SIOUX FALLS – The University of Sioux Falls Women's Golf Team, which has placed at least fourth or better in five of the last seven meets, will look to continue their strong play this year at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship at the Dacotah Ridge Golf Course in Morton, Minn., on Friday to Sunday, April 26-28.

WEATHER UPDATE - Due to the expected rain forecast on Saturday, the tournament's schedule has been changed to 36 holes on Friday and the final 18 on Sunday with shotgun starts both days at 9 a.m. Live results and information can be found at the following link.

USF Director of Men's and Women's Golf Sam Vosler feels his team is ready to continue its solid play this season. The team is comfortable with the course and excited for the opportunity, noted Vosler, whose squad finished a program third a year ago.

"We really like the golf course and feel confident with how we have been playing coming in," said Vosler. "We played well at our last tournament (Central Region Preview in Springfield, Mo.) against the best competition we have seen all season. The competitive environment and quality of the field really made us lock in. The focus was there and it brought out some fantastic golf from the team. We are playing well at the right time. I really believe this tournament and what is at stake is going to bring our best golf game and scores," he said.

Junior Lexi Hanson was named second team All-NSIC a year ago as she led the Cougars to a third-place team finish, which was the best in program history. USF finished at 977 (338-319-320) for third as noted. As a result, USF registered the best finish ever at the NSIC Championships, bettering the fourth-place result in the 2012-13 season.

Hanson finished a career-best ninth by carding a 236 (85-75-76) or 20-over par. Hanson, who had 24 par rounds and the third most birdies in the tourney with seven, followed her play at the league meet by qualifying for the NCAA DII Regional. She carded back-to-back rounds of 75 and 76 at the NSIC meet. Sydney Hubbard finished 16^th at 245 (88-82-75) or +29. Hubbard, who had 24 pars and three birdies during the tournament, showed consistency and shot-making throughout the meet. She totaled a team-best 13 pars in the final round when she scored a birdie on 14. Alexandra Nutter finished in a tie for 23^rd at 249 (82-79-88). Lexi Jonas finished 44^th with a three-round total of 273 (92-84-97).  

After the strong 2018 finish, USF will again aim for a top-three finish with a group that has been consistent, if not spectacular at times, during this season. Vosler knows his squad will be tested on the Dakota Ridge course.

"Dacotah Ridge is a great track, it's a good test for all the golfers in our conference. It really calls for quality golf shot after quality golf shot. If there is any wind and weather, it definitely turns into another beast," said Vosler. "It looks like some rain in the forecast but overall fairly good weather for this time of the year. It really comes down to a couple key factors for our team to be successful. We know we need to be better than our competitors off the tee and around the greens, reduce compounding mistakes and step up on our closing stats while finishing strong. If we do that, we can be right there with Augustana and Minnesota State," he said.

USF is one of 12 teams that will compete at the NSIC Championship. The rest of the league field will be Augustana, Bemidji State, Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota Crookston, Minnesota State, MSU Moorhead, Minot State, SMSU, St. Cloud State, Upper Iowa and Winona State.

"We're excited to get out there and compete within the conference and represent USF. It should be a great opportunity for this squad to play its best golf when it counts the most," added Vosler.

The winner of the NSIC Women's Golf Championship will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Super Regional which will be played at Muskogee Country Club in Muskogee, Oklahoma and hosted by Northeastern State University on May 6-8.  The NCAA Championships will be held May 13-18 at the PGA National Resort Champions Course, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Season Review -
The Cougars placed in a tie for 10^th at the Central Region Meet on April 8-9 with a two-round total of 648 (322-326) in a highly competitive field in Springfield, Mo. Sophomore Alex Nutter led the way with a 16^th place finish. She earned NSIC Golfer of the Week honors after carding a 154 with rounds of 75 and 79. Lexi Hanson was also in the top-20 with a 19^th place finish and a 155 (74-81) total. Prior to that USF was 11th at the Jennies Invitational in Warrensburg, Mo., on March 25-26 after placing fourth or better in five straight meets this year. USF was third at the SMSU Spring Invite on March 11-12 at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz.

USF, which has an average round score of 325.47, through eight competitions, had a season-best round of 312 in the opening round at the Augustana Invitational and in the second round of the Ramada Mustang Invitational last fall. At that Ramada Mustang Invitational on Sept. 22-23, USF's total of 627 (315-312) was a D2 program-best two-round total, and earned them a fourth place finish. It was also USF's D2-program best round. In the preseason NSIC Coaches Poll, USF was picked a program-high third.

USF takes 11^th at the Jennies Invite 
Led by the play of Sydney Hubbard, Kyleigh Moran and Lexi Hanson, USF made a substantial improvement in the final round and finished 11^th at the Jennies Invitational at the Mules National Golf Course on March 25-26. On the par 71, 5,800-yard course, the Cougars finished 11^th with a two-round total of 666 (339-327). After opening with a 339 on day one, the Cougars improved their round by 12 shots and finished with a 327. Everyone on the USF team improved or tied their performance from day one. Hubbard, Moran and Hanson all finished tied for 31^st with two round totals of 166. Hubbard highlighted the play for USF with a "hole in one" on hole No. 2 (174-yards). It was the first hole in one by a USF player this year. A sophomore from Onalaska, Wis., Hubbard finished with 15 pars and shot a 24-over par 166 with rounds of 84 and 82. After opening with 85 on day one, Moran improved her score by four shots and came home in 81 for a two-round total of 166 and a tie for 31^st. The 81 by Moran was the second best round of her career. She finished with 14 pars in the tournament. Hanson had a six-shot improvement from day one to the final round. She finished at 24-over par 166 after following her 86 on day one with a round of 80. With her 80 she had the top round by a USF player at the tournament as she had 20 pars, which ranked ninth among individuals at the tourney.
 
USF claims third at the SMSU Spring Invite   
Junior Lexi Hanson and sophomore Sydney Hubbard carded top-five finishes to lead the University of Sioux Falls Women's Golf Team to third place in the team standings at the SMSU Spring Invite which concluded March 12 at the Wigwam Resort Red Course. With Hanson finishing third and Hubbard, fifth, the Cougars finished 80-over par 656 (328-328) by scoring totals of 328 on both days. As a result, USF registered its fifth straight fourth place or better finish this year. In fact, the Cougars have recorded its second straight team finish of third.   Hanson improved her day one score by four shots as she had a 77 to go with 81 for a 14-over par two-round total of 158 and third place. Hubbard, who opened with an 80, had an 82 and finished with an 18-over-par 162 and was tied for fifth. Sophomore Alex Nutter finished tied for 10^th with a 21-over par 165. She opened with an 81 and shot an 84 on day two. Sophomore Lexi Jonas and junior Taylor Sudenga, who was playing as an individual, finished tied for 22^nd with 29-over par rounds of 173. Jonas had an 86 on day one and carded an 87 on day two. Sudenga started with an 88 and dropped her score to 85 in the second round. Sophomore Kyleigh Moran finished 26^th with a 30-over par 174 as she opened with an 89 and had a four-shot improvement today with an 85. Freshman Kelsey Wilde finished 37^th with her two-round total of 40-over par and 184. She opened with a 90 and carded a 94 on day two.   
  
USF placed third at the NSIC Fall Preview
USF, led by a seventh place finish from Nutter, captured third in the team standings at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Fall Preview on a cold and windy Sunday at the Dacotah Ridge Golf Club last Oct. 21. Nutter carded a 21-over par, 165 (83-82) to record her second straight top-10 individual finish. Nutter, who has three top-10 finishes this season, was one of five USF golfers to finish in the top 15 on the par 72, 5906-yard course. USF finished with a 36-hole, two-round total of 673 (345-328). As a result, USF wrapped up its fall season with a top-four finish for the fourth straight meet.

As a team, the Cougars opened with an 18-hole role of 345 and then shot a 328 over the final 18 holes to finish third at 673. Aside from Nutter, junior Lexi Hanson finished tied for 11^th with a 24-over par total of 168 (86-82). Also at the NSIC Fall Preview, sophomore Lexi Jonas was 13^th with a 26-over par 170 (87-83). In addition, sophomores Sydney Hubbard (91-81) and Kyleigh Moran (89-83) both had two-round totals of 172 and finished 28 over par.

Individual Notes
For the third time in her career, Lexi Hanson was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Athlete of the Week on March 14. Hanson, who earned her second NSIC weekly honor this year, carded a 14-over par two round total of 158 as the USF Women's Golf Team had a third place team finish at the SMSU Spring Invite at the Wigwam Resort Red Course at Litchfield Park, Ariz. Along with Hanson's three NSIC weekly honors, USF Women's Golf now has had five student-athletes earn NSIC Golfer of the Week honors. Kami Love, was honored on March 21, 2017 and Hanson earned the honor on March 14, 2017 as well on Sept. 6, 2018 and today March 14, 2019. They join current assistant coach Tavia Rutherford, who was selected on Sept. 17, 2014 while a member of the USF Women's Team.  Hanson, a junior from Chanhassen, Minn., opened the tournament with a round of 81 but improved her performance by four strokes and carded a second-day total of 77 to finish at 158. Hanson, who became USF's second-ever student-athlete to compete at the NCAA DII regionals last May, has recorded 11 top-10 finishes in her career and has five times carded sub-80 rounds in back-to-back rounds of a tournament. Hanson had her best performance of the year at the Ramada Mustang Invite on Sept. 22-23, 2018 when she carded a 149 with rounds of 74 and 75. In 11 rounds, she has shot 854 shots with a low round of 73 in the opening round of the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 29. She has the top four rounds by a USF player this year as her totals ranged from a 73-to-75. Hanson, a criminal justice and psychology double major, finished a career-best ninth place (NSIC Championships) by carding a 236 (85-75-76) at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships on April 20-22, 2018. In 54 holes, she opened at 85 and then carded back-to-back rounds of 75 and 76 for her first ever top-10 finish at the conference meet. She also helped lead the Cougars to a DII-program-best third place finish at the league championships. In 15 rounds this season, Hanson has a team-best 79.00 per round average on 1,185 shots. She has three top five and five top 10 finishes in a standout season to this point.

Alex Nutter, who was recently named NSIC Golfer of the Week, twice has carded a 154 including at the Central Region Preview (75-79) and at the Augustana Invitational (76-78) on Sept. 29-30. She has a round average of 80-53 with 1,208 shots in 15 rounds. A sophomore elementary education major from Houston, Minn., she has six sub-80 rounds this season and nine in her career. She had a best round of 75 at the Central Region Preview on April 8.

Sydney Hubbard, who has an 83.00 round average in 15 rounds on 1,245 shots, had a best of 161 this fall after rounds of 82-79 at the Ramada Mustang Invite on Sept. 22-23. A sophomore biology major from Onalaska, Wis.,Hubbard had four career sub 80 rounds and two this year – 79 in second round of Ramada Mustang Invite on Sept. 22-23 and 79 in the second round of the Central Region Preview. Her career-best round of 75 was carded in the final round of the NSIC Championships last spring (88-82-75-245). Most recently, Hubbard highlighted the play for USF with a "hole in one" on hole No. 2 (174-yards) at the Jrnnies Invite on March 25-26. It was the first hole in one by a USF player this year. Hubbard finished with 15 pars and shot a 24-over par 166 with rounds of 84 and 82.

Kyleigh Moran is averaging 84.93 per round this year with 1,274 shots in 15 rounds. A sophomore exercise science major from Vermillion, S.D., she had her best performance at the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 29-30 with a career-best two-round total of 158 by carding an 80 and then her career-best single round of 78.

Lexi Jonas, who has an 84.93 per round average with 1,274 shots on 15 rounds. A sophomore exercise science major from Hudson, Wis., Jonas had her best performance of the fall at the Ramada Mustang Invite on Sept. 23-23. She shot a two-round total of 157 (79-78). The 78 by Jonas in the second round of the Ramada Mustang Invite is her top round of the season. She has thee sub-80 rounds including a career-best 77 in the second round of the Tracy Lane Memorial on Sept. 11-12, 2017.

Taylor Sudenga has an 87.38 per round average on 699 shots in eight rounds. A junior elementary education major, she carded her best performance at the Ramada Mustang Invite and the SMSU Spring Invite when she shot a 173. At the Ramada Mustang Invite she had a 173 on rounds of 86 and 87. She had a 173 at the SMSU Spring Invite with rounds 88 and 85. Sudenga's round of 84 at the Jennies Invitational (2^nd round – 92-84-176) on March 26 is her career-best.

Kelsey Wilde has a per round average of 96 with four rounds total and 384 shots. At the SMSU Spring Invite, Wilde, a freshman nursing major from Johnston, Iowa, had a career-best 184 with rounds of 90 and 94 with the 90 her career-best round at USF.