September 21, 2005

The Saints have their season debut on Sept. 23-24, as they host the first-ever Saint Martin's University Men’s Golf Invitational at Tumwater Valley Golf Course. On Friday, tee-times will begin at 7:30am, playing 36 holes. On Saturday, there will be a shotgun start beginning at 8:00am.

The Saints, coming off a historic season, finished the 2004-05 year ranked in the Top 25 nationally, qualifying for the programs first-ever NCAA Division II National Tournament. The Saints look to have another outstanding year, as they kick off the season on their home course.

The SMU Invitational will prove to be a competitive tournament, as half of the field is ranked in the Nation’s Top 20 according to Golfstat. Cal State University-Bakersfield is atop the list at #3, University of Hawaii-Hilo #4, Western Washington University #6, Cal State University-Chico #15, and Grand Canyon University #16. “It is an excellent field for a first-time tournament. Five of these teams went to the National Championships last year (CSU-Bakersfield, CSU-Chico, WWU, UH-Hilo and SMU),” said Saints Head Coach Kurt Kageler.

Shane Prante of the Saints will be the player to watch. Prante entered the National Tournament last season as the highest ranked golfer in NCAA Div. II with a 71.23 average. Prante is the only Div. II golfer in history to be nationally ranked #1 by Golfstat. He was honored with his second All-America selection by the Golf Coaches of America Association last season. “He currently owns the course record at Tumwater Valley and is on a quest for his third All-America selection,” said Kageler.

Kageler recognizes the tremendous exposure that this tournament will bring to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and the SMU golf program. “This is a competitive field and it is a great way for us to start our season, on our own course. If we can play well here, it will catapult us in the rankings. It will also give us some momentum going into our next tournament.”

Following the Saints lone home invitational of the fall, they will travel to Bellingham, WA to compete in the Western Washington University Invitational September 25-27th at the Bellingham Country Club.

Teams Participating National Ranking

Cal State University-Bakersfield 3

University of Hawaii-Hilo 4

Western Washington University 6

Cal State University-Chico 15

Grand Canyon University 16

Sonoma State University 34

Saint Martin's University 36

Northwest Nazarene University 126

Whitworth College