The SDSU men’s and women’s golf team finished up their fall season Oct. 24 when the women’s team competed in the Edwin Watts/Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, S.C.

This marked the end of a 2011 fall campaign that included only one team win, a 13-stroke victory for the men against Northern Colorado at the Tetons Dual in Victor, Idaho. After starting the season with a victory, the men’s team finished in the bottom two thirds of team competition at their remaining five meets.

The lone bright spot for the SDSU men was the tie for first achieved by David Smith at the Kansas Invitational.

The Jackrabbit women lost half of their team to graduation in the spring, and their fall season took the role of a rebuilding year. In all five tournaments the Jacks women competed they ended up placing in the bottom half of the field.

As with the men, there was an exceptional individual effort put fourth by Brittany Hanten, who tied for 6th at Illinois State’s Redbird Invitational. Hanten shot a 36-hole score of 147, second best in school history, plus a 54-hole score of 225, good for third best in school history.

Finding support to back those great performances was usually hard to come by. A common theme for both the men’s and women’s golf teams was inconsistency in individual play. For example, the women played in five contests, and had three different players post the top score. A similar situation occurred on the men’s side, as six meets showed four different leaders for the Jackrabbits.

Head Coach Jared Baszler said that both squads played “about how we expected,” but noted that finding an impressive individual performance was never tough for the Jacks.

“When you have a situation like when (Smith) won in Kansas and then the team finishes 6th, that’s frustrating,” Baszler said.

With the golfing season now on hold for roughly four months, SDSU must focus on their off-season training until the season resumes. An old racquetball court has been converted into an area suitable for practicing golf during a South Dakota winter, fully equipped with putting greens. The Jacks will also work out three times a week with the strength and conditioning staff. Although golf is a warm season game, Coach Baszler says it’s the offseason that the real progress is made.

“Having our home meet right away will get everyone excited and will hopefully start things off right,” Baszler said.

With the fall season coming to a close and the competition adequately sized up, Baszler says that he hopes to see both the men and women in the top half of the Summit League. However, Baszler says both tournaments, especially the men’s, are anyone’s game.

“The men’s side is really a toss-up. There’s greater parody there and that will certainly make things interesting come tournament time.”

The spring golf season kick off with SDSU’s “home” meet, the March 12 Jackrabbit Invitational in Primm, Nevada.

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Brittany Hanten shot a 166 over two rounds to place fifth in the Creighton Classic in Omaha, Neb. - SubMitted Photo

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.

OMAHA, Neb. - The South Dakota State women’s golf team won its first tournament in the Division I era, claiming the team title Tuesday at the Creighton Classic.

The Jackrabbits’ final-round score of 325, combined with their first-round score of 339, gave SDSU a 36-hole score of 664 in the seven-team event — seven strokes ahead of second- place finisher Northern Iowa. The previous best SDSU finish was its second-place finish at the Summit League Championships last season.

Katie Purcell led the Jackrabbit women with a score of 161 (85-76) and finished second, the highest in the freshman’s young career. Her second-place finish ties her with Hillary Gerster as the best individual finish in team history (Gerster finished second at the Cowgirl Invitational in April of 2008). Brittany Hanten finished tied for fifth after carding a 166 (83-83). Rachel Hanigan registered a 169 (83-86) and finished tied for 10th. Morgan Fitts tallied a 171 (88-83) and finished tied for 14th. Abby Feehan shot a 172 (89-83) and finished tied for 16th, the first top-25 finish of her career. This was the first time since the Aztec Fall Classic in October 2008 that all five SDSU golfers finished in the top 25.

Amy Anderson of North Dakota State took medalist honors with a score of 147 (78-69).

The Jackrabbit women play next at the Summit League Championships in Primm, Nev., on April 18.