ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus women’s and men’s golf teams are back in action this weekend taking part in a couple highly-competitive tournaments. The women are participating in the NCAA Division III Preview in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., while the men travel to Central Minnesota for the Saint John’s Invitational. The women’s NCAA Preview, which is a two-round tournament Sunday and Monday, features 12 of the top teams in the country, while the Saint John’s Invite, which is two rounds Saturday and Sunday, is a 17-team field with teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada.
The Gustie women enter the weekend having played in two tournaments this fall, most recently taking first place at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Invite. Morgan Bleyhl (So., Elk River, Minn.) and McKenzie Swenson (Sr., Buffalo, Minn.) shared medalist honors after each carding a two-round 162. Jessica Nelson (Sr., Plymouth, Minn.) leads the team with an 81.5-stroke average after four rounds, which ranks 16th in the MIAC. Swenson and Bleyhl average 82.3 and 83.0 strokes, respectively.
The DIII Women’s Preview, held at Mission Inn Resort, participants include Wittenberg University, New York University, Berry College, Texas-Tyler, Methodist University, Washington and Lee, Carnegie Melon, Sewanee, Centre College, Huntingdon College, Oglethrope University, Piedmont College, and Transylvania University.
The men’s team recently turned in a third place finish at the UW-Eau Claire Invite with Alec Aunan (Sr., Rock Island, Ill.) claiming second place with an 82-67-149. His second round 67 tied his career best and is tied for seventh best in program history. Aunan’s 73.5-stroke average after four rounds is seventh best in the MIAC. Fresh off MIAC Rookie of the Year honors, Ben Hauge (So., Ramsey, Minn.) averages 74.0 strokes after four rounds, which ranks 10th in the league.
The Saint John’s Invite, held at Blackberry Ridge and Greystone Golf Club, participants include Saint John’s, St. Thomas, Augsburg, Bethel, Wisconsin Lutheran, University of Manitoba, UW-Eau Claire, Concordia-Moorhead, Macalester, St. Olaf, St. Scholastica, Carleton, and the University of Minnesota.