VERMILLION, S.D. — The South Dakota women's golf team will wrap up the 2025-26 campaign with the 2026 Summit League Championships down in sunny Mesa, Arizona April 26-28 at Longbow Golf Club.
 
The 54-hole tournament will consist of 18 holes over the three days with tee times beginning at 9 a.m. (CT) [7 a.m. local time] at Longbow Golf Course.  
 
2026 SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Date: Sunday-Tuesday, April 26-28
Location: Mesa, Ariz. | Longbow Golf Club
Info: 8 Teams | Par 71, 7,050 Yards
Live Scoring: Scoreboard Live (linked above)
 
Additionally, a point in the 2025-26 Interstate Series, presented by First Interstate Bank, is on the line down in Arizona, between the Coyotes and Jackrabbits. The highest finishing team in this year's women's golf championship will earn a point in the series. South Dakota currently leads the series, 9.5-6.5, with just four more points up for grabs. One more Coyote victory (WGOLF, MGOLF, MOTF, WOTF) will secure the series victory for the first time since the 2021-22 academic year.
 
TEEING OFF FOR THE YOTES (Scoring Average)

1. Ella Greenberg (74.48)
2. Ava Schroeder (76.48)
3. Catie Nekola (76.44)
4. Eva Greenberg (77.48)
5. Morgan Rupp (79.18)

SUB Avery O'Donnell (81.29)
 
COYOTE STORYLINES
South Dakota heads to the Summit League Championships with eight top-10 finishes on the season, including top-10 finishes the last three tournaments. Of those eight top-10 finishes, the Yotes have three top-5 finishes (in tournaments with 5+ participating teams) on the year.
 
The Redbird Invitational (Sept. 7-8) saw USD shoot a team score of 880 (+16) which is the program's second-lowest team tournament score in program history. The Yotes shot a 295 – 290 – 295 in the three rounds, led by a second-place finish from Catie Nekola (216, E) and a third-place finish from Ella Greenberg (217, +1). The 290 team round score in Round 2 sits T5th in program history for a single round, marking the fourth time the Yotes have shot a 290.
 
Individual tidbits entering the Championships:

• Ella Greenberg has nine career top-10 finishes which sits T2nd in program history
• Catie Nekola has eight career top-10 finishes which sits T5th in program history
• Both Greenberg and Nekola sits T2nd all-time in career top-5 finishes with seven each
• Greenberg is the only active Coyote with a tournament win
• Nekola is just the fourth Coyote since 2011 to have 100+ career rounds golfed, sitting fourth in program history

 
Travelling down with the team for the second-straight year, but as a sub in 2025, Eva Greenberg (So.) will compete in the line-up for the first time at the Summit League Championships. Freshman Morgan Rupp will also make her Championships debut in the No. 5 position. Junior Avery O'Donnell will also travel down to Arizona as the team's substitute golfer for the weekend, looking potentially for her first rounds in a Summit League Championships setting.
 
LONGBOW GOLF CLUB
First opened in 1997, Longbow Golf Club and the complete redesign of the course unveiled in the fall of 2003, serves as the host of the Summit League Championships for the second-straight year. The redesign featured a new clubhouse, expanded acreage, and a revamped practice facility. The redesign project expanded the course's total yardage to 7,050 with a Par 71.
 
COYOTE SUMMIT CHAMPIONSHIPS CAREER-BESTS

• Ella Greenberg
  • Round: 70 (-1) – 2024-25
  • Tourn. Score: 223 – 2024-25
  • Finish: T14th – 2023-24
• Ava Schroeder
  • Round: 66 (-5) – 2024-25
  • Tourn. Score: 225 – 2024-25
  • Finish: T20th – 2024-25
• Catie Nekola
  • Round: 68 (-3) – 2022-23
  • Tourn. Score: 218 – 2022-23
  • Finish: T7th – 2022-23
• Eva Greenberg: first appearance
• Morgan Rupp: first appearance
• Avery O'Donnell: first appearance

 
THE FIELD (Scoreboard ranking)
Denver (#119), North Dakota (#231), North Dakota State (#139), Omaha (#182), Oral Roberts (#140), South Dakota (#173), South Dakota State (#161), St. Thomas (#179)
 
According to Scoreboard, by Clippd, NCAA Division I individual rankings, Denver's Logan Hale enters the tournament as the highest ranked individual at No. 378 in Division I. She returns to the Summit League Championships field after a T5th finish last season with a 217 (+4).
 
WEATHER REPORT
All three days look to be in the 80s with little-to-no chance of precipitation in the hot desert climate of Mesa. Day 1 on Sunday (April 26) is forecasted to be the coolest of the three days with a high of 80 degrees with winds about 10mph to the N/NE.
 
Day 2 and Day 3 look to be in the mid-80s (85–89-degree range) with winds up to 10mph to the north.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Coyotes took home a fourth-place finish at the Stampede at the Creek, hosted by Omaha, on April 13-14. Two Yotes took home top-5 finishes in Ella Greenberg (4^th, 226) and Ava Schroeder (T5th, 228). Greenberg shot a team-best 69 (-3) in the first round, marking the ninth time a Coyote has recorded a 69 round in program history. Senior Catie Nekola became just the fourth Coyote since 2011 to compete in 100 career rounds down in Omaha.
 
2025 SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
A trio of top-5 finishers from the 2025 Summit League Championships return to the field in 2026. The highest returning golfer hails from North Dakota State in senior Madison Hicks who finished T3rd with a 216 (+3) a season ago on the same Longbow Golf Club course. Sitting T5th a season ago, the duo of Denver's Logan Hale (217, +4) and Omaha's Katie Ruge (217, +4) both return as seniors this season.
 
South Dakota finished sixth a season ago at the Summit League Championships (317-298-284 = 899), showing improvements in each ensuing round. The 19-stroke team difference from Round 1 to Round 2 was one of the best improvements in the field, while showing a 14-stroke improvement from Round 2 to Round 3.
 
Of last year's line-up, three Yotes return to the field to Longbow Golf Club in the second year at the course. Ella Greenberg (Jr.) and Catie Nekola (Sr.) were the best performers on the squad last season with a T16th finish (223, +10). Ava Schroeder carded a 225 (+12) for a T20th finish.