MSUB women’s golf season preview: Familiar faces look to build on historic season

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Monday, September 12, 2016 MSUB women’s golf season preview: Familiar faces look to build on historic season

With all six of last year’s players returning, MSUB’s women’s golf team looks to take another step forward in 2016-17 after posting the best team average in program history in 2015-16.

BILLINGS, Mont. – After a record-setting team average of 316.0 in 2015-16, all six players from the Montana State University Billings women’s golf team return to the roster and are primed to take another stride as the 2016-17 season starts this week.

The Yellowjackets will play their traditional match-play rounds against Rocky Mountain College on Thursday and Friday, with this year’s women’s event being tabbed the Leslie Spalding Cup after one of Billings’ local golf legends. “I am excited Leslie accepted our offer of naming our annual match play trophy after her, and I am excited to see how our student-athletes compete in the upcoming rounds against Rocky,” said MSUB head coach Kevin Woodin. “Our golfers are really looking forward to the event. It is a unique and fun format for the players, and there will be a lot of great golfers participating.”

The two-day event will feature action at Lake Hills Golf Club on Thursday starting at 1 p.m., and Peter Yegen Golf Club on Friday at 1 p.m. The format on the first day will include nine holes of 4-ball followed by nine holes of singles, and on the second day the teams will play nine holes of alternate shot followed by nine holes of singles.

It will be preceded by a kickoff banquet at MSUB on Wednesday evening, where KTVQ’s Casey Conlon will serve as master of ceremonies. Pairings for the weekend and introductions will occur at the banquet.

The women’s first full tournament of the year is scheduled for Sept. 19-20 at Western New Mexico University, which will be the first of four events in the fall season for the ‘Jackets. The team will also play tournaments at Rocky Mountain College on Oct. 3-4, Saint Martin’s University on Oct. 7-8, and at Western Washington University on Oct. 10-11.

Leading the six-player team of returners is sophomore Kortney McNeil, who garnered second-team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honors as a true freshman in 2015-16.

McNeil broke MSUB’s school record for a two-round score on three different occasions last year, and posted the secondlowest season scoring average in school history at 78.2 strokes per round. That scoring total ranked seventh in the GNAC, and she came within one stroke of tying MSUB’s single-round record with a 71 at last year’s NCAA Division II National Preview meet.

“Kortney is a really strong golfer, and she played a lot during the summer,” said Woodin. “She has the ability to really go low, and I think she’s going to have an excellent fall season.”

Back for her fourth year with the ‘Jackets is senior captain Haley Shackelford, who posted a scoring average of 82.0 last season.

The Gillette, Wyo., native had one top-5 finish and tied her career-low with a 75 at the WNMU Spring Invite last season. She is a two-time academic all-conference pick, and was second-team all-league as a sophomore in 2014-15. “Haley is a leadby-example kind of person, and she played some very good golf last spring,” said Woodin. “I will look for her to have another solid season, and she is a consistent player.”

Sophomore Kortney McNeil led the Yellowjackets in scoring average and earned second-team all-GNAC honors a season ago.

Juniors Sammy Walter and Bailee Dexter also return with experience, each contributing throughout the year in 2015-16.

Walter’s peak, like Shackelford’s, also came at the WNMU Invite last spring as she too posted a season-best single-round score of 75. Walter finished the year with a scoring average of 81.4 for fourth-best on the team.

Dexter led the ‘Jackets at the GNAC Championships for the second season in-a-row, as she had her second straight sixthplace finish at the premier event of the year. The Townsend, Mont., native became just the fifth golfer in MSUB history to average below 80.0 in a year, as she checked in at 79.6. “Bailee and Sammy both hit the ball very long, and when their short game is on, they can compete with anybody,” Woodin said. “They have improved a lot and have definitely put in the time, and they have a sense of composure out there on the golf course.”

Sophomores Anna DeMars and Shealyn Hafer also return to the program, after promising seasons to start their careers.

DeMars ranked third on the team with a scoring average of 79.6, and had three top-5 finishes on the season. One of those finishes – at the RMAC North tournament last September – earned her GNAC Golfer of the Week honors.

The highlight of Hafer’s season was a hole-in-one at Dixie State during the fall portion of the schedule. Hafer finished the year with an average of 85.0 overall, while competing in 14 rounds over seven events.

--@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--