Morningside wins GPAC title behind balanced effort
April 28, 2026

Morningside wins GPAC title behind balanced effort

DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. — There was no pressure, no hyperbolic speeches — nobody making it bigger than it needed to be. It was all about business.

Results

DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. — There was no pressure, no hyperbolic speeches — nobody making it bigger than it needed to be. It was all about business.

On Tuesday, the Morningside University women's golf team clinched the 2026 Great Plains Athletic Conference championship at Dakota Dunes Country Club, the program's seventh title since 2018 and first since 2024. With the win, the Mustangs advance to the NAIA National Championships, set for May 19-22 in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Morningside led the tournament wire-to-wire and placed all five golfers inside the Top 10 and made the GPAC All-Tournament Team. The Mustangs finished with a team score of 953, winning the tournament by 25 strokes.

"I'm most proud of the poise, the composure and the right amount of focus they had all week," head coach Nick Wanderscheid said. "We didn't make this week bigger than it needed to be. They never got flustered, and they never got too excited."

The Mustangs' best round came at 313 in round two, which began Monday and concluded early Tuesday as part of the 54-hole event.

Kamryn Zuniga led Morningside with a second-place finish at 235, recording six birdies across the tournament.

Lucy Brown placed third at 237, closing with a 75 in the final round after improving each day. She opened with an 86 before carding a 76 in round two.

Brown said finishing the job after coming up short a year ago made the moment even more meaningful.

"We all kept it together and played steady," Brown said. "I'm so proud of how we all pushed through this year. We've stuck together this whole season. This group of girls mean the world to me."

Ivanna Becerra-Diaz finished fifth at 240, highlighted by an opening-round 76. Macy Button placed eighth at 242 and played 14 bogey-free holes in the second round. Alysen Sander rounded out the top 10 with a 249, including two birdies in the opening round.

Morningside's consistency showed across the scorecard. The Mustangs were just eight-over on par 5s and finished plus-10 on par 3s — 15 strokes better than the next closest team. They also led the field with 19 birdies and 146 pars while recording the fewest double bogeys or worse (18).

"We always talk about how we want to be awesome in April, and this was the best tournament we played this year," Wanderscheid said. "It came at the right time."