By: Hayden Foltz, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
BILLINGS, Mont. – Kicking off its 2023-24 season next week, the Montana State University Billings women's golf team is set to bounce back and improve on last year's fifth place GNAC Championships finish. Key newcomers look to assist returners
Hannah Adams,
Haylee Adams,
Meilyn Armstrong, and Adessa Lundburg in competing for a GNAC title for the 2023-24 season.
The Yellowjackets begin their 2023-24 campaign at the South Dakota Mines Hardrocker Invitational on Monday in Rapid City, South Dakota. They will then play in the Beartooth Invitational hosted by Rocky Mountain College in Laurel, MT at the Laurel Golf Club – about 20 minutes from campus. Next, they will head to the west coast for the Western Washington University Women's Invitational in Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Country Club. Followed by that is the annual Leslie Spalding Cup, the team's annual competition vs Rocky Mountain College, with the first day at the Laurel Golf Club, the second day at Lake Hills Golf Club, and the final day at Hilands Golf Club. The 'Jackets will round out their fall schedule on October 16
th and 17
th at home, hosting the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational at Lake Hills Golf Club for the second year in a row.
Third-year head coach
Adam Buie is optimistic of his 2023-24 squad. "Our women's team was very young last year and went through some growing pains as a team. Everyone is a year older, and we have added some very good new pieces including two transfers with 2 seasons of college golf on their resume. This week's qualifying for this team was a good start with several of the returners playing some of their best golf in their time at MSUB," said Coach Buie. "The new players have blended in well and we should be one of the most improved teams in DII this year. This group can be good if they work together as a team and keep improving."
The team's top returning performer from last season is sophomore
Hannah Adams, who recorded a stroke average of 83.1 during her freshman campaign. She is coming off an impressive top-10 finish in last season's GNAC Championships in Coeur d'Alene, ID, and had an impressive summer to gather excitement going into her sophomore campaign. Followed by her twin sister, sophomore
Haylee Adams is set to improve on last year's 84.4 scoring average. Junior Meilyn Armstong was fourth on the team in 2022-23 with a stroke average of 85.7 but finished as the second place Yellowjacket at the GNAC Championships and will look to carry that momentum into this season. Rounding out the returners is junior
Adessa Lundberg who recorded an 86.3 scoring average and looks to be an important piece of this team moving forward.
Half of the eight-player roster for this team is new additions. Some of the new additions are very talented and fundamentally sound freshman that look to make an immediate impact in their first season of collegiate golf. To help add experience, Buie added two transfers with two years of college experience in
Gia Vargas and
Tatum York-Bement.
"
Gia Vargas is coming to us from California by way of Holy Names University. Her team won the Pac-West conference title last year, and she ended up winning qualifying so she will be playing in the #1 seed at Red Rocks this weekend. She has posted some good scores in her career and has already stepped in as a veteran leader for our squad," added Buie. "
Tatum York-Bement comes to us from Kennewick, Washington as played two years on the team at Columbia Basin Community College. Tatum has posted collegiate round scores in the 70s and has a good swing with solid power. We are excited to see what she can do for the Yellowjackets."
"Orraya "Jan" Tipasathien comes to us from Bangkok, Thailand and is set to make a significant impact right away. She has a very impressive golf resume, and we are excited for her to watch her compete for us," said Buie. Tipasathien is a Yellowjacket to keep your eye on this season as she brings a talented golf game into the GNAC and will look to compete with the top players in the conference immediately.
"
Chloe Van Strien is another freshman coming from The Netherlands. She has a good personality and has mixed in well with the team. Her attitude and likability are a great addition for this Yellowjacket team this year. All these additions have made us stronger, and I look forward to seeing each of them continue to improve."
The Yellowjackets schedule can be found
here. The championship segment of both NCAA men's and women's golf is in the spring semester, so the 'Jackets will be competing year-round as every competition (except the Grob and Spalding Cup) counts towards postseason play via a computer ranking system and committee voting. The Yellowjackets will travel to the 2024 GNAC Championships in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to compete on April 22
nd and 23
rd. The tournament will allow the 'Jackets to compete for both team and individual championships as they can also clinch a spot in the NCAA Regional Championships in May.
COMING SOON:
South Dakota Mines Hardrocker Invitational
The Golf Club at Red Rock | Rapid City, South Dakota
Rounds 1-2 – Sept. 18 – Tee times start at 9 a.m.
Round 3 – Sept. 19 – Tee times start at 9 a.m.
Yellowjacket Lineup for the Hardrocker Invitational
