Women's Golf Set for Spring Break Trip to Arizona for SMSU Spring Classic

Monday, March 13

Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Wigwam Resort)

All Day

Bucknell University

SMSU Spring Classic

Women's Golf Set for Spring Break Trip to Arizona for SMSU Spring Classic

3/10/2023 2:33:00 PM | Women's Golf

Setting The Scene
What: SMSU Spring Classic, hosted by Southwest Minnesota State
When: Monday-Tuesday, March 13-14 (9 a.m. CDT tee times)
Where: Par-72, 5821-yard Wigwam Resort (Blue Course), Litchfield Park, Ariz.
The Field: 8 teams (Bucknell, Lehigh, Southwest Minnesota State, Colorado-Colorado Springs, Rockhurst, Minnesota-Moorhead, Montana State-Billings, Metro State)

LIVE SCORING: GolfStat.com

About the Bison

Bucknell makes a Spring Break trip to Arizona next week for Southwest Minnesota State's Spring Challenge at the Wigwam Resort.
This will be Bucknell's second spring event and the first since Feb. 5-7, when the Bison placed 12th at Lipscomb's Lady Bison Bay Point Classic in Florida.
Tara Thomas, Paige Richter, Kayla Yi, Kelsey Yi, and Morgan Sohosky will tee it up in Arizona.
The top four were also in the lineup at Bay Point, when the Bison improved each day and finished with a 321 team total to pass UAB and move up to 12th place. Richter was the low Bison for the week, shooting 79-80-76 to finish T-21st.
Richter (77.0), Thomas (78.5), and Kayla Yi (79.8) all have sub-80 scoring averages for full season, while Kelsey Yi is just a notch above at 80.1.
The Bison played five events in the fall, highlighted by a win at the Bucknell Invitational in September. Thomas led the team with a 76.4 scoring average in the fall.
The Bison won their annual fall tourney by 15 shots, with Thomas claiming medalist honors with a record-setting performance. Bucknell tied the school record with a 296 team score in the second round, and the 905 total was the second-best 54-hole score in team history. The Bison missed the record by two shots, as the 54-hole mark remains 903 at the 2010 Bucknell Invitational.
Thomas tied the school record with a 69 in the second round and then followed it up with a 70 on Sunday, highlighted by a hole-in-one at No. 16. Thomas shot 216 over 54 holes – a new school record by five shots – and ran away with a nine-stroke victory over runner-up Jennifer Sorkin of Mount St. Mary's. Thomas became the first Bison ever to post two rounds of even-par or better in the same tournament.
This is the 25th season for the Bison women's golf program, which debuted in 1998-99. Laura Tyler-Cook is the fourth head coach in team history, following Brad Tufts, Kevin Jamieson, and Lisa Francisco.

The Bison at the SMSU Spring Classic

This is Bucknell's first appearance in this event.
Southwest Minnesota State is actually hosting three consecutive tournaments at the Wigwam Resort in the span of a week. Bucknell will be playing in the third of the three and will be joined in the field by Patriot League rival Lehigh.

Next Up

Bucknell will be back in action on Apr. 1-2 at the Prospect Bay Intercollegiate in Grasonville, Md. The Bison finished 10th in that event last season.