The Sacramento State women’s golf team placed fifth at the conclusion of the Big Sky Championships on April 23. Although the team rallied to post its best round on the final day of the tournament, it wasn’t enough to close the 17-hole gap set by first place champion Portland State.

Portland State’s Hannah Bews snagged the top notch with a 220. Northern Arizona’s Ali Carter finished second with a 222, Montana’s Carrisa Simmons took third with a 223 and Sac State’s freshman Samatha Saffold placed fourth with a three-day total of 226.

Unable to defend the title and secure a first place finish, the Hornets ended their season early and will not be participating at the NCAA Western Regional on May 8, although Sac State will be hosting the event at the Lincoln Hills Golf Club.

The first two days of the tournament saw the team holding on to sixth place with Montana a sizable 11 strokes ahead. Despite posting the second best team score on the second day, the tenacious play of the top five teams made sure that Sac State still trailed behind Montana and Northern Colorado by the same 11 strokes.

The team delivered its best effort on the final day by shooting four strokes under every other team for the round, but it was only enough to propel the team to a fifth place finish.

Individually, the Hornets performed admirably. Saffold kept her scores in the 70s all three rounds, earning the forth best individual score. Sophomore Brooke Green swung an 80 the first round, but scored a 73 and a 77 in her last two rounds to tie for 10th with a 230. Senior Heather LeMaster placed 21st with a 235, senior Erica Yoshino tied for 27th with a 239 and senior Kim Coppin placed 40th with a 248.

Golf coach David Sutherland said individually, the players performed very well, but collectively, they had higher expectations of their abilities and that he takes responsibility for the successes or failures the team has.

Despite sharing a lot of disappointment for failing to defend the title, Sutherland said he’s hoping for a better position by next semester, as both golf teams recruited heavily throughout the year. The women’s golf team had a high reliance on its younger members, and of the seven players he hinted of, which include the four who were signed to national letters of intent last November, there will be four new faces in the roster for the 2008-09 season.

Justin Tejada can be reached at [email protected]