAC Golf Championships title

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Friday, April 15, 2016 Yellowjacket women seeking a run at GNAC Golf Championships title

Finishing as the runners up in each of the last two seasons at the GNAC Women’s Golf Championships, MSUB enters next week’s championships with the second-best scoring average among the field of six teams.

BILLINGS, Mont. – The world-famous floating green at the Coeur d’Alene Resort beckons the top golfers from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, as the Montana State University Billings women’s golf team will compete for a conference title next week in Idaho.

Finishing as the runners-up at the GNAC Championships in each of the last two seasons, the Yellowjackets enter the competition with the second-best scoring average in the league at 315.1 through 16 rounds of competition.

The two-round women’s tournament will run Monday and Tuesday, with one round scheduled for each day. The par-71, 5,914-yard women’s layout features an island green on the 14th hole that demands pinpoint accuracy and stands as the most unique challenge of the course.

“It’s nice that the team has been near the top the last few years at this tournament,” commented MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “If we can really focus on the greens and get up-and-down when we should, I think our team has the

ability to be in the thick of the race. All five of our golfers have counted on numerous tournaments for us, and that gives us a good chance to be right there.”

Live scoring will be available throughout the event via Golf Stat here.

“It’s a really difficult course,” sophomore Sammy Walter commented on the tournament layout. “We have come second to Western Washington the last two years, and we just want to try to beat them. We have the team to do that this year.”

The Yellowjackets have two golfers in the top-10 in the GNAC in scoring, led by freshman Kortney McNeil. Holding a scoring average of 78.0 strokes over 16 rounds, McNeil ranks sixth in the GNAC and has had five top-10 finishes throughout the season. McNeil came within one stroke of the MSUB single-round record, when she shot a 71 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II National Preview meet in September. Her two-round total of 146 (71-75) led the ‘Jackets to a seventh-place finish among the most competitive field the team faced all season.

McNeil has posted the top-three two-round totals in program history this season, adding a pair of 147s to her 146 at the D2 Preview meet. Her season average of 78.0 is currently tied for the best-ever at MSUB, as McNeil has a chance to set a record in her freshman season.

Close behind McNeil is fellow freshman Anna DeMars, who is averaging 79.1 strokes over 16 rounds. DeMars’ best round of the year was a 73 at the D2 Preview, and she has had four top-10 finishes.

Freshman Kortney McNeil is on pace to set the MSUB singleseason scoring record and is currently sixth in the GNAC with an average of 78.0 strokes per round.

Also holding a scoring average below the 80 mark is sophomore Bailee Dexter, at 79.8 strokes per round. Dexter has played all 16 rounds for the ‘Jackets, and has a low-round score of 74 on the season. Dexter was MSUB’s top finisher at the GNAC Championships a season ago, as she tied for sixth place with a two-round score of 157 (80-77).

Also with experience from last year’s championships is junior Haley Shackelford, who finished in ninth place with a score of 160 (81-79). Shackelford holds a scoring average of 81.4 strokes this year and has competed in 14 rounds for the ‘Jackets. Shackelford has posted two of her best rounds of the year as of late, with a season-low 75 at the WNMU Invite on April 2 and a team-best 77 at the MSU Bobcat Spring Invitational on April 12.

“Haley is a great leader,” Woodin said. “She keeps the ball in play, she really battles hard, and she is competitive.”

Rounding out the field of five for MSUB at next week’s championships is sophomore Sammy Walter, who finished 10th at the 2015 GNAC Championships with a score of 162 (82-80). Walter is coming off one of her best events of the year, as she was MSUB’s top finisher last week at the Bobcat Invite with a three-round total of 240 (78-80-82).

“My swing feels good right now,” Walter said. “We are all just really close as a team, and we all really look up to Haley as a junior. It has been really fun getting to know everybody, and we are really excited for conference.”

Walter’s season low score was a 75 at the WNMU Fall Invitational, and she has a pair of top-10 finishes with a scoring average of 81.5 over 16 rounds for the ‘Jackets.

“It’s nice to see Sammy having a great spring,” Woodin said. “Her confidence is very high and she has been driving the ball well, and she has had quite a few birdies over the last couple tournaments.”

The GNAC Championships will be the second three-round event of the year for MSUB, the other being last week’s MSU Invitational. The Yellowjackets set a program record for a single round with a 297 at the D2 National Preview in the fall, marking just the second time ever that MSUB posted a sub-300 team score. The team’s two-round total of 610 was also the best ever, and its 614 at the WNMU Fall Invite was the second-lowest tworound team score.

The 982 posted by the ‘Jackets at the MSU Invite was the sixth-best threeround score in school history. The team is well on pace to break the school Sophomore Sammy Walter was MSUB’s top finisher at record for scoring average in a season, which currently sits at 324.44 (2014- last week’s MSU Bobcat Invitational.

15).

GNAC Championships – Women’s Course Records Coeur d’Alene Resort | Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 36-Hole Total – 150, Sophie Elstrott, Western Washington, 75-75 (April 18-19, 2011) Single Round – 73, Claire Rachor, Western Washington (April 22, 2013) 36-Hole Total, Team – 620, Western Washington, 316-304 (April 18-19, 2011) Single Round, Team – 304, Western Washington (April 19, 2011)

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