LIVERMORE, Calif. – The Western Washington University women's golf team completed the opening tournament of the 2020-21 season with a fourth-place finish at the Nighthawks Invitational.
 
The Vikings recorded a two-round team score of 87-over-par (663) on Poppy Ridge Golf Course. The 36-hole tournament was hosted by Northwest Nazarene University and featured eight NCAA Division II programs.
 
WWU opened the final round in 5^th place, but showed an 11-stroke improvement with a 38-over-par 326 on Tuesday to move up one spot on the leaderboard.
 
"The team really grinded things out the last two days, and I am very proud of their effort," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "It was great watching them compete. They simply never gave up while battling some tough conditions and a challenging course."
 
Second-year freshman Elise Sumner (North Tustin, CA/Foothill) led the Vikings tying for 5^th place in the 42-player field. Sumner recorded rounds of 76 (+4) and 81 (+9) to finish at 13-over-par 157. Sumner's tournament total of 21 pars were tied for fourth-most in the tournament field.
 
Freshman Dani Bailey (Queenstown, NZ) turned in WWU's low round of the day with a 4-over-par 76, and also turned in a top-10 finish in the tournament in a tie for 6^th place (+15, 83-76=159). She finished tied for the tournament lead with four birdies.
 
"I was very pleased with Dani's play today," said Bennett. "Her game looked solid and her attitude on the course was fantastic."
 
Sophomore Sarah Shea (Sequim, WA) tied for 30^th at 29-over-par 173 and freshman Sophia Schmidt (Bellingham, WA) was one stroke back in a tie for 33^rd at 30-over-par 174.
 
Fielding a four-player team for this tournament, all individual scores counted from each round, instead of getting one drop score with a five-player squad.
 
Sonoma State won the team title at 45-over-par 621, led by in individual medalist Lexie Nielsen who recorded a one-stroke victory with a 6-over-par tournament total of 150 (73-77).
  Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the full team leaderboard from the 2021 Nighthawks Invitational hosted by Northwest Nazarene University at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, California:
  Freshman Dani Bailey turned in the low round of the day for the Vikings with a 4-over-par 76. The freshman from New Zealand had a hot start to her round recording a birdie on two of the first three holes. She ended up shooting 2-over-par 38 on the front and back nine to finish with a 76 for the day. With her Tuesday score she moved up from a tie for 21^st place to finish in a tie for 6^th with a 36-hole total of 15-over-par 159.
 
  WWU returns to tournament action in two weeks with the El Cheapo Classic hosted by CSU-Pueblo, March 21-22 (Sunday-Monday) at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colorado. The Vikings have three remaining regular-season tournaments leading up to the GNAC Championships April 19-20 at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington.
  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.
 

Dates	Tournament	Location / Course	Results
March 8-9	Nighthawk Invitational	Livermore, CA (Poppy Ridge Golf Course)	4th of 8 teams
March 21-22	El Cheapo Classic	Pueblo, CO (Walking Stick Golf Course)
April 2-3	Palm Valley Classic	Goodyear, AZ (Palm Valley Golf Club)
April 12-13	WWU Invitational	Bellingham, WA (Bellingham Golf & Country Club)
April 19-20	GNAC Championships	DuPont, WA (The Home Course)
May 2-3	NCAA II West/South Central Regional	Denton, TX (Wildhorse Golf Club at Robson Ranch)
May 12-15	NCAA National Championships	Detroit, MI (TPC Michigan)

  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.