(Editor's note: Montana State Athletics press release)
BOZEMAN -- The third annual Battle at Old Works begins on Monday when 10 teams tee off at Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, Montana. Montana State serves as host of the women's college tournament that takes place over two days on the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.
The 2018 tournament team title came down to a playoff hole as Eastern Washington outlasted North Dakota State for the championship honors. Those two squads return to the field which also includes Montana, Montana State, Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, UC Irvine, Idaho State, Rocky Mountain and Weber State.
Montana State looks to build off a strong end to its 2018-19 campaign. The Bobcats finished sixth at the 2019 Big Sky Championship, its best finish at the conference tournament since 2015. MSU's team features four seniors and three underclassmen that all have previous college experience.
"The girls are excited just to get out and do some competing," Montana State head coach Brittany Basye said. "We've had everybody here in Bozeman for two weeks and been playing against ourselves with qualifying and practicing.
"You can tell it's actually time for tournaments to start. You can sense the excitement. We're ready to go to Old Works and compete against some other teams."
The Bobcats' best finish at the Battle at Old Works came a season ago when they finished third in the team standings. MSU hopes to have a strong outing in its lone home meet in the Treasure State behind a senior-laden lineup.
Seniors Kelly Hooper, Delaney Elliott and Coral Schulz played in all 10 events a season ago. Lilly Navarre has two years of college golf on her resume while Hailey Oster, Lucia Prieto Romano and Sofia Rodriguez Todd each made an impact on the team scoring lineup during their freshman seasons. Annika Danenhauer and Hannah Rosanova are expected to make their Bobcat debuts on Monday.
Play begins at Old Works at 9 a.m. with 36 holes taking place Monday. The final round of 18 holes starts at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Live results for the meet are available at golfstatresults.com or by visiting the golf team's schedule page on msubobcats.com.
