COEUR, d'ALENE, Idaho – The Saints Martin's women's golf team finished second in the GNAC championship on Tuesday, bringing them their highest finish in 10 years. Apart from the team success, the Saints also finished 1-2 individually for the second time in three years. Ashley Bruland ran away with the victory, grabbing her first ever collegiate golfing victory by a total of five strokes. Second place was a fellow SMU freshman in Kelsie Inouye, who moved up from a fourth-place spot after round one with a sizzling second round.

WATCH THE 2023 GNAC GOLF PREVIEW WITH HEAD COACH ANNE BAHR HERE

WATCH THE 2023 GNAC GOLF PREVIEW WITH KATHRYN CRIMP AND JADA FRENCH HERE
 
Team champion Simon Fraser shot the lights out on day one, totaling a 306 which had SMU six strokes back. Saint Martin's would not be daunted, however, and a strong start on day two had them in the hunt for the crown coming down the stretch. "Very proud of the team today," Head Coach Anne Bahr said upon the conclusion of the tournament, "We lowered our score by four strokes from round one and had Simon Fraser in our sights within five strokes in the heart of the back nine. It was a complete team effort and I'm so impressed by everyone's play."
 
Bruland attacked the course from the start, totaling a 72 in round one, which translated to a three-stroke lead. The first year approached round two like a savvy veteran and was completely unphased with the lead, firing a 73 in the round. Nobody else in the tournament shot a 73 or lower in either round, and the only golfer to shoot a 74 was Inouye in round two.
 
"Ashley Bruland did a fantastic job keeping her composure going into the final round with a three-stroke lead," Bahr said of the GNAC Individual Champion, "She played so smart all day long and extended her lead to five to round out the tournament. This was such a special performance coming from a freshman with such a bright future ahead of them."
 
Inouye leapfrogged a duo of Red Leafs and a Western Washington Viking in round two with her outstanding play, locking in a second-place finish and automatic All-GNAC honors for the freshman out of Aiea, Hawaii.
 
"Ashley and Kelsie played so consistent this week," Bahr explained when described the great output from her young star duo, "They have really splashed on to the scene as freshman and have exceeded all expectations."
 
Another young SMU golfer, Hannah White, added to the success with a 15^th place finish, as seniors Jada French and Kathyrn Crimp rounded out the Saint Martin's lineup with 18^th and 22^nd place finishes, respectively. In addition to being the 2021 GNAC Individual Champion, Crimp was also recently named the Class of 2023 Valedictorian at the annual Honors Convocation.
 
With the majority of this 2023 squad coming back, Coach Bahr and the women's golf team look locked in for a successful season starting in the fall. Continue to check SMUSaints.com for all the latest updates on Saints Women's Golf as new student-athletes matriculate to SMU and the fall schedule is announced.