COEUR d'ALENE, Idaho – The Western Washington University women's golf team is off to a great start at the 2024 GNAC Championships with the Vikings in 2nd place through the first round of play at Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort.

 

The Vikings shot an opening round team score of 16-over-par 304 to trail tournament leader Simon Fraser by six strokes heading into Tuesday's final round. WWU is seeking its eighth team title with this year being the 13th version of the GNAC Golf Championships.

 

Sophomore Emma Worgum continued her historic spring season carding a 3-under-par 69 with six birdies to tie the single-round GNAC Championships scoring record. Worgum equaled the mark set originally set by Belinda Lin of SFU in 2019. The round marked Worgum's third career round in the 60s and was one stroke off her school-record 68 set on April 8 in the first round of the Sonoma State Spring Invitational.
 

Sophomore Kasey Maralack fired a 3-over-par 75 to sit in 5th place in the 25-player field and senior Dani Bailey is tied for 10th at 7-over-par 79.

 

Worgum heads into the final round with a three-stroke lead over Simon Fraser's Dana Smith (E, 72).

W⛳️ | Led by a GNAC Championships record 3-under-par 69 by Emma Worgum, the @WWUGolf women are off to a great start at the conference tournament in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. pic.twitter.com/gMkKH6M7LA

— WWU Athletics (@WWUAthletics) April 23, 2024

The final round of the 2024 GNAC Women's Golf Championships is set to tee off on Tuesday morning with tee times off the 10th hole beginning at 7:30 am. Tee times for the Vikings five players are listed below. Live Results can be tracked online at wwuvikings.com/WG_Live.

 

• Claire Moon – 7:41 am
• Lauren Lee – 7:52 am
• Dani Bailey – 8:14 am
• Kasey Maralack – 8:36 am
• Emma Worgum – 8:47 am

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the 2024 GNAC Women's Golf Championships at the Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort:

 

 

The Vikings have now won seven of the 12 GNAC Women's Golf Championships since the event debuted in 2011. WWU won five consecutive conference championships from 2011-15 and returned to the top spot on the podium winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. WWU featured the individual medalist in each of first five winning years, and again in 2019 (Lacy Overstreet) and 2021 (Elise Sumner).

 

Championships Quick Facts:

Course: Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course

Location: Coeur d'Alene, ID

Championships Format: 36 Holes (18 on Monday, 18 on Tuesday)

Par: 72   Yardage: 5,801 Yards

Teams (5): WWU, Simon Fraser, Saint Martin's, Montana State Billings, Northwest Nazarene

Field Size: 25

 

GNAC Tournament History:

36-Hole Total - 145, Lacy Sheldon, WWU, 73-72 (Apr. 22-23, 2019); Ashley Bruland, SMU, 72-73 (Apr. 24-25, 2023)

Single Round - 69, Emma Worgum, WWU (April 22, 2024) & Belinda Lin, SFU (April 23, 2019)

36-Hole Total, Team - 609, Simon Fraser (April 24-25, 2023)

Single Round, Team - 294, Simon Fraser (April 23, 2019)

 

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)

2022 - Western Washington (615)

2023 - Simon Fraser (609)

 

Courses: 2011-2019, 2022: Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course; 2021: The Home Course * 36-hole tournament

 

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 - Kristen 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)

2022 - Elise Sumner, Western Washington - 149 (76-73)

2023 - Ashley Bruland, Saint Martin's - 145 (72-73)

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Here is a look at the Vikings 2023-24 tournament schedule for the WWU Women's Golf program. All tournament recaps, season statistics and program history can be found on WWUVikings.com/WGolf.

 

 

The WWU women's golf team is in its 31st season as an intercollegiate sport in 2023-24. WWU has a rich history on the links, winning the first five GNAC Championships beginning in 2011 and returned to the podium with back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. WWU made its 12th appearance in the NCAA II West Regional Championships in 2022 after earning the GNAC's automatic bid. WWU has also made six trips to the NCAA II National Championships. A Viking has been named the GNAC Player of the Year in nine of the 12 years it has been awarded, including 2021-22 award winner Megan Billeter. 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 had nine All-Americans.