Stretch run of college golf season set to begin for Colorado-based teams, with conference tournaments preceding NCAA regionals and nationals
By Gary Baines – 4/11/2024
The college golf season — at least the first portion of it — began more than seven months ago. But now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty.
In other words, the postseason is nearly upon us. First up, there’s conference/league tournaments, followed by NCAA Regionals (for those teams and individuals that qualify), then by the national championship (again, for schools/individuals that advance).
Fields for the NCAA Regionals will be revealed on various dates in the coming weeks: April 24 for women’s Division I, April 26 for men’s Division II, April 29 for women’s DII and May 1 for men’s DI.
But today we’re focused on the conference/league tournaments for the college programs based in Colorado. Things start with the University of Northern Colorado women at the Big Sky tournament April 15-17 and ends with the University of Denver men at the Summit League shindig April 28-30.
Here are some of the essentials from those tournaments — for both NCAA Division I and II programs in the Centennial State.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE WOMEN
Dates: April 15-17
Site: The Wigwam in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Colorado-Based Team Competing: University of Northern Colorado.
UNC National Ranking: 185th
UNC Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: None.
UNC Team Victories This Season: None
Notable: UNC finished fifth out of 10 teams at last year’s Big Sky meet.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN
Dates: April 16-18
Site: Mission Hills CC in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Colorado-Based Team Competing: Colorado State University.
CSU National Ranking: 49th.
CSU Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: Andrea Bergsdottir 59th.
CSU Team Victories This Season: 3.
Notable: Even before the postseason, the Rams have set their single-season program record with three team victories, including two during the spring portion of the schedule. … CSU placed third out of nine teams in last year’s MWC meet. … Bergsdottir has posted top-10 finishes in her last seven college starts. … Lauren Lehigh of New Mexico, a two-time Colorado 5A state high school individual champion, will play in her final MWC tournament. She’s ranked 80th nationally in Division I.
SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN
Dates: April 21-23
Site: Firekeeper GC in Mayetta, Kan.
Colorado-Based Team Competing: University of Denver.
DU National Ranking: 44th
DU Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: Anna Zanusso 121st, Clara Gestsdottir 183rd.
DU Team Victories This Season: none.
Notable: DU won last year’s Summit League team title, marking the Pioneers’ 18th league championship in the last 19 times the tournaments have been contested. DU’s Anna Krekling captured the 2023 individual title. … The Pioneers haven’t won a tournament this season, but have finished second twice.
PAC-12 CONFERENCE WOMEN
Dates: April 21-23
Site: Palouse Ridge GC in Pullman, Wash.
Colorado-Based Team Competing: University of Colorado.
CU National Ranking: 68th
CU Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: Morgan Miller 140th; Sabrina Iqbal 176th.
CU Team Victories This Season: none.
Notable: This will mark the final Pac-12 Conference tournament. For its part, CU is headed to the Big 12 in 2024-25. … Anne Kelly, CU’s head coach since 1997, will conclude her college coaching career this spring as she announced her impending retirement last fall. Current CU associate head coach Madeleine Sheils will succeed Kelly at the Buffs’ helm. … The Buffs finished 11th out of 11 teams in last year’s conference meet.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN
Dates: April 21-23
Site: Boulder Creek GC in Boulder City, Nev.
Colorado-Based Teams Competing: CSU-Pueblo, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines, Fort Lewis, Regis.
Top-100 National Rankings (Div. II) for Colorado Teams: Colorado Christian 8th; CSU-Pueblo 14th; Colorado School of Mines 22nd; Colorado Mesa 27th; Fort Lewis 75th.
Colorado-Based Players Ranked in Top 100 Nationally in Division II: Adam Duncan, Colorado Christian 6th; Jamie Roberts, CSU-Pueblo 29th; Xavier Bighaus, Colorado Christian 32nd; Lucas Taggart, Colorado School of Mines 40th; Colt Tenpenny, CSU-Pueblo 56th.
Notable: CSU-Pueblo prevailed in a playoff over Colorado Christian for the league team title last year, giving the ThunderWolves their third straight RMAC championship. … Colorado Christian’s Bighaus claimed the individual title in 2023.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN
Dates: April 21-23
Site: Boulder Creek GC in Boulder City, Nev.
Colorado-Based Teams Competing: CSU-Pueblo, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Regis, MSU Denver, Fort Lewis, Adams State.
Top-100 National Rankings (Div. II) for Colorado Teams: CSU-Pueblo 42nd; Regis 79th; Colorado Christian 81st; Colorado Mesa 82nd; Metro State 91st.
Colorado-Based Player Ranked in Top 100 Nationally in Division II: Kylie Severin, CSU-Pueblo 32nd
Notable: CSU-Pueblo took home the title in the 2023 RMAC tournament, with CSUP’s Severin and Zoey Rodriguez sharing the individual crown.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE MEN
Dates: April 22-24
Site: Wigwam GC in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
Colorado-Based Team Competing: UNC
UNC National Ranking: 175th
UNC Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: none.
UNC Team Victories This Season: none.
Notable: UNC won the Big Sky team title last year, earning an NCAA Regionals berth. The Bears put three players in the top four individually — Jack Castiglia (2), Yuze Zhang (3) and TJ Shehee (4).
PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN
Date: April 26-28
Site: Desert Forest GC in Carefree, Ariz.
Colorado-Based Team Competing: CU
CU National Ranking: 66th
CU Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: none.
CU Team Victories This Season: one.
Notable: CU, bound for the Big 12 next season, will play in its final Pac-12 tournament. … The Pac-12 meet is very unusual by college golf standards in that it’s a 72-hole affair — as opposed to 54 holes for most events. … In February, the Buffs won their first large-field tournament since 2019.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN
Date: April 26-28
Site: Emerald Valley GC in Creswell, Ore.
Colorado-Based Teams Competing: CSU and Air Force.
CSU National Ranking: 64th.
Air Force National Ranking: 253rd.
CSU/Air Force Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: Connor Jones, CSU 81st.
CSU/Air Force Team Victories This Season: one (CSU).
Notable: CSU placed fourth out of 11 teams at last year’s MWC meet, while Air Force was 11th. CSU’s Christoph Bleier tied for the top spot individually in regulation, but lost in a playoff. … Jones, a resident of Westminster and the 2022 CGA Player of the Year, will wrap up his college career this spring.
SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN
Date: April 28-30
Site: Covered Bridge GC in Sellersburg, Ind.
Colorado-Based Team Competing: DU
DU National Ranking: 218th.
DU Players Ranked in Top 200 Nationally: none.
DU Team Victories This Season: none.
Notable: DU finished runner-up out of 10 teams at the Summit League meet last year.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com