LAKE CITY, MINN. – With every scoring member of the team improving from round one to two, the University of Sioux Falls Women's Golf Team made a big push and finished second at the Golden Bear Classic, which concluded on Tuesday (Sept. 17) at The Jewel Golf Club.

Led by a third-place finish from senior Lexi Hanson, who carded a team-best 152 (77-75), the Cougars registered their best performance of the fall. USF tied tournament team champion Augustana (606-303-303) for the best team round of the tournament at 303. The mark tied the program-best they set on Sept. 3 at the Central Region Fall Preview in Blue Springs, Mo. USF placed four golfers in the top 13 individually and had five in the top 20.

The Cougars finished at 625 (322-303) by improving 19 shots from round one to round two. After opening with a 322, USF had strong performances across the board with the 303 and moved from fourth to second. USF finished ahead of Nebraska-Kearney by four shots (629-316-313) as well as Minot State which was fourth at 642 (323-319) and Minnesota State in fifth at 647 (319-328).

USF Head Women's Golf Coach Tavia Rutherford was proud of the effort the Cougars put forth today.

"The team did a great job of committing to their process and executing our game plan," said Rutherford. "It was fun to watch them compete and get after the golf course today. We plan to make minor adjustments this week and look forward to preparations for the MIAA Preview," added Rutherford.

Hanson, who now has shot 77 or lower in all four rounds this season, finished third following her 11^th place finish at the Central Region Preview. A two-time All-NSIC and All-Region performance, Hanson opened with a 77 and came in day two at 75. 

Freshman Annie Balduzzi's score didn't count in the team standings but she had a remarkable performance today. She carded a career-best 75 on the second day , which tied her with Hanson for a team-individual best total, and with an 81 carded a 12-over par 156 which placed her in a tie for sixth. With the finish she had her best finish at USF.

Junior Lexi Jonas tied her career-low round of 77 (Tracy Lane Memorial, Sept. 12, 2017) and finished tied for ninth by tying her career-best two-round total of 13-over par 157 (80-77), which she set on Sept. 22-23, 2018 at the Ramada Mustang Invite (157-79-78). By finishing ninth, she had her best total result as she bettered the 12^th place finish at the Tracy Lane Memorial on Sept. 12, 2017.

Another freshman, Maggie Veenendall, had her best result at USF at 13^th with a two-round score of 14-over par 158. She opened with an 80 and closed at 78 with her third sub-80 round in four shot this season.

Junior Alex Nutter also stepped up on day two. After opening at 85, she improved her round by 10 shots as she carded a 75 for a two-round total of 16-over par 160 and earning a tie for 18^th.  Another junior Sydney Hubbard also had a solid day two by tying her best round of the season. After carding an 85 on day one she closed with a 76 which placed her 17-over par with a two-round total of 161 and a tied for 21^st.

Junior Kyleigh Moran also played as an individual. She had her second best two round total (Augustana Invite, Sept. 29-30, 2018, 80-78-158) by carding a 163 with rounds of 80 and 83.

USF Women's Golf will next compete at the MIAA Preview on Sept. 24-25 at the Awarii Dunes in Axtell, Neb.