LIVERMORE, Calif. – The Western Washington University women's golf team is in 5^th place following the opening round of the 2020-21 season.

 

After not playing in a full calendar year, the Vikings debuted at the Nighthawks Invitational hosted by Northwest Nazarene University at Poppy Ridge Golf Course.

 

WWU is in 5^th place in the eight-team tournament, carding a team score of 49-over-par 337 on Monday. WWU is fielding a team of four players, so all four players in the lineup had their scores count towards the team score. The Vikings are part of a tightly-bunched group where six strokes separate the No. 3-6 teams.

 

Freshman Elise Sumner (North Tustin, CA/Foothill) paced the Vikings with a 4-over-par 76. Sumner heads into Tuesday's final round in 3^rd place in the 42-player field. 

 

"Elise's round was so solid in very tough conditions," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "To not have anything worse than a bogey was fantastic on this course. She played a very consistent round of golf, gaging distances and the wind very well."

 

Freshman Dani Bailey (Queenstown, NZ) made her collegiate debut shooting a 11-over-par 83 and is tied for 21^st place.

 

Freshman Sophia Schmidt (Bellingham, WA) and sophomore Sarah Shea (Sequim, WA) are tied for 34^th place with matching rounds of 17-over-par 89.

 

"It's been a long time since the women have competed in the wind like they did today," added Bennett. "They battled and hung in there and will have a good opportunity to move up the leaderboard tomorrow. It was so great to see the team out there competing again and representing WWU."

 

Sonoma State holds the tournament team lead at 21-over-par 309 for a four-stroke lead over Academy of Art. Lexi Nielsen of Sonoma State is the current individual medalist leader with a first-round score of 1-over-par 73.

 

The 36-hole tournament will conclude with Tuesday's final round and can be followed via the Golfstat Live Leaderboard at WWUVikings.com/WG_Live.

 

Freshman Elise Sumner looks to have picked right back where she ended her initial freshman season in 2019-20, firing a 4-over-par opening round with 12 pars and one birdie. The First Team All-GNAC selection a year ago retained her eligibility as a freshman when the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sumner heads into Tuesday's final round in 3^rd place in the 42-player field.

 

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard following Monday's first round of the Nighthawks Invitational hosted by Northwest Nazarene University:

 

 

Here is a look at the spring schedule for the WWU Women's Golf program. All updates, including daily tournament results, will be posted on WWUVikings.com/WGolf.

 

 

The WWU women's golf team begins its 28^th season as an intercollegiate sport in 2020-21. WWU has a rich history on the links, winning the first GNAC Championships beginning in 2011, and have placed in the top three in all nine years of the event. WWU has made 10 appearances in the NCAA II West Regional Championships, last in 2016, and six trips to the NCAA II National Championships. A Viking has been named the GNAC Player of the Year in seven of the nine years it has been awarded, including 2018-19 conference co-Player of the Year Lacy Sheldon. WWU has also produced the only two players in GNAC history to earn four First Team All-GNAC awards (Jenn Paul and Kristen Hansen) and has produced nine All-Americans.