Kenzie Neisen of New Prague Golf Club held off a late surge by Sarah Burnham of Rush Creek G.C. to win the Minnesota Women's State Open at Deer Run in Victoria by one shot. Neisen had a 7-under 137 total, including a course record 63 in her opening round. This is her second State Open title in three years.
"Sarah's a great player, so I knew she was going to give it a run; she definitely did that today," Neisen said after a closing 74. "I wanted to just go out there and play and not set the expectations too high after yesterday. It's tough to repeat that two days in a row."
Neisen, a senior-to-be at Oklahoma State, began the day with a five-shot lead. Burnham, who will be a senior at Michigan State, shot a 70 her second round.
Powers column in Pioneer Press dropped
Longtime Pioneer Press sports columnist Tom Powers will no longer write for the newspaper, Powers and the newspaper announced. Powers was retired but had been writing two or three times a month.
Tuesday night, he used a number of obscenities in discussing the American political climate on Twitter. "We don't condone his language on Twitter last night," the Pioneer Press tweeted.
U coach Frost signs contract
Brad Frost, the Gophers women's hockey coach the past 10 seasons, signed a new contract that will keep him at Minnesota through the 2020-21 season. Terms were not disclosed. Frost was going into the last season of a five-year contract.
His teams have advanced to six consecutive NCAA Women's Frozen Fours and won four of the past six national crowns, including back-to-back titles twice.
"I have shared many times that there is no better program and university to work for," Frost said.
Tucker Center founder dies
Dorothy McNeill Tucker, one of the founders and a benefactor of the Tucker Center, died Saturday in Texas at age 93, the University of Minnesota announced.
The university's Tucker Center has a mission to research how sports "affect the lives of girls and women, their families, and communities." The center was established in 1993 because of Tucker's "incredible and ongoing support and generosity," the university said in a news release.
Tucker, who grew up in Racine, Wis., graduated from Minnesota in 1945. She went on to earn a doctorate in physical education and become a teaching pioneer at universities in California.
Etc.
• The visiting St. Paul Saints lost 5-3 to the Winnipeg Goldeyes, who scored all their runs in the fifth inning. Brady Shoemaker was 3-for-4 for the Saints; teammate Tanner Lubach hit a solo homer in the ninth. The Saints (42-40) have lost five games in a row and are eight games behind the Goldeyes in the North Division.
• Steve Randgaard was named the St. Mary's men's and women's golf coach. He was the girls' golf coach at Lake City from 1987 to 2017 and the boys' team coach from 1988 to 2009.
• Gustavus Adolphus was ranked No. 24 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's preseason Division III poll.
