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

 

Today, the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Committee selected and announced teams and individuals that will compete in the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships. Lexi Hanson of USF was one of two NSIC individuals selected to participate as an individuals  with MacKayla Olsen of Upper Iowa. Augustana will represent the NSIC as a team.  

The NCAA Division II women's golf regional competition will be conducted May 3-5 with the Central Region Tournament set for St. Joseph Country Club in St. Joseph, Mo. Each site will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently with nine teams and four individuals from non-qualifying teams at each site.

All participants will compete through the 54 holes of competition. The top three teams along with the top three individuals not with a team from each super regional will advance to the championships. The championships will be held May 11-15 at TPC Michigan in Dearborn, Michigan. The number of participants that qualify for the finals is 72.

Hanson joins USF Head Coach Tavia Rutherford as the only USF golfer to advance to back-to-back-to-back NCAA DII regional. Rutherford qualified for three straight years from 2013-15.
 
Rutherford is proud of Hanson for her consistency and leadership for the USF program, which placed second as team for the first time in program history at the 2021 NSIC Championships.
 
"Lexi is very deserving of this regional selection," said Rutherford, of Hanson, who placed a program-best second individually at the NSIC Championships and earned All-NSIC Tourney honors. "She is one of the hardest workers that I know and she is committed to winning every time she steps onto the golf course. Lexi had a great regular season with a tournament wi and three second placed finishes while lead the NSIC in scoring average."
 
"We played a ton of golf this spring to give ourselves the best chance of qualifying for regionals as a team. We unfortunately fell short of that goal but Lexi has been a true leader for our team on and off the course all year. We are both extremely excited to get a chance to compete at the St. Joseph (Mo.) Country Club again. Lexi's golf game has grown immensely since her last regional championship appearance due to her dedication and love for the game. I look forward to providing her with the best championship experience possible," added Rutherford.

Through 17 rounds in 2021, Hanson has the NSIC's top scoring average by a full two strokes over Olson, who has played 13 rounds. Hanson, who has won three career titles, sits at 77.2 and Olson at 79.2. It is the second straight year that Hanson has led the NSIC in scoring average.  

A three-time Academic All-NSIC honoree, including twice named to the NSIC Academic Team of Excellence for a grade point average of 3.6 or better, Hanson has twice been named All-NSIC and was the 2021 NSIC Preseason Golfer of the Year. Hanson, a psychology/criminal justice/sociology/social sciences major from Chanhassen, Minn., has 30 top-20, three individual titles and 22 top-10 finishes. This year alone she has placed in the top-five four times.

Hanson had a program and personal-best of 141 (74-67) at the MIAA Fall Preview (Sept. 24-25, 2019). She registered a program-best round of 67 on day two of the MIAA Preview last fall (Sept. 24-25, 2019) when she won her first career tourney. This year, she has had a top round of one-over par 73 at the Augustana Spring Invite, a tournament she won on April 18. Her top two-round total is a four-over par 148 (73-75) on April 17-18. 

During her stellar career, Hanson has accumulated nine NSIC Athlete of the Week honors, including four in 2021. A recipient of the Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction honor, she is one of two golfers at USF with two top-10 finishes at the NSIC Championships.