Golf wraps up rollercoaster season
BEAU BORDEWYK
The Augustana University women’s golf team is winding up for the postseason, with the NSIC Championship fast approaching after a season that began with high expectations.
The NSIC preseason coaches’ poll placed the Vikings first in the conference with 11 first place votes, and for good reason.
Last season, the Vikings captured the NSIC title and finished second in the Central Region. The team had five All-NSIC performers, four of which are returning: seniors Emily Israelson, Kali Trautman, Sierra Langlie and sophomore Hannah Hankinson. The 2016-2017 season ended with the Vikings tied for ninth at the National meet.
Israelson, the 2016-2017 NSIC Golfer of the Year and two-time All-NSIC recipient, was chosen as the NSIC preseason Golfer of the Year.
The team has only one regular season meet left—the Augustana Spring Invitational scheduled for Friday in Vermillion—after a season that saw three first-place team finishes out of eight meets.
The Vikings started things off hot in early September at the first contest of the season, the Central Region Fall Preview in Olathe, Kan. behind Hannah Hankinson’s dominant five-under-par score (69-70).
The Vikings continued their September strong with a dominant first-place finish at the Concordia-St. Paul Invite in Minnesota. After an 11th place finish at the NCAA 2018 preview in Houston, the team finished in the top five of all its next four meets, including two second-place finishes and a first-place victory.
Three Vikings earned first-place finishes: Hankinson, Trautman and freshman Alex Stone. Hankinson finished with a team-low average score of 77.06, with Israelson close behind at 77.31.
The team started April by finishing in eighth place at the West Texas A&M Invitational in Tucson. Sierra Langlie finished fourth, shooting five-over-par (73-76).
The NSIC Championship Meet is scheduled to take place on April 20 in Morton, Minn.
