The South Dakota women's golf team is back on the road for its next meet in St. Charles, Missouri. The Coyotes will be competing in the Diane Daugherty Invite hosted by Southern Illinois. The tournament takes place on Monday and Tuesday with three rounds in the two days.
 
USD is one of 16 teams participating in this upcoming tournament. The teams will play 36 holes on Monday beginning at 8:30 a.m. and conclude on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. The Diane Daugherty Invite will be played at Bogey Hills Golf Club in St. Charles, Missouri. The course covers 5,987 yards and will be played as a par 71.
 
South Dakota will be taking six golfers to this meet. USD's lineup includes senior Laerke Jensen, sophomore Akari Hayashi, sophomore Danica Badura, senior Megan Munneke, and senior Molly Fossen. Freshman Paige Hoffman and senior Emma Sabbagh will be competing as individuals. Sabbah is making her spring debut at the Diane Daugherty Invite. 
 
The Coyotes tied their highest finish of the season with a second-place finish at the HBU Huskies Women's Invite. South Dakota climbed two spots as a team in the final round by shooting a 301 in round three – the lowest team score in round three and the second-lowest round by a team throughout the entire tournament. USD chipped away at Houston Baptist's lead in the third round and finished just eight strokes away from first place.
 
Hayashi and Fossen each had one of their best performances of the season. Hayashi finished in eighth place after rounds of 79-77-73. She scored the fourth most birdies in the tournament with eight birdies on her way to her highest placement of the season. Fossen had a career-best tournament by setting her lowest 54-hole score in her career with a 230 (77-79-74) total score. The 74 in the final round is a new career-low round for the Sartell, Minnesota native. She also earned her first top-10 placement as a Coyote with a tie for 10th place individually.
 
South Dakota last participated in this tournament in March of 2021. The team put together a three-round score of 916 to place second. Badura and Hayashi tied for second place individually with a 222 score. Badura shot her career-low up to this point with a 1-under par 70 in the final day and her lowest 54-hole score as a Coyote. Hayashi also set her career-low round with a 70 in the second round and her best 54-hole score in a Coyote uniform in that tournament last spring.
 
Tournament: Diane Daugherty Invite
Dates: March 28-29
Host: Southern Illinois University
Location: St. Charles, Missouri
Course: Bogey Hills Golf Club
Course Par / Yardage: Par 71 / 5,987 yards
Tournament Field (16): Austin Peay, Ball State, Belmont, Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Illinois State, Indiana State, Loyola, Missouri State, Omaha, Southern Illinois, South Dakota, Northern Illinois, Valparaiso, Western Michigan