MORTON, Minn. – Led by three players in the top 20, including sophomore Sydney Hubbard and junior Lexi Hanson tied at 11th, the University of Sioux Falls Women's Golf Team finished fourth in the team standings at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Golf Championship which finished on Sunday on a windy and cold day at Dacotah Ridge Golf Course.

USF, which was third after the opening two rounds, finished just a shot from third place and Minot State, which had a 131 over par total of 995 (337-327-331). USF finished at 132 over par and 996 (328-328-341) after carding a 341 in the final round.

USF Director of Men's and Women's Golf Sam Vosler was pleased with the performance of the USF squad, which finished the season with their sixth placement of fourth or better at a tournament in 2018-19.

"I'm proud of the team and the way they fought out there," said Vosler. "We put ourselves in great position after 36 holes.  It just wasn't our day.  Unfortunately, we didn't put together the round we wanted. We got off to a tough start and then the wind really picked up. From that point in, it was a battle all day," he said.

"There was a lot of positives to take away from this weekend," added Vosler, whose team was picked to finish third in the preseason poll after a program-best third place finish at the 2017-18 NSIC Championship. "We know we have to be better in some areas if we want to be up with the top teams. The whole team is coming back which is very exciting. Along with our incoming freshman, we should be right there again next year," he said.

Minnesota State won its first-ever NSIC Women's Golf Championship by finishing the 54-hole tournament at 88 over par 952 (309-326-317).  The Mavericks, which earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Super Regional at Muskogee, Okla., on May 6-8,  finished 33 shots ahead of second place Augustana at 121 over par 985 (330-324-331) and 43 shots better than third place Minot State with a 131 over par 995. After USF in fourth place, Upper Iowa was fifth at 141 over par 1,005 (339-335-331) with Concordia St. Paul at 153 over par and 1,017 (332-340-345) in sixth place. MSU's Abbe Partington won individual medalist honors at 235, 19-over par with rounds of 77-81-77.

Both Hubbard and Hanson finished at 28-over par and 244 for the tournament as they finished tied for 11^th place. A sophomore from Onalaska, Wisc., Hubbard had a three-round total of 28-over par with rounds of 81-80-83. She had eight pars on Sunday and finished with 27 for the tourney along with a birdie. Hubbard jumped up five spots from her 16^th place finish of a year ago.

Hanson, who was named second team All-NSIC a year ago and finished ninth at the NSIC Tourney, moved up two spots on Sunday by carding nine pars and two birdies as she finished with a round of 81. In the tournament, the junior from Chanhassen, Minn., had rounds of 80-83-81 for a 244. Hanson totaled 30 pars and had the two birdies during her performance.   

Sophomore Alex Nutter of Houston, Minn., also placed in the top 20 with a 17^th place finish as she was 36-over par and had a 252 with rounds of 81-83-88. Nutter, who improved from 23^rd a year ago to 17^th this year, had seven pars today and 23 on the tournament along with a birdie.

Also for USF, sophomore Lexi Jonas of Hudson, Wis., placed in a tie for 29^th with a 47-over par total of 263. Jonas, who had 20 pars for the tournament, carded rounds of 89-81-93 in her second NSIC Championship. Jonas also showed improvement from the 2017-18 NSIC Tournament a she moved up 15 spots from her 44^th place finish of a year ago.

USF sophomore Kyleigh Moran of Vermillion, S.D., finished 31^st as she moved up two spots on Sunday in her first-ever NSIC Championship meet. Moran, who had 11 pars in the three rounds, totaled a 50-over par total of 266. She had rounds of 86-91-89.