Bemidji State University Women’s Golf has taken the 11th spot in this year’s NSIC Preseason Women’s Golf Coaches’ Poll. The Beavers ended the 2023-24 season in the same position at the NSIC Women’s Golf Championship back in April.
Elli Anderson earned the Beavers’ NSIC Preseason Player to Watch nod after finishing her freshman campaign in third place on the Beavers’ roster. Anderson, a sophomore from Altoona, Wis., played 19 rounds and averaged 90.4 strokes per round. She had her best tournament at the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustang Challenge where she went 89 and 83, 28 over par. In the NSIC Championship, Anderson marked scores of 93, 94 and 86 during the three-day tournament and finished 52nd.
“There were a couple players who could be listed as the player to watch – Elli though stood out with the lowest average per round from the returners,” said head coach Erica Gartner. “She really started to find some consistency after the Christmas break last year and I’m excited to see how that progressed through the summer break. She can hit it off the tee with the best of them and uses that length to her advantage to shoot low scores. I know she has the potential to go even lower, so I’m excited to see her (along with everyone else) shoot some personal bests this season!”
As a team, the Beavers’ best finish of the 2023-24 season came during BSU’s own Tracy Lane Memorial Golf Tournament in September. The team finished sixth of nine teams with one player breaking the top 10 individually for the tournament. This season, the Beavers return one senior, Savannah Byfuglien, and one junior, Isabella Depew. The remainder of the team includes three sophomores and four freshmen.
“There’s a lot of new faces coming in and I’m excited to see how they come in and compete, along with the returners who look to continue their progress from last spring season,” said Coach Gartner. “I’m looking forward to improving each day, finding ways to cut strokes individually and lowering the team score as we go! We have a similar schedule to last year so hoping some familiarity to the courses can help the team gain some confidence and find consistency scoring.”
The Beavers start their fall schedule by hosting the Tracy Lane Memorial Golf Tournament Sep. 9 and 10 at the Bemidji Town and Country Club. They are set to participate in four tournaments this fall before preparing for the spring schedule.