LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. - The Concordia-St. Paul women's golf team concluded its first tournament of the spring portion of the 2023-24 golf season with a seventh place finish at the 12-team SMSU Invite played at Wigwam Golf Course.

In round two, Piper Hill and Rebecca DeLong each shot 80 to lead the Golden Bears, while the top-four team scorecard was rounded out with 83 rounds from Anna Tollette and Darby Barstad. Sage Mulder played a consistent 105 in each round, as well.

In the final standings, Hill topped the Golden Bears with a 163, tying for 29th place among 77 competitors as the top-four showed strong balance, separated by a total of seven shots. Tollette and DeLong each turned in 164 total scores to tie for 31st, and Barstad was in 42nd with a 170.

Minnesota State shot +16 in round two, topping Colorado Mesa by seven shots in the round to claim first place overall at +43, one shot ahead of CMU's +44.

MSU's Anna Cihak and CMU's Cassidy Phelan topped the individual leaderboard at +5, with Cihak moving up four spots on the final day with a 73, and Phelan moving up one spot to the first place tie. Chadron State's Jordan Grasis surged in round two, trimming 13 shots off her first round score with a 69 in the second round to move up 24 spots on the leaderboard for a third place finish (+7).

Hill produced five pars on the front nine where she was +5, and added a pair of birdies on the back nine (+3), converting on holes 11 and 18. She led the team with three birdies during the event.

DeLong played the opposite, with a +3 on the front nine including a birdie on eight, while sinking five pars on the back nine (+5). Overall, DeLong played +5 on par 3 holes, tied for seventh in the field.

Tollette had a slower start in round two, coming in at +7 on the front nine and +10 through the first 11 holes before a strong finish that included four straight pars (12-15) and a birdie to end her round on 18. Her par production included a team-high 20 for the tournament, tied for the 10th most in the field. She led the team in par 4 (+5) to tie for 14th, and in par 5 (+2) to tie for 19th.

Barstad also converted a pair of birdies on the day on hole five, while her back nine (+4) included par on four of the first six holes along with a birdie to end on 18. She was tied for 19th in the tournament on par 5 holes (+2).

Mulder's round was highlighted by shooting par on holes three, 14, and 16 after producing first round pars on four, 11, and 18, giving her strong looks at six different holes throughout the event.