SIOUX FALLS. – After a pair of top seven team finishes, the University of Sioux Falls Women's Golf Team will try and sustain their fall momentum as they compete at the MIAA Preview on Sept. 24-25 at the Awarii Dunes in Axtell, Neb. 

The Cougars will compete in 36 holes in two rounds with the opening round beginning Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m. The Cougars will play in a group that also includes golfers from Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Southern State.

USF, which also competes Sept. 28-29 at the Augustana Fall Invitational at the Elmwood Golf Course in Sioux Falls, finished seventh at the Central Region Preview in Blue Springs, Mo., with a program best two round score of 612. The program, directed by head coach Tavia Rutherford, followed up with a 625 and second place finish at the Golden Bear Classic.

Through four rounds this season, USF stands at the top of the NSIC rankings with an average of 309.2 on 1,237 shots. Augustana is second at 310.0 with Minnesota State in third at 318.0. In terms of individual leaders, senior Lexi Hanson ranks second in the NSIC with a 75.5 average with 302 shots in four rounds. Freshman Maggie Veenendall is fifth at 77.3 (309 shots on four rounds). USF has a third play, junior Sydney Hubbard, ranking 10^th at 78.8 (315 shots) with junior Alex Nutter at 12^th and 79.3 (317). Also for USF, freshman Annie Balduzzi is 14^th at 79.8 (319) with junior Lexi Jonas at 20^th with a 81.3 average (325).

Cougars take second at the Golden Bear Classic -
With every member of the team improving their second round two score, USF finished second at the Golden Bear Classic on Sept. 16-17 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 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.
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. 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 in her second career competition with USF. She carded a career-best 75 on the second day and with an 81 carded a 12-over par 156 which played her in a tie for sixth. With the finish she had her best finish at USF. Junior Lexi Jonas tied her career-best round of 77 (Tracy Lane Memorial, Sept. 12, 2017) and finished tied for ninth by tying her career-best two-round total 157 (80-77), which she set on Sept. 22-23, 2018 at the Ramada Mustang Invite (157-79-78). However, by finishing ninth, she had her best finish as she bettered the 12^th place finish at the Tracy Lane Memorial on Sept. 12, 2017.

Another freshman, Maggie Veenendall, had her best finish at USF at 13^th with a two-round score of 158. She opened with an 80 and closed at 78 with her three 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 160 and earning a tied 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 finished 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.

Cougars set program marks at Central Region Preview
Led by senior Lexi Hanson and freshman Maggie Veenendall, USF set a two-round DII program record of 612 and finished seventh at the Central Region Preview on Sept. 3-4. In the opening round of the tourney, USF recorded the best round of the DII era at 303, which placed the Cougars in a tie for second place with Henderson State and Central Missouri. On day two, the Cougars finished just slightly off the opening day pace with a 309, which bettered the best mark of a year ago by three strokes. USF was seventh at 612 (303-309) but just three shots from fifth and had the lowest two rounds in the program's DII history.

Central Missouri won the tournament at 602 (303-299) with Henderson State, second at 603 (303-300). After those two teams, Nebraska-Kearney was third at 607 (313-294) with SW Oklahoma State, fourth at 608 (311-297), Rogers State, fifth at 609 (302-307), Northeastern State, sixth at 610 (307-303) and then USF. The Cougars had the best finish among NSIC teams with Minnesota State at 9^th (625-311-314) and Upper Iowa, 14^th (648-323-325).

Hanson, a two-time All-NSIC performer and NCAA DII regional qualifier for two straight seasons, opened with a 74 and finished with a 76 as she carded a team-best 150, which placed her a tie for 11^th. Hanson's 150 is just one shot off her career-best of 149 (74-75) at the Ramada Mustang Invite on Sept. 22-23, 2018. Maggie Veenendall opened her career with an impressive three-over par 75 and closed at 76 for a sizzling two-round total 151 and a tie for 14^th. Besides Hanson and Veenendall, USF had solid efforts from three juniors in the opening round. Sydney Hubbard tied for 27^th as she opened at 76 and then had a 78 in day two for a two-round score of 154, which established a career-best for the junior standout. She also had back-to-back sub-80 rounds for the first time. All-NSIC Alex Nutter was tied for 36^th with a two-round total of 157, which was also her career-best two-round total. She followed up her day one 78 by carding a 79. Lexi Jonas finished at 168 or a tie for 74^th. She opened with an 80 and closed at 88 on day two. In addition, freshman Annie Balduzzi finished tied for 59^th as she played as an individual and had a strong day two performance. After opening at 85, she closed with a 78 for a two-round total of 163.    

USF projected in tie for third in NSIC
In the NSIC Coaches Poll, USF finished with 91 points and tied with Concordia St. Paul for third. Augustana was voted as the league favorite and just edged Minnesota State in vote points, 114-to-113. Both AU and MSU received six first place ballots. USF's Lexi Hanson  was named USF's "Player to Watch."

Individual Notes for Starters

Hansen qualified for the NCAA DII regionals and finished 52^nd as she became the second USF golfer to reach the DII regionals in back-to-back seasons. Hanson, a criminal justice and psychology double major, was a second team All-NSIC selection in 2018-19. She had a solid season as a junior with five top-10 and nine top-20 finishes among the nine competitions and 18 rounds played. Hanson, who has 11 career top-10 finishes, was 11th individually at the NSIC Championship with a 244 (80-83-81) in Morton, Minn on April 26-28.  She has finished 11^th with a 150 (74-76) at the Central Region Preview on Sept. 3-4 in Blue Springs, Minn., and tied for third at 152 (77-75) at the Golden Bear Classic.

Alex Nutter, who is a junior elementary education major, opened the season with a 36^th place finish at the Central Region Preview. She finished with a career high of 157 as she carded a 78-79. At the Golden Bear Classic on Sept. 16-17, she was 18^th with a two round total of 160 (85-75). She placed 17th at the 2019 NSIC Women's Golf Championship with a 36-over par 252 (81-83-88) last spring. Nutter, who was named NSIC Golfer of the Week on April 10, 2018, twice has carded a career-best 154 including at the Central Region Preview (75-79) and at the Augustana Invitational (76-78) on Sept. 29-30, 2018. She has had 10 top-20 finishes in her career. She also had three top-10 placements and now has five in her career.  
 
Sydney Hubbard opened the season with a career-best 154 (78-76) and was 27^th at the Central Region Preview.  She finished 21^st at the Golden Bear Classic with with a total of 161 (85-76).  A year ago had her best two-round total of 161 in the fall of 2018 after rounds of 82-79 at the Ramada Mustang Invite. A junior biology major from Onalaska, Wis., Hubbard has four career sub 80 rounds and recorded two in 2018-19 – 79 in second round of Ramada Mustang Invite and 79 in the second round of the Central Region Preview in 2018. Her career-best round of 75 was carded in the final round of the NSIC Championships in 2017 (88-82-75-245). Hubbard highlighted her play for USF in 2018-19 with a "hole in one" on hole No. 2 (174-yards) at the Jennies Invite on March 25-26, 2018. It was the first hole in one by a USF player in 2018. At the NSIC Championship last spring, she was tied for 11^th with a three-round total of 244 (81-80-83).

Lexi Jonas, who had an 85.39 per round average with 1,537 shots on 18 rounds in 2018-19, opened with rounds of 80-88 for a two-round total of 168 and 74^th place at the Central Region Preview.  She had her first top-10 finish at the Golden Bear Classic on Sept. 16-17 when she tied a career-best and carded a two-round total of 157 (80-77). At the GBC, she tied her career- best round of 77 on day two. A junior exercise science major from Hudson, Wis., Jonas had previously set her best performance of the fall (2018) at the Ramada Mustang Invite. She shot a two-round total of 157 (79-78). The 78 by Jonas in the second round of the Ramada Mustang Invite was her top round of the 2018-19 season. She has recorded three sub-80 rounds including a career-best 77 in the second round of the Tracy Lane Memorial on Sept. 11-12, 2017. At the NSIC Championship in 2018, Jonas carded a three-round total of 263 (89-81-93).
 
Maggie Veenendall, a freshman from New Richmond, Wis., opened her career with two impressive performances. She carded an impressive three-over par 75 and closed at 76 for a sizzling two-round total 151 and a tie for 14^th at the Central Region Preview. At the Golden Bear Classic, she was a career-best 13^th with a two round total of 158 (80-78).

In addition, freshman Annie Balduzzi of Onalaska, Wis., stepped up in her second competition at USF. At the Golden Bear Classic, she finished tied for sixth with a career-best 156 (81-75), which was seven shots better than her first tournament. At that Central Region Preview on Sept. 3-4, she finished tied for 59^th as she played as an individual and had a strong day two performance. After opening at 85, she closed with a 78 for a two-round total of 163.  
 
Junior Kyleigh Moran played her first tournament of the season at the Golden Bear Classic where she shot a two-round total of 163 (80-83). Moran, a junior from Vermillion, S.D., finished tied for 26^th among the 86 golfers at the meet. In 2018-19, Moran averaged 85.56 per round this year with 1,540 shots in 18 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. At the NSIC Championships on April 26-28, she carded a three-round total of 266 (86-91-89) and claimed 31^st place among 59 golfers.