Stanhope Advances to NCAA Championship; ‘Jackets Ninth in Super Regional

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Montana State Billings freshman Kalli Stanhope continued her impressive first year as a Yellowjacket as she qualified individually for the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships. She finished tied for seventh at the Super Regional Tuesday hosted by Augustana College.  The Yellowjackets shot their best round as a team in the tournament with a 329 Tuesday to finish with a 1028 54-hole team score on the par 72, 6010-yard Westward Ho Country Club Course. 

Stanhope, a native of Glendive, Mont., becomes the first Yellowjacket women’s golfer in school history to qualify for the NCAA Championship, May 13-16, in Findlay, Ohio.  In an already historic season, the Yellowjackets as a team made the NCAA Super Regional for the first time in school history, too.

“Our team did much better today, head coach Kevin Woodin said.  “We had a goal of shooting 330 or under as a team and we accomplished that.  I am proud of Kalli (Stanhope) and it is a great honor for her to go to the NCAA Championship, especially as a freshman.”

Upper Iowa University led wire-to-wire and won the Super Regional with a 54-hole score of 930.  The Peacocks also had the individual medalist as Rochelle Schmidt finished 4-over for the tournament with a 220 score.  She carded an opening round and tournament-low 69 on Monday.  Schmidt beat Concordia-St. Paul’s (Minn.) Anne Martin by five strokes and Martin’s teammate, Jacquelyn Hauser, by one stroke (226).

Concordia-St. Paul finished second with a 947 score, followed by what could be the biggest surprise of the tournament from a team standpoint as Augustana fired a tournament-low round of 312 to earn a trip to the NCAA Championship with a third place finish.  The Vikings were seeded sixth entering the tournament.  The top three teams and the next three individuals from non-qualifying teams advance.

Minnesota State-Makato finished fourth with a 972 score, followed by a tie between Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion, Fort Hays State, and Winona State (Minn.) for fifth each with a score of 1000.  Southwest Minnesota was seventh (1013), followed by RMAC foe Mesa State (1026) who edged the Yellowjackets by two strokes four eighth.

In addition to Stanhope, Minnesota State’s Leah Grozdanich advances as she finished tied for fifth with a 237 score and teammate Jaymie Halvorson advances as she finished 10th with a 239 score.

MSUB’s, Amy Nordeen, moved up nine spots from yesterday as she fired a 79 and finished 30th (90 – 87 – 79 - 256), followed by Lindsay Erickson who carded an 81 for the third round and finished tied for 37th (89 – 90 – 81 – 260) three spots higher than Tuesday.  Libby Rutz finished tied for 43rd as the carded a 90 Tuesday for a 274 total (94 – 90 – 90), while Erin Heaney finished 46th with a 286 score and a 94 Tuesday (95 – 97 – 94). 

Stanhope is the only RMAC golfer to advance to the NCAA Championship, team or individual.

9th Montana State Billings     352 – 347 - 329 = 1028
T-7th Kali Stanhope 79 -  80 - 79 = 238
30th  Amy Nordeen 90 - 87 - 79 = 256
T-37th Lindsay Erickson 89 - 90 - 81 = 260
T-43rd Libby Rutz 94 - 90 - 90 = 274
46th Erin Heaney 95 - 97 - 94 = 286