By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – It has been a long time coming for Meera Minhas.
 
The Simon Fraser junior has constructed quite the resume in her three seasons with the Red Leafs, and on Tuesday afternoon at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course she put the finishing touches on a medalist performance at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championships that has been a goal of hers.
 
The reigning GNAC Player of the Year and a three-time participant at the conference tournament, Minhas was no stranger to success. But she entered Tuesday’s final round three strokes back on the individual leaderboard as she chased an elusive individual tournament victory.
 
Things started well for the hometown Minhas, a Burnaby, B.C., native, as she kicked off her final round of the conference tournament with a birdie on the par-5, 478-yard first hole and carded a 2-under-par 33 on the front-nine to put herself atop the leaderboard.
 
On a crystal clear day with near-perfect playing conditions, things went south as Minhas made the turn to the back-nine. Three consecutive bogeys on holes 10-12 bumped her out of first place as senior Christine Cho of Northwest Nazarene held steady with her own stellar performance in the final round of her collegiate career.
 
Upon reaching the par-4, 291-yard 13th hole, Minhas refocused and found an inner drive that ultimately led her to victory. Three consecutive birdies – including a 2 on the world famous floating green 14th hole – elevated Minhas back to the top of the leaderboard as she moved two strokes clear of Cho with three holes left to play. A bogey on the 18th hole proved insignificant as Minhas held on for the one-stroke win and her first GNAC medalist honor. “I realized that I didn’t play this well and put in all this work off the course just to throw it all away in three holes,” said Minhas. “I knew after I bogeyed 10, 11 and 12 that I needed to turn it around, and I just put my mind to it. It feels really great, especially with this being my third year. It’s a great thing to check off my list.”
 
It wasn’t technically Minhas’s first collegiate tournament win, as she tied for first at the Southern Colorado Open on March 24, 2024. After four playoff holes inclement weather prevented a resolution at that event however, leaving the official result as a tie with no true winner. On Tuesday, Minhas changed that narrative, becoming the fourth woman in SFU history to win the GNAC Championships title. “This one means a lot to her,” said SFU head coach Krysta Schaus. “The weather got so bad at that tournament in Pueblo that they called it a tie for first, so she has been really hungry for an individual win ever since then. This season for her has had some ups and downs, but we have had some meetings about how the results are going to come and that’s what happened this week.”
 
Minhas’s two-round total of 147 (76-71) helped lead the Red Leafs to their third consecutive GNAC Championships team title, as SFU became the second school in conference history to achieve that feat. Overall it was the sixth GNAC Championships crown for SFU, moving it one away from Western Washington’s conference record of seven tournament titles. SFU posted a two-round score of 607 (312-295) on the par-72, 5,801-yard course to hold off the second-place Vikings by four strokes. “The depth on our women’s team has been incredible this year,” said Schaus, who is in her first year leading both the women’s and men’s programs. “If you look at our lineup, we have nine women on our team and are switching up our lineup almost every event. At the end of the day we had the players who could bear down, handle the pressure and make those clutch shots when we needed them.”
 
SFU’s Dana Smith – the reigning GNAC champion and GNAC Freshman of the Year – tied for third place at the event with a two-round score of 150 (77-73). Smith’s 23 pars among the 36 holes were second most among the field of 30 players, and she added five birdies throughout the event. Junior Izzy Ferguson also garnered all-tournament honors by placing fifth, with a two-round total of 151 (79-72). “It takes a lot of hard work and work with the team, and I am grateful to be surrounded by such great people at our school and by such great coaches,” said Minhas while holding the championship trophy.
 
In addition to Minhas and Smith, SFU’s other GNAC individual champions include 2017 winner Emily Leung and 2016 medalist Michelle Waters. SFU’s team score of 607 was the second-lowest in conference tournament history, behind only last year’s record-total of 596.
 
NNU’s Cho had a career performance as well, as she was 1 of 3 players in the field competing at the GNAC Championships for the fourth time in her career. The Meridian, Idaho, native improved by two strokes on her Monday score, notching a 1-over-par 73 on Tuesday to finish as the conference runner-up. Cho put the heat on Minhas down the stretch, logging three birdies on the back-nine on her way to a 1-under-par 36. Overall she shot a two-round score of 148 (75-73) and was the Day 1 leader. Northwest Nazarene finished in fifth place as a team with a two-round score of 641 (332-309).
 
The runner-up Vikings were led by Lauren F. Lee, who tied for third place with a two-round score of 150 (77-73). Lee’s 1-over-par 73 in the second round featured a pair of birdies on her way to a 2-under-par 35 on the back-nine. Emma Worgum tied for sixth place with a score of 152 (77-75) while Kasey Maralack (156, 82-74) and Lauren J. Lee (156, 81-75) each tied for 10th place.
 
Montana State Billings finished in the upper half of the team field for the third time in program history and first since the 2017 GNAC Championships. The Yellowjackets posted a two-round score of 627 (321-306) to finish in third place on Tuesday. MSUB was led by Orraya Tipasathien, who tied for sixth place with a two-round score of 152 (79-73). Ella Tannenberger finished in ninth place with a 154 (81-73) and Pygmy Kompoj was also in the top-10 with a 156 (77-79).
 
Placing fourth in the team race with a two-round total of 635 (326-309) was Saint Martin’s. Junior Kelsie Inouye was the team’s top finisher, taking eighth place with a score of 153 (81-72). Inouye’s even-par second round featured four total birdies, including two on her way to a 1-under-par 34 on the front-nine. Also in the upper-half of the field were Hannah White in 13th at 157 (79-78) and Ashley Bruland in a tie for 14th at 158 (81-77).
 
Competing at the GNAC Championships for the first time was Seattle Pacific, which finished its debut event with a two-round score of 658 (331-327) to place sixth. The Falcons were led by Natalie Eklund who tied for 18th place with a two-round total of 161 (82-79).