GOODYEAR, Ariz. – The Western Washington University women's golf team battled the heat on Saturday, earning a top-10 finish at the Palm Valley Classic.
 
Playing in near 100-degree temperatures, the Vikings completed the 36-hole tournament at Palm Valley Golf Club tied for 8^th place out of 20 teams finishing at 36-over-par 612. Western shot a team round of 23-over-par 311 in the second round, slipping four spots on the leaderboard after carding a 13-over-par 301 on Friday. Point Loma overtook UT-Tyler on the leaderboard to win the tournament with a team score of 6-over-par 582.
 
"Today was an absolute grind. The team did awesome in the 100-degree heat," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "The girls are excited to get back to some cooler weather and play a tournament on our home course."
 
The Vikings were led by sophomore Sarah Shea (Sequim, WA) who tied for 14^th place in the 107-player field. Shea fired a final round score of 4-over-par 76 and was near the top of the leaderboard for the first part of her round after shooting an even-par 72 on Friday.
 
"Sarah had a really solid tournament," said Bennett. "I am thrilled with how she battled today."
 
Junior Kolby Heggenes (Clinton, WA/South Whidbey) shot the low round of the day for the Vikings at 3-over-par 75, finishing tied for 26^th at 8-over-par 152.
 
"I am very proud of Kolby. Two very solid days of golf," added Bennett. "I saw lots of great golf from her in the tournament."
 
Second-year freshmen Sophia Schmidt (Bellingham, WA) tied for 44^th (+12, 156) and Elise Sumner (North Tustin, CA/Foothill) tied for 54^th (+14, 158). Freshman Danielle Bailey (Queenstown, NZ) tied for 74^th (+17, 161).
 
Nicola Kaminski of Point Loma took home individual medalist honors with a one-stroke victory over Sarah Wongsinth of Texas A&M-Commerce finishing at 2-under-par 142, which included a final-round 4-under-par 68.
  The Vikings close out the regular-season portion of the schedule April 12-13 hosting the WWU Invitational at Bellingham Golf & Country Club. WWU will host Saint Martin's University, Northwest Nazarene University, Skagit Valley College and Bellevue College in the two-day, 36-hole tournament. The 2021 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships will be held April 19-20 on The Home Course in DuPont, Washington.
  Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the Palm Valley Classic hosted by Western New Mexico University.
 

2021 Palm Valley Classic Palm Valley Golf Course  »  Goodyear, AZ Par 72  »  6,005 Yards
Pos.	Team/Player	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
T-8th	Western Washington	+36	301	311	612
T-14th	Sarah Shea	+4	72	76	148
T-26th	Kolby Heggenes	+8	77	75	152
T-44th	Sophia Schmidt	+12	77	79	156
T-54th	Elise Sumner	+14	75	83	158
T-74th	Danielle Bailey	+17	80	81	161
Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1.	Point Loma (9)	+6	297	285	582
2.	Oklahoma Christian (16)	+12	300	288	588
3.	Texas A&M-Commerce (4)	+15	301	290	591
4.	West Texas A&M (18)	+16	297	295	592
5.	Texas-Tyler	+26	294	308	602
6.	Cameron (43)	+32	306	302	608
7.	Westminster	+34	305	305	610
8.	Western Washington	+36	301	311	612
	Colorado Mesa	+36	308	304	612
10.	Biola (26)	+37	304	309	613
	Colorado Christian	+37	307	306	613
12.	Chadron State	+49	314	311	625
13.	Colorado-Colo. Springs	+54	314	316	630
14.	Western New Mexico	+55	320	311	631
15.	Montana State Billings	+56	317	315	632
16.	MSU Denver	+60	321	315	636
17.	Fort Lewis	+78	330	324	654
18.	Northwest Nazarene	+79	326	329	655
19.	Saint Martin's	+82	325	333	658
20.	Hawai'i Hilo	+87	342	321	663
(#) Golfstat Rankings

  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)
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.