The South Dakota women’s golf team looks to capture its first conference title at the Summit League Championships beginning of Sunday. The tournament consists of three days of 18-hole rounds and is being hosted at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kansas.
Each of the three days will begin with tee times as early as 8:00 a.m. The Coyotes’ tee times on Sunday run from 8:50 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. Sand Creel Station Golf Course will play as a par 72 and stretches 6,000 yards.
South Dakota’s lineup for the Summit League Championships includes senior Laerke Jensen (9:30 a.m. tee time), sophomore Akari Hayashi (9:20 a.m. tee time), sophomore Danica Badura (9:10 a.m. tee time), senior Molly Fossen (9:00 a.m. tee time), and freshman Paige Hoffman (8:50 a.m. tee time). Senior Megan Munneke will travel with the team as a potential substitute. Jensen heads into the Summit League Championships after being named to the all-Summit League first team.
The Coyotes are coming off the heels of breaking two team records at the Stampede at the Creek in Elkhorn, Nebraska. USD set a new record for lowest round with a 290-team score in round two and capped the tournament off by breaking the 54-hole score record as well with an 894 overall score. The team is heating up at the right time as they have had back-to-back tournaments with three or more individuals finishing inside the top 10. Jensen, Hayashi, and Fossen finished in the top five at the Diane Daugherty Invite before Jensen, Hayashi, Badura, and Hoffman all placed in the top ten at the Stampede at the Creek.
At the 2021 Summit League Championships, the Coyotes placed fourth with a total score of 971. Badura led the way for USD by placing eighth after rounds of 75-84-78. Jensen was the second Coyote in the top 15 as she earned a 12th place finish after rounds of 77-81-84 at last season’s conference tournament.
In his fourth year at the helm, head coach Brett Bennett will appear in his third Summit League Tournament this season. He has guided the Coyotes to two fourth place finishes at the conference tournament in 2019 and in 2021.
Fans can hear from Laerke Jensen and head coach Brett Bennett in the latest episode of Catching up with Women’s Golf as they preview the upcoming Summit League Championships.
Tournament: Summit League Championships
Dates: April 24-26
Location: Newton, Kansas
Course: Sand Creek Station Golf Course
Course Par / Yardage: Par 72 / 6,000 yards
Tournament Field (8): Denver, North Dakota State, Omaha, Oral Roberts, South Dakota, South Dakota State, St. Thomas, Western Illinois