BILLINGS, Mont. – Montana State University Billings women's golf played just one event in the spring, but teed off on courses everywhere from British Columbia to Arizona in the fall, eventually closing the book early on the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 health crisis in March. This year's young roster featured one junior and four sophomores. All gained valuable match play and tournament experience, which they hope to carry into fall 2020.
 
"This season definitely had its growing pains," reflected head coach Jeff Allen. "We had a lot of veteran players graduate over the past couple years so we were very young with no seniors. We saw some positive progress in the fall season. Then, unfortunately, we only had one event to play this spring. I was really excited to see their progress this spring because they worked so hard in the off-season."
 
The year began with two-days of competition at the Simon Fraser True North Classic in Richmond, British Columbia. The 'Jackets took ninth place out of 11 teams. Junior Avery Gill posted a respectable score of 162 (78-83) at the first ever NCAA golf tournament held in Canada.
 
 
One week later in September, MSUB carded 15^th position out of 18 teams at the RJGA Shootout at Estrella in Goodyear, Arizona. Gill again led the way and tied for 57^th place individually. Sydney Rochford came in just three strokes behind after knocking off an impressive 17 strokes from her total score the previous week.
 
The Yellowjackets finished off September at the Dixie State Invitational, then reached the high water mark of the fall with a 7^th place showing at the Concordia Invitational on October 8 at Riverside Country Club. "I consider the Concordia Invitational a highlight because we started to see more of the play we were capable of," Allen said. "We gained practice and tournament experience and when you have a young team that experience is very valuable."
 
At Concordia, the 'Jackets shaved 10 strokes off their team scorecard on day two, marking notable improvement. Sophomore Kinsey Irvin took 19^th place with a two round score of 158 (82-76).
 
The Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears retained the Leslie Spalding Cup in match play against the Yellowjackets with an 8.5 to 3.5 victory at Yellowstone Country Club and Highlands Golf Club in October. Despite the team loss, Gill and sophomore Jalen Wagner won their alternate shot matchup while Messmer and Kinsey Irvin were victorious in their best ball matchup.
 
With just one chance to shine in the spring, MSUB fell to 18^th place out of 18 teams at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout, hosted by California State University, East Bay on March 3. The 'Jackets dealt with fast greens and struggled in the short game. Messmer was the top finisher on the team with a two-round total score of 164. The junior from Sidney, Montana was also awarded the 2020 Buzzie Award for women's golf player of the year.
 
Messmer competed in all five events as a sophomore and marked her best single round score of 80 at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout. She was also named Academic all-GNAC. Gill had a personal best single round score of 79 at the True North Classic and held the second highest scoring average on the team in the fall. Irvin completed her sophomore campaign with five events and Academic all-GNAC selection.
 
"All five players from the spring season will be returning which will be great for our depth," Allen said. "We have added three new recruits as well so it will be nice to have the returning experience to help the new players adapt."
 
Rochford is set to be the only senior on next year's team. She competed in four events and marked a single round best score of 82 at the RJGA Shootout at Estrella. She was also named Academic all-GNAC. Wagner played two events as a sophomore and averaged 194.5 strokes per event. Her season low single round score was 91, achieved at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout. Wagner was also an Academic all-GNAC honoree.
 
 
"I definitely think everyone in our program improved their mental game this season," said Allen. "Unfortunately, we didn't get to fully apply what we learned in tournaments this spring but I know we will all continue to work on that. I think everyone's wedge game and short game also improved a lot this year. With the variety of courses and different types of grass that we play on throughout the year, having a short game that can adapt quickly is very important. Everyone put a lot of time in and I feel they improved a lot in that area."