PULLMAN, Wash. – Eleven individual and team records broken, a tournament title, and an individual NCAA berth are just some of the highlights that marked a record-setting season of growth in the Washington State women's golf program under head coach Kelli Kamimura.
"I am proud of the team's growth this season in the classroom, on the golf course and as young women," said Kamimura. "We had countless measurable and immeasurable achievements this year as a team and individually that highlight the commitment, work ethic and discipline of every player on the team. To finish the Spring Semester with a 3.7 Team GPA and by breaking 11 school records (team and individual) including the school record for single season stroke average showcases the team's dedication to putting in the needed work to get one day better every day in all that they do. Although we will truly miss our graduating seniors Alivia Brown and Bree Wanderscheid for their character, leadership through example, and their achievements on and off the golf course, I look forward to what is ahead for the program as we continue to grow and strive for excellence in all that we do."
Starting the year off with a bang, the team captured its home title at the Cougar Cup in September, fighting off a tough field and even tougher weather conditions for the victory. Playing in cold and wet conditions throughout the two-day tournament, the Cougs closed out play at Palouse Ridge Golf Club with a six-shot win. Leading WSU to victory, senior captain Alivia Brown came away with the first individual win of her illustrious career, lapping the field at six-under par, the lone golfer to overcome the rain and bitter cold to break par.
For Brown, the win at the Cougar Cup was the start of a stellar final campaign that saw the senior earn a top-50 ranking and culminated in Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 honors. The fourth-year Coug would finish her senior season with a program-record stroke average of 72.79, shattering her own record by nearly a full stroke. In addition to her season scoring record, Brown set the Cougars' all-time career scoring average at 73.79, over a full stroke better than the previous record held by all-time great Kim Welch. In addition to her scoring average records, she will leave WSU with six other individual records including both season and career rounds of par or better, season records for Par-3 and Par-4 scoring, rounds played, and career birdies. Brown also finished her illustrious career as the only Cougar to ever make multiple NCAA Regionals as an individual, playing in the postseason three of her four years including a trip to the NCAA Championships in 2015 as a freshman.
With Brown at the lead, the Cougars came up with some of the best performances in program history as a team throughout the season including claiming two of the top-three tournament scores in the WSU record book. Twice the Cougars shot tournament totals under par, including notching a four-under, 860, at the Westbrook Invitational that was just one stroke off of the program record of five-under set a decade prior. Just a few months before, the team shot two-under, 862, at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, the third-best score in program history. In both cases, the Cougars produced top-5 single round efforts as they posted a five-under, 283, in the third round of the Westbrook Invitational and a four-under, 284, in the final round of the Ron Moore Intercollegiate.
For WSU, the scoring feats were all made possible by a team that produced the best scoring average in program history at 295.77 ( 7.90 to par), nearly two-strokes better than the previous record. As a team, the Cougs would produce six rounds of par or better during the season, tying their single-season record from 2015-16. They would smash the team record for birdies in a season with 380 on the year, 30 better than the previous high set in 2014-15.
Throughout the season, the Cougars played their way around the country, taking on some of the nation's toughest fields, even taking down NCAA Regional bound Oregon in a head-to-head matchup in early February. Throughout the year, the Cougs' play was bolstered by the steady hand of fellow senior Bree Wandersheid and the emergence of sophomore Marie Lund-Hansen.
Both Wandersheid and Lund-Hansen just missed taking home their first career tournament victories as Wandersheid was runner-up to Brown, finishing second at the Cougar Cup, while Lund-Hansen took second at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate despite a record-setting performance. Despite missing the title, Lund-Hansen etched her name in the Cougars' record book as the Denmark native put together the best tournament score to par in program history, finishing at eight-under with a combined 208 over 54 holes.
Throughout the year, Lund-Hansen showed off her skills as she finished her sophomore season with a 74.10 scoring average, the seventh-best individual scoring season in program history. She would do so by carding 84 birdies, 10th most in program history throughout the year, dominating Par-3's with a 3.09 scoring average, third-best in the record books.
The entire season culminated in the Cougars tying for their best finish at the Pac-12 Championships in the Kamimura era and second-best finish ever at the conference tournament. Wandersheid led the way for the Cougars with her best ever finish at the Pac-12 Championships as the senior ended her collegiate career in 15th place finish in Seattle. Junior Madison Odiorne finished her week just one stroke behind Wandersheid to post her second top-20 finish of the season.
While successful on the course, the Cougs proved to be even fiercer off it as WSU placed five on the Pac-12 All-Academic Team. Brown and sophomore Elodie Bridenne each earned second team honors for their work in the classroom while Wandersheid, Lund-Hansen, Odiorne each grabbed honorable mention honors. The trio of Brown Bridenne, and Odiorne did not stop there as the three Cougars added Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar honors to their ever-growing accomplishments as well. With all the work off the course, it was no surprise then at the end of the year that the team would stand above the rest of their Cougar classmates, posting a WSU athletics' best 3.70 team GPA for the year.