DUPONT, Wash. – Led by a pair of top-10 performances from Megan Billeter and Claire Moon, the Western Washington University women's golf team opened the 2021-22 season winning the Saint Martin's Invitational.
 
WWU recorded a 36-hole team score of 40-over-par 616, holding off Great Northwest Athletic Conference foe Simon Fraser for a one-stroke victory in the six-team tournament played on the par 72 The Home Course. Returning to the site of the Vikings winning the 2021 GNAC Championships last April, WWU put together rounds of 303 (+15) in the first round and 313 (+25) to better SFU (+41, 617) for its third tournament win in its last four tries going back to last spring.
 
"It was a bit nerve-racking down the stretch, but the team got it done," said WWU head coach Luke Bennett. "What a fantastic way to open the season and a great experience for this group. This will lay the foundation for what I believe will be a really great season for the Vikings. It was great to have the competing juices flowing again."
 
Billeter (Spokane, WA/Mt. Spokane) finished 2nd with a 2-under-par 142, putting together a school-record first round of 4-under-par 68 and finishing with a 2-over-par 74. The junior completed the 36-hole tournament leading the field with nine birdies, and played the par 5 holes at 4-under-par. The 36-hole 142 is the second-best tournament performance in program history, trailing only a 141 (-3) by WWU Athletics Hall of Famer Katja Trygg (now Parrish) at the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational held September 26-27, 2005 at Coldwater Golf Club.
 
"Megan's play was huge for us. She played so solid both days, it was awesome to see and have her back in the lineup, as a player and leader," said Bennett.
 
Moon (Olympia, WA) tied for 3rd in the 35-player field at 7-over-par 151 with rounds of 75 (+3) and 76 (+4), leading all players with 27 pars.
 
"Claire played extremely solid as well throughout the tournament, as was evident by leading the field in pars," said Bennett. "Her ball striking was fantastic from the first hole Monday until the finish today."
 
Freshman Lina Hattenbach (Lidingo, Sweden) made her collegiate debut tying for 16th place at 17-over-par 161 (80-81) and sophomore Dani Bailey (Queenstown, New Zealand) tied for 20th at 18-over-par 162 (80-82).
 
Sarah Lawrence of Bellevue College beat out Billeter by one stroke for individual medalist honors, shooting 141 (-3) over the 36-hole tournament.
 
The Vikings will take the next two weeks off and return to tournament competition September 27-28 at The Shootout at Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona. The complete 2021-22 WWU Women's Golf schedule can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/21_WGolf.
  Here is a look at WWU's final individual results and the team leaderboard from the season-opening Saint Martin's Invitational at The Home Course.
 

2021 SAINT MARTIN'S INVITATIONAL The Home Course  »  DuPont, WA Par 72  »  5,815 Yards
Pos.	Team/Player	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1st	Western Washington	+40	303	313	616
2nd	Megan Billeter	-2	68	74	142
T-3rd	Claire Moon	+7	75	76	151
T-16th	Lina Hattenbach	+17	80	81	161
T-20th	Dani Bailey	+18	80	82	162
29th	Sarah Shea	+28	89	83	172
Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1.	Western Washington	+40	303	313	616
2.	Simon Fraser	+41	310	307	617
3.	Saint Martin's	+45	314	307	621
4.	Western New Mexico	+62	323	315	638
5.	Northwest Nazarene	+69	321	324	645
6.	Montana State Billings	+82	333	326	659

  Dating back to last spring, the Vikings have won three of their last four tournaments. The string of success began by winning the WWU Invitational at Bellingham Golf & Country Club April 12-13 and then took top team honors at the GNAC Championships April 19-20 at The Home Course. WWU qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships playing in the West Regional in Denton, Texas where the team placed 9th.
  Following the Saint Martin's Invitational, WWU continues its fall schedule at the Shootout at Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona, with the two-day tournament scheduled for September 27-28 at The Golf Club at Estrella. Here is a look at the complete 2021-22 schedule for the WWU Women's Golf program, which includes four fall and four spring tournaments leading up to the GNAC Championships. All tournament recaps, season statistics and program history can be found on WWUVikings.com/WGolf.
 

Dates	Tournament	Location / Course	Result
Sept. 13-14	Saint Martin's Invitational	DuPont, WA / The Home Course	1st of 6 teams
Sept. 27-28	Shootout at Estrella	Goodyear, AZ / Golf Club at Estrella
Oct. 4-5	Sonoma State Invitational	Santa Rosa, CA / Santa Rosa Country Club
Oct. 8-9	Wasatch Invitational	South Jordan, UT / Glenmoor Golf Course
Feb. 28-Mar. 1	Pioneer Shootout	Alameda, CA / Corica Park South Course
March 7-8	CSUSM Fujikura Invitational	Vista, CA / Shadowridge Golf Club
April 1-2	Palm Valley Classic	Goodyear, AZ / Palm Valley Golf Club
April 11-12	WWU Spring Invitational	Bellingham, WA / Bellingham Golf & Country Club
April 18-19	GNAC Championships	Coeur d'Alene, ID / Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort
May 2-4	NCAA West Regional	Stockton, CA / Brookside Golf & Country Club
May 11-14	NCAA National Championships	Columbia, SC / The Wildewood Club

  The WWU women's golf team begins its 29th season as an intercollegiate sport in 2021-22. WWU has a rich history on the links, winning the first five GNAC Championships beginning in 2011 and returned to the podium in 2021. WWU has made 11 appearances in the NCAA II West Regional Championships. WWU has also made six trips to the NCAA II National Championships. A Viking has been named the GNAC Player of the Year in eight of the 10 years it has been awarded, including 2020-21 Player of the Year Elise Sumner. 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.