SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Coming off their ninth straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title, the Augustana women's golf team looks to build off last years success. The Vikings boast six returners and two newcomers this season.

Earlier this year, Augustana was picked to finish first at the NSIC Championships receiving all 11 first-place votes and tallied 121 points to rank ahead of Minnesota State, which tallied 111 points and the other first-place vote. Junior Hannah Hankinson was also voted by the league coaches as the NSIC Preseason Women's Golfer of the Year.

Last season, Augustana locked up their ninth straight NSIC title while Emily Israelson claimed the individual medalist honors. They had a team score of +62 (926) which was 18 strokes ahead of the second place finisher Minnesota State at +80 (944).

The success didn't end there for the Vikings as they would also place top honors at the NCAA Super Regional in St. Charles, Mo. Augustana's score of +26 (890) was 10 strokes ahead of the second place finisher Lindenwood at +36 (900).

The Vikings finished out the year qualifying for their 11th straight NCAA Championship the next week. Augustana finished 10th with a score of +95 (1247) beating out the 11th place finisher Arkansas Tech by three strokes.

Augustana had a successful Fall season with four top-two finishes in six tournaments along with placing 15th at the 2018 Central Fall Preview with a score of +35 (323) and ninth at the DII National Preview with a score of +89 (665).

"I'm excited to get the Spring season started. Our first event is in Palm Desert California where we will see some great weather and green grass. Hard to know when Spring will arrive up in the North regions," head coach Peggy Kirby said. "The ladies have been hitting indoors and are ready for the Spring competition to begin. We had a good Fall and look forward to some good scores to keep us working hard to attain our goals! It will be a very short Spring season, so we have to be ready to play next week!"

Augustana returns a young but experienced team from last season. The Vikings have two new freshmen, two sophomores and four juniors on the team.

Sophomore Alex Stone earned Newcomer of the Year in the NSIC after a successful freshman campaign. The Brainerd, Minn. native played in 11 events throughout the year and a total of 26 rounds. She shot an average of 78.79 over 19 rounds of golf, which was the fifth highest in the conference.

Stone finished tied for fourth at the NSIC Championships with a score of +18 (234). She would also tie for 43rd at the NCAA DII Super Regionals with a score of +21 (237) and placed 71st in the nation at the DII National Championships with a score of +61 (349).

Hankinson was named to the All-NSIC First Team after a successful sophomore season. The junior finished last season with the third-best stroke average in the NSIC at 77.3 over 22 total rounds. The Edina, Minn. native placed 14th at the NSIC Championships with a score of +26 (242). She also tied for 11th place at the NCAA DII Super Regionals with a score of +9 (225) and finished the season placing 33rd at the DII Championships with a score of +18 (306).

Hankinson was also awarded the NSIC Elite 18 Academic award which is given to a student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NSIC's 18 Championships.

Augustana also returns a strong supporting cast, starting with juniors Annemarie Fisher, McKayla Poppens, Sydney Weber and sophomore Natalie Young.

Fans first chance to catch Augustana at home will be April 13 when they host the Augustana Spring Invite at the Prairie Green Golf Course.

Be sure to follow Augustana women's golf all season long on Twitter (@AugieWomensGolf) and be sure to like Augustana Women's Golf Team on Facebook.