Yellowjackets Finish Third at Colorado Christian Invitational

Final Results

DENVER – Becoming the theme for the fall, the Montana State Billings women’s golf team continued its upward climb in the final round of the Colorado Christian Invitational Tuesday.  The Jackets finished the Monday’s first round in fifth place and moved up to third, surpassing Western New Mexico and Nebraska-Kearney for a 682 team score.  Mesa State (660) edged Fort Hays by one stroke to claim the third of four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season tournaments.

“I was proud of the team today,” head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “We didn’t play our best golf this week, but we battled hard and putted much better today.  I was happy that we moved from fifth to third as those points will be valuable in the spring for the conference championship.”

This fall, the Yellowjackets have made a habit of shooting better on the final day of a tournament, compared to the first.  MSUB had its best outing in school history as it carded a team score of 312 in the final round of the the Rocky Mountain Invitational in September.

The Jackets finished third with a 682 score, followed by Western New Mexico at 685 and Nebraska-Kearney at 694 to round out the top five.  Mesa State had the top two individual scores as well.  Jennifer Hilts took medalist honors with a 157 and had one of just three scores in the 70’s for the entire tournament on the par-71, 5981-yard course.  Teammate Sadie Peavler was three strokes behind Hilts with a 160, but fired a tournament-best 75 Tuesday. 

The Jackets were led by Kalli Stanhope who carded an 83 in the final round to go along with an 85 from yesterday for a 168 score and tied for 12th.  Amy Nordeen carded an 83 as well on Tuesday for a 169 score and finished tied for 15th.  Lindsay Erickson improved on her 87 Monday for an 83 Tuesday and a 170 score for an 18th-place finish.  Libby Rutz fired an 86 on Tuesday for a 175 score, while Erin Heaney dropped 10 strokes Tuesday from a 104 to a 94 and a 198 36-hole score.  Rutz and Heaney finished 24th and 46, respectively.

Picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll, the Yellowjackets are in a first place tie with Fort Hays State after three RMAC tournaments this fall with 24 points. MSUB finished 1-2-3 in the fall mandatory RMAC tournaments and won the Chadron State Invitational Sept. 15-16. 

Mesa State and Western New Mexico are tied for third with 21 points.  Points are awarded in the mandatory tournaments on a 9-8-7 point basis and the team gets one point for defeating each of the other nine RMAC teams.  The conference regular season championship will be determined in Phoenix, Ariz., in April. 

“Overall, the team exceeded my expectations this fall,” Woodin added.  “They all should be very proud and we are looking forward to the spring and a run at the conference championship.”

3 Montana State Billings 347 – 335 = 682
T-12 Kalli Stanhope 85 – 83 = 168
T-15 Amy Nordeen 86 – 83 = 169
T-18 Lindsay Erickson 87 – 83 = 170
24 Libby Rutz 89 – 86 = 175
46 Erin Heaney 104 – 94 = 198