RAPID CITY, S.D.--- The South Dakota School of Mines Men's Golf team will start their spring campaign next week as they travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Warrior Vegas Invite hosted by Winona State University. The event will be held at the Stallion Mountain Golf Club on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Hardrockers will be sending seven golfers to the meet which include: senior Steven Bendt, freshman Jake Francis, freshman Bryce Howard, freshman Lane Jensen, freshman Roger Nakagawa, freshman Carson McDaniel and junior Jamison Smith. This will be the team's first event since the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preview Meet back on Oct. 8 where SD Mines finished 10^th.

Hardrocker head coach Tye Roy is very excited to get the season underway.

"We are heading into spring with a very young team. We have four upper class-men, led by our senior team captain Steven Bendt," Roy said. "We look for Steve to finish off his collegiate career with a strong spring. Overall tournament scoring we are led by a trio of freshman including Jake Francis (74.8), Bryce Howard (76.2), and Lane Jensen (77.3). We look for all three of these players to continue to develop their games and to make significant impacts going forward.

"We were close a few times this fall to having a breakthrough in team scoring, but just couldn't finish off the tournament. Our goal this spring is to put together an entire tournament as a team and to move up the leaderboard."

Coach Roy added, "Overall, I am very pleased with our program right now, as we have a lot of outstanding young scholar athletes that contribute well beyond the golf course. Our new practice facility is up and running and should really make a difference long term for our programs and our scholar athletes. The future is very bright and we look for a solid spring showing to continue our progress."

The men's team will participate in three events this season before the RMAC Championships on April 21 in Chandler, Arizona.

Along with this week's tournament at the Stallion Mountain Golf Club in Nevada, the rest of their schedule includes:  the Bob Writz Invite hosted by Colorado School of Mines at Bear Creek Golf Club in Lakewood, Colorado; and the Dickinson State Spring Invite hosted by Dickinson State University at Heart River Golf Course in Dickinson, North Dakota.

The Hardrocker women's team will also be competing in the Warrior Vegas Invite this week.

This event was not originally scheduled for the Lady 'Rockers, but due to poor weather conditions, the event was cancelled. Roy was able to get tem added to the list of teams competing at the Warrior Vegas Invite.

The SD Mines women will travel five golfers for the event which starts Tuesday which include: senior McKinley Harm, freshman Mya Ostrom, freshman Alexandra Rauert, junior Emily Schimbeno, and junior Nicole Schrader.

"Our women's program is lacking in depth right now, so we had a tough fall as a team. We then lost a senior to graduation at the semester and another player decided to leave the program because of other commitments, so we are even thinner this spring," Roy said.   

"We have some talented players in our program, so we look forward to seeing their progress this spring.  We were led in tournament scoring by Larissa Pawlowski (87), captain Nicole Schrader (88), and Abby Magee (92)," Roy said.

Coach Roy added, "All three had some solid rounds, but also noted some opportunities for improvement this spring.  We just need to put together a solid tournament as a team, which will help us as we move towards the conference tournament.

"Our other team captain, Emily Schimbeno, is returning from injury, and we look forward to her contributing in a significant way this spring and next year.  We hope to have our women's team move up the leaderboard this spring and take that momentum into next year".

The women's team will compete in three event before the RMAC Championships. Along with this week's meet, the 'Rockers are scheduled to compete at the Dickinson State Springs Invite hosted by Dickinson State University at Heart River Golf Course; and the Maverick Spring Invitational hosted by Colorado Mesa University at Golf Clun at Redlands Mesa in Grand Junction, Colorado.