INDIANAPOLIS – Junior Lexi Hanson has become just the second-ever University of Sioux Falls Women's Golf student-athlete to qualify for consecutive appearances at the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Central Regional Championship.

 

Hanson of Chanhassen, Minn., was selected by the NCAA DII Women's Golf Committee to participate in the Central Super Regional on May 6-8 at the Muskogee Country Club in Muskogee, Okla. To be hosted by Northeastern State University, the regional will include 12 teams and six individuals.

"When we found Lexi made it for the second consecutive year to regionals we were ecstatic," said USF Director of Men's and Women's Golf Sam Vosler. "She's texted me right away and said, 'we did it!' I'm proud of they way she handled the uncertainty going into today's selection. We were not sure if she was going to be selected. Her expectations are very high, which is a good thing. She would be the first person to tell you she didn't have the spring season she was hoping for. She still played some really good golf and played well against regional competition. This was a big factor in the committee's decision," said Vosler.

Hanson will be joined by individuals including Hannah Hankinson of Augustana, Hannah Perkins of Fort Hays State, Alexandra Demko of Mine State; McKayla Poppens of Augustana and Sophia Hill of Concordia St. Paul. The competing teams will be Northeastern State, Arkansas Tech, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Central Missouri, Central Oklahoma, Henderson State, NSIC champion Minnesota State-Mankato, Missouri Western, Nebraska-Kearney, Lindenwood (Mo.), Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist.

All the participants will compete in 54 holes of competition with the top four teams and top four individual advancing to the NCAA DII Championship on May 14-18 at the PGA National Resort and Spain West Palm Beach, Fla.  

Hanson joins USF assistant coach Tavia Rutherford as the only USF golfer to advance to back-to-back NCAA DII regional. Rutherford qualified for three straight years from 2013-15.

"We can wait to get down to Muskogee Golf Club and prepare for the regional championship. the process will start well before we leave on Saturday evening.  We need to get tune up a few things with short game but mostly just prepare for the golf course and come up with a game plan," said Vosler.

A year ago Hanson placed 50^th at the regional as she carded a total of 240 with rounds of 84-80-76 as she made substantial improvement through the regional.

A second team All-NSIC selection in 2018, Hanson has had a solid season as a junior with five top-10 and eight top-20 finishes among the nine competitions and 18 rounds played. She has a team-high 79.39 round average and just finished 11^th individually at the NSIC Championship with a 244 (80-83-81) in Morton, Minn on April 26-28. Hanson helped USF finished fourth at the NSIC Championship and just a shot from third place.

A psychology and criminal justice major, she has five rounds of 75 or less this season with a low score of 73 at the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 29-30.

"Lexi has the ability to perform really well down there! I have a full confidence in her and the way she competes," he said. "We feel fortunate to be invited for another opportunity to compete with the best teams and individuals in the region. It's always a great student athlete experience to compete in regionals. She deserves to experience that. She has worked hard her entire junior golf and collegiate career to get to this point. Now its time to step up and take advantage of this opportunity," he said.