Golfers tie for second, fifth at home invite

The South Dakota women's golf team finished in a tie for second place (355-323-678) with Winona State, while the men's team was fifth at the South Dakota Invitational that wrapped up on April 3 at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion.

The USD women's team was led by sophomore Amber Luitjens (Aberdeen), who tied for 11th by carding 85-82-167. Junior Amanda Young (Mitchell) finished 14th after shooting 90-78-168.

Also scoring for the Coyotes were sophomore Kristi Tighe (Homer, NE) with a 16th place finish (90-80-170); junior Karrie Plate (Vermillion) in a tie for 19th (90-83-173); and sophomore Brooke Bonte (Beresford), who shot 93-89-182, finishing 39th.

Upper Iowa's Rachael Schmidt earned medalist honors by firing 81-79-160. Nebraska-Omaha won the team title, two strokes ahead of USD and Winona State, by shooting 346-330-676.

On the men's side, the Coyotes shot 316-309-625, five strokes behind North Dakota and St. Cloud State, who tied for third place.

Sophomore Bryan Cahill (Huron) was USD's top-finisher by tying for seventh with 77-73-150. Fellow sophomore Ryan Bak (Beresford) also finished in the top-10 by carding 78-76-154 to finish 10th.

The Coyotes also recorded scores of 82-76-158 from Matt Rantaapa, 82-84-166 from junior Joe Pray (Flandreau) and an 84-86-170 from freshman Brett Bennett (Sioux Falls).

The Winona State Warriors won the event by posting 302-289-591. They were led by Troy Merrit who earned medalist honors after shooting 73-71-144.

The USD women will return to action on April 7-8, when they participate in the Nebraska-Omaha Invitational at Ironwood Country Club in Omaha, NE. The men's team will play in the Minnesota State Invitational on April 10-11, in Mankato, MN.