Trio of Golfers Earn Monthly League Awards

9/30/2015 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – South Dakota State's Grant Smith was named Summit League Men's Golfer of the Month while Denver's Katharina Baratta and South Dakota's Brenna Lervick garnered the Women's Golfer of the Month awards for their performances during the month of September.

GRANT SMITH, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Jr. // Johnston, Iowa

Collected his first career Golfer of the Month honor
Fired a 54-hole 211 (70-73-68) at The Jackrabbit placing higher than the No. 3 and No. 6 ranked collegiate golfers
Finished tied for fourth at the Ram Masters Invitational out of 88 golfers with a 210 (71-71-68) as South Dakota State took sixth in the tournament
Sank 18 birdies along with a pair of eagles in his six rounds for the month
Had a 70.17 stroke average for the month with a pair of top-five finishes

Also nominated: Adam Ruben, Denver; Jacob Groninger, Fort Wayne; Rylan Porter, IUPUI; Cody Burrows, Oral Roberts; Jordan Rykal, South Dakota; Adam Falk, Western Illinois

KATHARINA BARATTA, DENVER
Fr. // Klosterneuburg, Austria

Recorded her first career Golfer of the Month award
Carded a 54-hole 220 (73-74-73) at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, finishing in a tie for eighth place out of 86 golfers
Faced competitors from four teams in the top-40 of the national rankings and five in the top-60
Registered a 73.33 stroke average and led Denver to a fourth place finish out of the 17 teams

BRENNA LERVICK, SOUTH DAKOTA
Jr. // Chanhassen, Minn.

Earned her first career Golfer of the Month award
Took second place at the ORU Bob Hurley Shootout with a three-round 218 (72-76-70) out of 82 golfers
Her final round 2-under 70 at the ORU Bob Hurley Shootout was the lowest of the day
Finished in a tie for fifth place at the Coyote Classic out of 45 individuals
Helped guide South Dakota to a pair of second-place finishes during the month
Recorded two top-five finishes in both tournaments with a 76.17 stroke average

Also nominated: Brenna Sherwood, Fort Wayne; MeKenzie Hilsmeyer, IUPUI; Natalie Roth, North Dakota State; Kennedy Ishee, Oral Roberts; Hallie Getz, South Dakota State

ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at nine institutions, including four located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), Oral Roberts University, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced eight NCAA Champions along with over 75 Academic All-Americans, 65 All-America selections and numerous former student-athletes competing at the highest professional level. In 2014-15, The Summit League ranked first for NCAA Graduation Success Rate in women's basketball and second in baseball. For more information about the league and to "See The Summit", visit the newly re-designed www.thesummitleague.org website, follow Summit League Basketball on Twitter @summithoops and watch the weekly "Inside The Summit League" show at www.thesummitleague.org/itsl.

#SummitGF