Northern golf teams ready to swing

While the fall might seem like a strange time for the college golf season to get underway, that's exactly what will be happening soon for the Montana State University-Northern golf teams, as both the Lights and Skylights are getting set to open their 2018-19 seasons.

Last season, one thing that both teams had in common was that they were each fairly young. However, the youth and inexperience which plagued the MSU-N golf teams a season ago, can turn into a positive this season as head coach Dave Boles returns the majority of players on each roster.

One key standout that is slated to return for the Skylights is sophomore Jenna Jensen, who earned Second-Team All-Frontier honors a season ago. Jensen earned her way onto the team after posting three top-10 finishes during the regular season. Jensen, who is from Kalispell and transferred to Northern from Corban University, finished fifth at the Carroll College Invitational, fifth at the MSU-Northern Invitational and eighth at the Lewis-Clark State College Invitational. She also finished an impressive sixth at the Frontier Conference Championship.

Yet, Jensen was just one of four freshman on the Women's golf team a season ago. The others that should compete alongside her this season for the Skylights are Whitney Bahrns, Diana Ball and Megan Vandenacre.

When it comes to the men's team, there is a similar story. Northern brings back a bunch of holdovers such as Jerod Boles and Devin Bray, along with some others such as Zach Hould, William Miller, Trent Noel and Ethan Partch. Freshman T.J. Reynolds of Shelby will be joining the team. Reynolds has also signed with the Lights to play basketball under head coach Shawn Huse.

The Frontier Conference should prove challenging again for both the Lights and Skylights. Soon, both teams will find out what they are up against as the fall schedule will get underway Sept. 10-11 in Butte at a tournament hosted by Montana Tech. The Frontier Conference will then converge on Great Falls for another tournament, this one will be hosted by the University of Providence and is scheduled for Sept. 24-25. The last tournament of the fall swing in the Frontier will be hosted by Rocky Mountain College in Billings Sept. 30 - Oct. 1.

After the fall swing, both the Lights and Skylights will take part in the Frontier Conference Championship, which will be held April 15-17. Last season, the tournament was held in Tempe, Arizona, and the destination should be similar this spring. Rocky Mountain College won both the men's and women's titles in the Frontier last season and should be a strong bet to contend again. MSU-Northern saw both of its teams finish sixth.