LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. - The Yellow Jackets were finally able to beat the 18-hole score they set in their first round of the fall at the Swan Memorial. In Colorado, they shot a 328 and today they shot 327 (+47) to beat that score and set a top five 18-hole team score. This put them in seventh place in a stacked tournament in Litchfield Park, Arizona, where they currently sit only threes shots back of UMary. They had five total birdies on the day and were exceptional on the par fives. Out of the four scores they took, BHSU went +2 on par fives today with three birdies.


HOW IT HAPPENED

• Shelbi Gardner once again is having an incredible Freshman season and it continued today as she was the sole Yellow Jacket to break 80 shooting a 79 (+9). She is also the lone Yellow Jacket inside the top 20 with a 20^th place standing right now. After paring the first three holes of the day, Gardner had a rough end to her front nine going to six over in five holes, but pared hole nine and then finished three over on her final ten holes with a massive birdie on hole 12. She had eight pars and  a bogey.
• Abbi Beld finished second on the team with a solid 80 (+10). Beld was inside the top ten of the tournament for most of the round after starting  +4 through ten holes. A couple of double bogeys on the back nine dropped her out, but she made two crucial pars on 16 and 17 to shoot that 80 and is currently sitting in a tie for 24^th in the tournament. Beld had five pars and two birdies today.
• Leyni Stavola had a breakout round today shooting an 82 (+12) in her first round of the spring. Stavola was top five in the tournament all the way up to hole 12 as she shot +3 in the first 12 holes with a 39 (+3) on the front nine with two birdies and three straight pars to begin the back nine, however she shot nine over on the last six holes to drop her down, but it was still an impressive showing as she sits in a tie for 32^nd.
• Olivia McCandless made her 2025-26 debut today and put together a solid round as the individual for BHSU. After an up-and-down front nine, where she shot a 45 (+9), she bounced back hard on the back nine making five pars and shooting a 40 (+6) to put her in fourth on the team at 85 (+15). This also puts her in a tie for 45^th.
• Makaela Swanson sits in fifth on the team only one shot back of McCandless with a 86 (+16). Swanson had an incredibly good round outside of a ten on the eighth hole, without that, she shoots an 80. She had an incredible bounce back on the last nine after that ten when she shot a 38 (+4) on the back nine with only four bogeys and five pars, this led to her shooting that 86 and sitting in a tie for 47^th. She finished the day with pars on half the holes including three in a row on 5,6, and 7, and 15, 16, and 17
• Katie Jorgenson rounds out the Yellow Jacket lineup as she put up a 91 (+21) on the first day of the tournament to sit in a tie for 61^st. After a rough front nine, she actually put together  a decent back half with a 42 (+8) on that nine outside of a triple on hole 11, she didn't have anything worse than bogey on the rest of that half and had three pars

BLACK HILLS STATE TEAM LINEUP

Place	Name	Round 1	Round 2	Overall
T-20.	Shelbi Gardner	79 (+9)	11:37 AM	79 (+9)
T-24.	Abbi Beld	80 (+10)	11:28 AM	80 (+10)
T-32.	Leyni Stavola	82 (+12)	11:10 AM	82 (+12)
T-47.	Makaela Swanson	86 (+16)	11:01 AM	86 (+16)
T-61.	Katie Jorgenson	91 (+21)	10:43 AM	91 (+21)

 
BLACK HILLS STATE INDIVIDUALS

Place	Name	Round 1	Round 2	Overall
T-45.	Olivia McCandless	85 (+15)	10:34 AM	85 (+15)

 
TEAM RESULTS

Team	Round 1	Round 2	Overall
1. Nebraska Kearney	298 (+18)	-	298 (+18)
2.  #24 Illinois Wesleyan	299 (+19)	-	299 (+19)
3. Minnesota State	305 (+25)	-	305 (+25)
4. Westmont	310 (+30)		310 (+30)
5. #45 SW Oklahoma State	317 (+37)	-	317 (+37)
6. UMary	324 (+44)	-	324 (+44)
7. Black Hills State	327 (+47)	-	327 (+47)
8. Fort Hays State	329 (+49)	-	329 (+49)
9. Nebraska Kearney (B)	330 (+50)	-	330 (+50)
10. SW Minnesota State	336 (+56)	-	336 (+56)
11. UW-La Crosse	345 (+65)	-	345 (+65)
12. UW-La Crosse (B)	355 (+ 75)	-	355 (+75)

UP NEXT
BHSU will finish the first tournament of the season tomorrow as the Yellow Jackets prepare to try to beat their season-best round and jump up the leaderboard starting at 10:16 AM tomorrow, the Yellow Jackets first tee time will be 10:34 AM.