Golf team shoots well in Utah

The Viking golf team competed at the Utah Dixie Classic on Monday and Tuesday. The event was hosted by Brigham Young University and was held at the Sunbrook Golf Course in St. George. The 22 teams that participated in the event faced three different par-72 courses.

The team got off to a good start Monday, completing 18 holes on the Point Blackrock course (5,834 yards) and the final nine on Woodbridge Point (5,887 yards). At the end of the day, the Vikings were in a tie for sixth at 29, significantly leading other Big Sky Conference schools.

Senior Taya Battistella led the charge, shooting 76-39 in 27 holes. Sophomore Sarah Tiller shot 77 on the first 18 holes and then was 1 under 35 on the final nine. Junior Rebecca Randolph went 80-35.

The Viking team teed off at 8 a.m. Tuesday, and successfully defended its sixth-place ranking. It ended the next 27 holes on the Blackrock Woodbridge course (5,927 yards) with a two-day total of 65 and a final score of 929, just two strokes behind fifth place University of Nevada. UNLV took the top spot at 42 and a total score of 906.

The Vikings were able to defeat four other Big Sky schools by convincing margins. Weber State finished at 959 overall, tied for the 15th spot. Montana came in 18th place, with a score of 969. Montana State shot 997 for a 19th place finish, and Idaho State placed 21st out of 22 with a 1,035 team score.

In individual action, Battistella took the 15th spot overall at 12 over par. Randolph tied at 24th with Washington State players Jay Lee Longbottom and Kim Welch, Colorado State’s Lybette Duran, and the University of Colorado’s Allison Rella at 15 over par. Tiller tied for the 42nd spot at 20 with the University of San Francisco’s Lisa Chen and San Diego State’s Shayna Mijajima.

The Viking golf team will be in Palo Alto on April 12-13 for the Stanford Peg Barnard Intercollegiate.