The Event... The Red Raider women's golf team travels to Sioux Falls, S.D. to play in the first of four GPAC Championship rounds during the fall and spring of 2010 seasons. Play will begin today at 11:00 am at Elmwood Golf Club. The second round will be played at the Pioneers Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb (hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan) on Oct. 5. Check out the complete GPAC release at the following link: Read Now!
Teams... 11 of the 13 GPAC schools will participate in the event, including Northwestern, Briar Cliff, Concordia, Dakota Wesleyan, Dana, Doane, Hastings, Morningside, Mount Marty, Nebraska Wesleyan and U. of Sioux Falls.
The Format...This year marks the second year the league is using four separate 18 hole qualifying events to determine the league golf champion and medalist. The four qualifiers will total 72 holes and will be spread evenly over the fall and spring seasons. The GPAC will receive only one automatic women's team bid in 2009-2010 with 11 league schools playing women's golf.
The other GPAC women's qualifiers for this year will be played at Nebraska Wesleyan (Oct. 5, 2009 - Pioneers), Dana (Apr. 10, 2010 - River Wilds), and Briar Cliff (May 6, 2010 - Two Rivers).
Last Season... Dakota Wesleyan is the defending GPAC Women's Golf Champion. Last year the Tigers shot a four round, 72 hole total, of 1359 and advanced to the NAIA National Golf Championships in Rapid City, South Dakota. The University of Sioux Falls joined DWU at the National Event with a second place finish (1,428). Northwestern finished third with a four-round total of 1,448.
Danielle Bellet from Dakota Wesleyan returns as the medalist from 2008-2009 after she carded a 72-hole total of 326 as a freshman to claim GPAC Women's Golfer-of-the-Year Honors. Carrie Spree was the top NWC finisher (11th) with a 359, followed by Maggie Achterhof with a 367 and tied for 16th overall.
Red Raider Notes... Northwestern has finished in the top five in all five of its meets this season, with a second (Lady Reiver), two third place (RRC, BCU) and a pair of fourth place finishes. They boast a scoring average of 350 with a low score of 340.
Maggie Achterhof leads the Raiders with an impressive 80.3 scoring average and a low-score of 77. The junior from Orange City, Iowa has three second place finishes so far this season and holds the lowest four scores of the season. Sophomore Andria Hinz ranks third on the team with an 87.8 scoring average with 
two top 10 finishes to her credit. She shot a season-best 82 (+10) at the Lady Reiver Classic earlier this year. Anne Eberline and Sara Horn rank fourth and fifth on the team with a 90.5 and 94.0 scoring average, respectively. Eberline finished in the top 15 in three events this season.
Up Next... Coach Hoftyzer's squad will next play in the two-day Dakota Wesleyan Invite on Sept. 28-29.
