The Gustavus women’s golf team, which automatically qualified for the 2011 NCAA Championships by virtue of winning the MIAC Championship last October, will be making its sixth consecutive appearance at the national meet. The women’s championship will take place at Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida, May 10-13. The Gusties enter the national tournament ranked #8 in the most recent National Golf Coaches Association Division III coaches poll. Coach Scott Moe’s squad finished second at last year’s NCAA Championship.
Key returners for the Gusties this spring include 2010 NGCA First Team All-American and back-to-back MIAC Champion Katie Schenfeld (77.1 avg. per round), 2010 NGCA Second Team All-American Taylor Drenttel (81.5 avg. per round), Ann Jackson (83.8 avg. per round), and Kayleigh Dittes (84.8 avg. per round). Rounding out the tournament squad is Rikka Holiday (86.1 avg. per round).
The Gusties enter the national tournament on a roll having won the last three tournaments they have played in including the seven-team St. Thomas Invite, the 10-team Carleton Invite, and the 10-team UW-Eau Claire Spring Invite. Individually, Kate Schenfeld finished first at the St. Thomas Invite, while Taylor Drenttel posted back-to-back second place finishes at the St. Thomas Invite and the Carleton Invite. Annie Jackson took the top spot for Gustavus in the regular season finale at UW-Eau Claire as she finished fourth.
You can follow the tournament hole-by-hole through live stats provided by Golfstats. The tournament begins on Tuesday and finishes on Friday. The Gusties play in the afternoon on Tuesday and in the morning on Wednesday before playing partners are re-drawn for Thursday and Friday based on the team’s place after each of the final two rounds.