DUPONT, Wash. – The Western Washington University women's golf team has been saving its best golf of the season for when it matters the most – the postseason.
 
The Vikings claimed their sixth Great Northwest Athletic Conference team title with an 11-stroke victory over Northwest Nazarene in the two-day, 36-hole tournament that wrapped up play Tuesday at The Home Course.
 
WWU returned to the podium as GNAC champions for the first time since 2015 and will be making its 11^th trip to the NCAA Division II Championships receiving the conference automatic bid.
 
Western entered Tuesday with a nine-shot lead over NNU, but saw that margin slip to just a two-shot advantage midway through Tuesday's final round. The Vikings had a strong final nine holes to finish the round at 24-over-par 312 (three shots better than the first round) and concluded the tournament at 51-over-par 627 for the 11-shot win.
 
"I am so proud of this team, with how hard they played from beginning to end and how they just battled in the final round," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "At one point NNU closed the gap to two shots, but the team rose to the challenge and played fantastic golf down the stretch. Really clutch birdies by Sarah (Shea) and Elise (Sumner), and steady play from Kolby (Heggenes) and Dani (Bailey) made this a total team effort. All five team girls showed a lot of heart today and earned this GNAC title."
 
The Vikings had four players finish in the top six in the 20-player field, led by a tie for 3^rd place by sophomore Sarah Shea and freshman Dani Bailey. Both players completed the tournament at 12-over-par 156, wish Shea tallying a final-round 5-over-par 77 and Bailey turning in consistent rounds of 6-over-par 78.
 
Junior Kolby Heggenes moved up to finish in 5^th place at 13-over-par 157 and second-year freshman Elise Sumner was in 6^th at 14-over-par 158. Second-year freshman Sophia Schmidt rounded out the Viking contingent tied for 13^th at 21-over-par 165.
 
Saint Martin's claimed the top two spots on the leaderboard with sophomore Kathryn Crimp taking home individual medalist honors at 9-over-par 153 (77-76). Hoku Nagamine finished one shot better than Bailey and Shea to received runner-up honors at 11-over-par 155.

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  The Vikings received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championships and will have a spot in the NCAA II West/South Central Super Regional May 3-5 at Wildhorse Golf Club at Robson Ranch in Denton, Texas. More information and on the Vikings 11^th regional appearance in program history will be announced when the NCAA announces the field officially on Monday, April 26.
  Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the 2021 GNAC Women's Golf Championships at The Home Course.
 

2021 GNAC WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS The Home Course  »  DuPont, WA Par 72  »  5,815 Yards
Pos.	Team/Player	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1st	Western Washington	+51	315	312	627
T-3rd	Sarah Shea	+12	79	77	156
T-3rd	Dani Bailey	+12	78	78	156
5th	Kolby Heggenes	+13	80	77	157
6th	Elise Sumner	+14	78	80	158
T-13th	Sophia Schmidt	+21	81	84	165
Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1.	Western Washington	+51	315	312	627
2.	Northwest Nazarene	+62	324	314	638
3.	Saint Martin's	+65	326	315	641
4.	Montana State Billings	+77	337	316	653

  The Vikings have won six of the 10 GNAC Women's Golf Championships since the event debuts in 2011. WWU won the first five conference tournaments (2011-15) and returned to the podium to win the 2021 team title.
 
GNAC Team Champions:
2011 - Western Washington (620)
2012 - Western Washington (631)
2013 - Western Washington (625)
2014 - Western Washington (641)
2015 - Western Washington (627)
2016 - Simon Fraser (617)
2017 - Simon Fraser (616)
2018 - Concordia (611)
2019 - Simon Fraser (613)
2020 - No Tournament (COVID-19)
2021 - Western Washington (627)
 
GNAC Individual Champions:
2011 - Sophie Elstrott, Western Washington - 150 (75-75)
2012 - Claire Rachor, Western Washington - 153 (77-76)
2013 - Kara Zitzman, Western Washington - 151 (75-76)
2014 - Anna Bourland, Western Washington - 156 (78-78)
2015 - Kritsten Hansen, Western Washington - 152 (76-76)
2016 - Michelle Waters, Simon Fraser - 151 (74-77)
2017 - Emily Leung, Simon Fraser -147 (70-77)
2018 - Caitlyn Villatora, Concordia - 149 (74-75)
2019 - Lacy Overstreet, Western Washington - 145 (73-72)
2020 - No Tournament (COVID-19)
2021 - Kathryn Crimp, Saint Martin's - 153 (77-76)
  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	El Cheapo Classic	Pueblo, CO (Walking Stick Golf Course)	6th of 14 teams
April 2-3	Palm Valley Classic	Goodyear, AZ (Palm Valley Golf Club)	T-8th of 20 teams
April 12-13	WWU Invitational	Bellingham, WA (Bellingham Golf & Country Club)	1st of 3 teams
April 19-20	GNAC Championships	DuPont, WA (The Home Course)	1st of 4 teams
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 five GNAC Championships beginning in 2011, and have placed in the top three in all 10 years of the event. WWU has made 10 appearances in the NCAA II West Regional Championships, and will make a return to the NCAA postseason in 2021 for the first time since 2016. WWU has also made 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.