Yellowjacket Women’s Golf Earns Second NCAA Tournament Berth

INDIANAPOLIS – For the second consecutive season, the Montana State Billings women’s golf team has been selected for the NCAA Division II Tournament as announced by the NCAA national office Monday.  The Yellowjackets are scheduled to compete in the NCAA Central Super Regional May 2-4 in Lake City, Minn., at the Jewell Golf Course.

“The women have worked really hard and put in a ton of time working on their game,” first year head coach Shawn O’Brien said.  “I am excited for them to be a part of a great opportunity.  I am confident we will represent MSUB and the RMAC well. The women are playing well and this week will be fun.”

Last week, the Yellowjackets won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament (RMAC) in Phoenix, Ariz., for the first time in school history.  O’Brien also was named RMAC Coach of the Year in his first season.

The Yellowjackets are the seven-seed in the super regional tournament hosted by Minnesota State Mankato and is their highest seeding ever.  The Yellowjackets were the eight-seed last year at the regional in Sioux Falls, SD. 

The host Mavericks are the top seed in the super regional, followed by Augustana College (SD), RMAC tournament runner-up Western New Mexico, Concordia-St. Paul and RMAC regular season champion Mesa State is fifth.  Southwest Minnesota State is sixth, followed by MSUB, Winona State and Upper Iowa round out the nine-team field.

The top three teams advance to the NCAA Championship, May 12-15 at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.  In addition, the top three individuals from non-advancing teams also earn berths in the NCAA Championships.  The NCAA Championships consists of 72-holes, while the super regional is a 54-hole event.

The Yellowjackets finished the RMAC regular season in second place, one point behind Mesa State.  The Jackets went 4-1 head-to-head against Western New Mexico and finished seven points higher in the final standings than the Mustangs.

This season, the Yellowjackets had four players named to the RMAC All-Conference team.  Sophomore Kalli Stanhope was a first team selection, while senior Amy Nordeen and sophomore Erin Heaney earned second team honors and freshman Liz Tikriti was a third team selection.

Stanhope, a native of Glendive, Mont., earned her second consecutive first team all-conference honors as she led the team in scoring in RMAC play at an 80.1 average and finished third in the league in stroke average.

Last season, Stanhope helped lead MSUB to its first NCAA tournament as a team in school history and she advanced individually to the NCAA Championship where she finished tied for 70th as a freshman.