ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Natalie Amundson didn't waste any time getting settled into a routine when she came to the College of Saint Benedict and joined the Blazer golf team last fall.
 
In her first collegiate tournament, Amundson – a first year from Alexandria – finished sixth with a score that ranks in the top five in school history.
 
That tournament set the tone for her first year with the CSB golf team, which came to include the best finish for an individual since 2011 at the MIAC Championships this past fall and wrapped up with Amundson boasting the best score average for a first year in the history of the Saint Benedict golf program. For her impressive first season, Amundson has been named the 2015-16 CSB Rookie of the Year.
 
Amundson was among good company in the nominee pool for the athletic department's annual award. Also up for the award were Kate Deming, an All-MIAC First Team selection for the softball team; Angel Hillstrom, who set the school record for save percentage in a season with the Blazer hockey team this winter; Leah Koll, a first year on the track and field team who earned All-MIAC triple jump honors and recorded two top-10 times in school history; Ashley Groebner, who had three top-10 finishes at the MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships in February and Megan Barta and Lauren Mathews, who each led the CSB volleyball team in one category in their first season with the program this past fall.
 
After shooting a 75 – the fifth-best score in CSB golf history – and taking sixth at the Blazers' home invite to start the year in September, Amundson came back the next week and took fourth at the MIAC showcase. She tied for 10^th at the D3 Classic after shooting in the 70s for two rounds, and tied for 22^nd at the College City Challenge Sept. 26-27 in CSB's final warm up for the MIAC Championships.
 
After the first day of the three-round championships, Amundson sat tied for 12^th with an 84. She took 10 strokes off that score in the second round and shot a 74 – the fourth-best score in CSB history – and moved into a tie for fifth heading into the third and final round. On the last day of the conference meet, Amundson shot a 76 and moved up three more spots to finish in a tie for second out of 55 golfers.
 
Her second-place finish marks the best individual finish for a Blazer since 2011. It earned her All-MIAC honors, and in the spring she earned a spot on the All-Central Region team.
 
At the end of the season, Amundson shared the CSB golf team's MVP honor with senior Lauren Wise. The two tied with identical stroke averages of 80.2 to end the season. That average is the best scoring average recorded by a first year in program history. Amundson finished her first season at CSB with a pair of top-five finishes and four other top-10 finishes, as well as four 18-hole scores that are in the top 10 in school history.
 
Amundson also made it into the top 10 in school history with her 36-hole scores of 155 at the D3 Classic (sixth) and a 156 at the Blazer Invite – the first meet of her college career. Her three-day total of 234 at the MIAC Championships is the third-best 54-hole score in program history.