ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict golf team hasn’t had many opportunities to practice so far this spring. Aside from the team’s spring break trip to Phoenix, Mother Nature has kept the team indoors and off the greens up until very recently.
That didn’t seem to bother Natalie Amundson this past weekend, however.
After Day 1 of the Royal Invite, Amundson led the field at Deer Run, and she finished the 36-hole competition in second place in the team’s first meet of the spring, and first competitive round since the MIAC Championships in October. For her big weekend, Amundson is this week’s CSB Athlete of the Week.
After Friday’s first round in Victoria, Amundson led the field by one stroke with a 74. That top finish, along with solid play from her teammates, had Saint Benedict tied for the team lead with St. Kate’s after the first 18 holes of play. Saturday, Amundson – who finished top 10 in the MIAC for the fourth straight year this fall – added a single stroke to her score to finish in second, just one stroke out of first place. This is the third top-five finish of the season for Amundson, and her best finish of the year so far.
Amundson’s performance was also key because it helped Saint Benedict finish in third as a team – also one stroke out of first place. The Wildcats and Bethel tied for first with 632s, and CSB took third with a 633. CSB finished 19 strokes ahead of fourth-place Gustavus, which currently sits one place ahead of Saint Benedict in the NCAA Midwest Region rankings. In the latest WGCA Division III women’s golf poll, released April, 12, the Gusties were ranked 17
th in Division III and CSB had dropped to 24
th after not competing yet in the spring season.
Carleton sits atop the Division III poll, and is the top team in the Midwest Region – but also earned the MIAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship after winning the league title in October. The 19 conference qualifiers from around Division III earn automatic bids to the 2019 NCAA Championships, and the field is filled out with six teams selected on an at-large basis. Six individuals not from selected teams were also selected for the 2018 championships.
At-large qualifiers from the national championships – which are May 14-17 at Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas – will be announced at the end of April. In the meantime, Amundson and her teammates are back in action Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28, at the Carleton Invite in Northfield.
