LAS VEGAS – Seniors Shealyn Hafer and Sarah Schroefel led the way for the Montana State University Billings women's golf team on Tuesday, as each posted a career best in the opening round of the Winona State Warrior Invitational at Stallion Mountain Golf Club.
 
Hafer is in a tie for second place, after carding a 1-over-par 73 on the par-72, 5,929-yard course layout. Schroefel is just two strokes behind in a tie for sixth, after reaching her personal best as a Yellowjacket with a 75.
 
The big performances lifted MSUB into second place as a team, with the Yellowjackets shooting a score of 306 to sit six strokes behind tournament leader Rocky Mountain College. It marked the lowest team round of the 2018-19 season thus far, and tied for the sixth-lowest round in school history.
 
"Overall I was very pleased with how the women responded today from our final round in the last event," said MSUB head coach Jeff Allen, after the women finished last week's Beaver Invitational with a round of 341. "We worked hard the last two days between tournaments, and put in a lot of quality practice time. We tried to learn from our mistakes from our last round, and I feel like they came out with a great level of intensity and concentration. They played a solid round of golf all around."
 
Hafer shook off a slow start to her round, as she bogeyed two of her first four holes of the day. The senior peaked around the turn, as she carded three straight birdies on holes nine-through 11 and played holes nine-through-14 at 4-under par. "I didn't start well, but I kept my composure and really came back on my back-nine," Hafer said. "I struggled off the tee, but Jeff has been working with us on the greens a lot and I feel like that paid off today."
 
Hafer saved the most strokes around the greens, needing just one putt on 11 of her 18 holes. She played the four par-3 holes at 1-under par, and the four par-5 holes at even-par as well. "Shealyn really scored well," Allen said. "She really scrambled very nicely, and putted great. That just shows how resilient she is and how much of a grinder she is. Anytime you have six birdies in a round, you hope you don't offset it with bogeys. She showed her toughness and her ability to settle into her round."
 
Schroefel also shook off an early bump in the road, as she posted a double bogey on her second hole of the day. She immediately responded with a birdie on the par-3 second hole however, and cruised through the front-nine at 1-under-par 35. The highlight of her round was an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole, as she hit a good drive and planted her second shot to eight feet. "It was a solid round, and I birdied that par-3 before the eagle which gave me some momentum," Schroefel said. "Jeff really had us working on putting drills Sunday and yesterday, so I felt really confident on the greens. I hit 11 fairways and 13 greens, which made the round pretty smooth for me today."
 
Schroefel then made seven pars on the back nine, coming in with a 40 to solidify her top round of the year. "I'm very happy for Sarah to respond this way," Allen said after a frustrating mark of 90 in her most recent round on Saturday. "She works hard and has been really close to playing solid rounds. I'm really happy that she played that well today, and we really needed it. It is great to see our two lowest scores out of our seniors. Sarah has a ton of talent, and it's nice to see her have this success."
 
Also in the top-10 for MSUB is freshman Tierney Messmer, who finished the day with a 5-over-par 77. Messmer had a pair of birdies during her round, and took a page out of Schroefel's book as she also eagled the par-5 sixth hole.
 
Sophomore Renae Heisler is in a tie for 15th place after the opening round, after coming back to the clubhouse with an 81. Heisler's lone birdie on Tuesday came on the par-5 sixth hole, and she also had eight pars her firs time through the course.
 
Kinsey Irvin wrapped up her first round in a tie for 29th place, with an 88 on Tuesday. Sophomore Sydney Rochford competed as an individual on Tuesday, and was close behind Heisler with an 82.
 
"I am proud of how we performed as a team today," said Hafer, the Yellowjackets' captain. "We are in a good spot going into tomorrow."
 
THE BUZZ: Hafer was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Day…her previous low round was a 75 which she achieved on two different occasions, and most recently on April 23, 2018…Schroefel's previous single-round low was a 77, which she reached on two occasions including most recently on April 16, 2018…MSUB's last round of 306 or better was on April 10, 2017 at the Western New Mexico University Mustang Invitational…as a team MSUB played the par-5 sixth hole at 6-under-par…MSUB had two of the four eagles recorded on the day…
 
NEXT UP: The tournament concludes on Wednesday morning with the second and final round of action at 8 a.m.
 
Winona State University Warrior Invitational
Round 1 Results | March 12, 2019
Stallion Mountain Golf Club | Las Vegas, Nevada
Team – 1. Rocky Mountain College, 300; 2. MSU Billings, 306. Individuals – 1. Shi Qing, Missouri Western State, 71; T2. Shealyn Hafer, MSUB, 73; T6. Sarah Schroefel, MSUB, 75; 9. Tierney Messmer, MSUB, 77; T15. Renae Heisler, MSUB, 81; T19. Sydney Rochford, MSUB (IND), 82; T29. Kinsey Irvin, MSUB, 88.