The SDSU women break through for their first Division I win, capping an up-and-down season.

Sportswriter

In its first ever Division I tournament win, the Jacks claimed three of the top 10 spots at the Creighton Classic on April 11-12, held in Omaha, Neb.

Freshman Katie Purcell posted the top score for the Jacks, with a career-best second place finished with a score of 161(85-76). Not close behind, junior Brittany Hanten shot a 166 (83-83) to finish in a tie for fifth place. Rounding out the top 10 was Rachel Hanigan, who finished tied for 10th by shooting 169 (83-86).

With scores of 88 and 83, sophomore Morgan Fitts finished in a tie for 14th. Rounding things out for the Jacks was senior Abbey Feehan, who shot a 172(89-83) and claimed not only a tie for 16th, but the first top-25 finish of her career.

The victory was as close to a total team effort you can get in golf. The Creighton Classic was the first time since the Aztec Fall Classic in 2008 that all five Jackrabbit golfers finished in the top 25.

The Jacks posted a first day total of 339, which had them sitting in first. They came out the second day and shot a 325, giving them a seven-stroke advantage over runner-up Northern Iowa.

SDSU has had an up and down spring season so far. The down started when they placed 15th out of 15 teams at the UNLV Spring Invitational in Las Vegas on March 7-9. A week later, SDSU hosted the Jackrabbit Invitational in Primm, Nev., on March 14-15, and looked solid, placing fourth out of 14 teams at the event.

After a nice showing at their “home” meet, the Jacks slumped back to 20th out of 23 teams at the Cowgirl Classic in Chandler, Ariz., April 4-5.

Finally last week, the Jacks found their swings again with the win in Omaha, and are were looking to finish strong at the Summit League Tournament held in Primm, Nev.

The Jacks finished 6th out of 10 teams, posting a three round total of 952. Oral Roberts claimed the top spot, shooting 911.

The Jackrabbit men finished 7th at the Summit League Tournament, shooting a three round score of 895, with UKMC winning the event by shooting a score of 860.

The highlight of the men’s season came at the end of March, when they placed second out of 16 teams at the Beu/Mussatto Invitational (Western Illinois). Other than that strong outing, the SDSU men have had a tough spring, but the men’s team is young: they have no seniors on this years’ squad.

There were highs and lows for both teams this spring, but with young talent on both the men’s and women’s teams showing they can compete at the college level, the future is looking good for SDSU golf.