Hulwick, who took over the program in February shortly after the resignation of longtime successful coach Sammie Chergo, recently guided the Pioneers to their 10th consecutive conference title, this one in the Western Athletic Conference (pictured).

It was DU’s first tournament victory with Hulwick as head coach, though she was an assistant when the Pioneers finished as high as sixth and fifth in the 2008 and 2009 NCAA Championship finals, respectively. This year’s performance earned Hulwick WAC women’s coach of the year honors.

Denver also claimed the individual conference championship as junior Tonje Daffinrud won by six and was named WAC women’s golfer of the year. Daffinrud has recorded six top-10 finishes this season and ranks among the top 30 women’s college golfers in the country according to Golfweek.

And on Monday night, DU was seeded 11th in the NCAA Division I West Regional in Stanford, Calif. In all, three regionals are on tap, running concurrently May 9-11. The top eight schools from each 24-team regional — along with two individuals from non-advancing programs — will land spots in the NCAA Championship finals, set for May 21-24 in Athens, Ga.

It will be the 12th consecutive NCAA Regionals appearance for DU. In all, 72 teams and 18 individuals will compete in Division I regional tournaments.

“We’ve gotten better and better in each tournament this spring, and that was our goal this winter,” Hulwick said after winning the WAC title. “We’re looking forward to NCAA postseason play next month.”

DU is ranked 32nd among the nation’s women’s teams by Golfstat, and 33rd by Golfweek.

Also headed to the West Regional, but as an individual, is University of Colorado junior Jennifer Coleman, who is coming off a third-place showing in the loaded Pac-12 Conference Championships. Coleman, who’s won one tournament this season, is ranked 92nd individually in the country by Golfweek.

Among the other players with Colorado ties in the NCAA Division I regionals are North Carolina State’s Lindsay McGetrick, San Diego State’s Paige Spiranac and and Texas-San Antonio’s Allie Johnston — all in the Central Regional in Norman, Okla. — and Pepperdine’s Somin Lee at the Stanford site.

While the women’s NCAA regionals have been set, men’s Division I programs are in the final week of their conference championships. Their NCAA regional fields will be announced on May 6.

Meanwhile, here are how the NCAA regional berths have shaped up for Colorado-based Division II programs:

Men’s NCAA Division II Regionals — On Friday, the NCAA announced the 80 teams and 32 additional individuals that earned berths in the men’s NCAA Division II Regional tournaments that will be held May 6-8.

Three Colorado-based teams — Colorado School of Mines, Colorado-Colorado Springs and Colorado State-Pueblo — are headed for the South Central Regional in DuPont, Wash. Mines, who went to the NCAA Div. II finals for the first time last year, is seeded first in the 10-team regional for the second straight season, while Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion UCCS is fifth, and Colorado State-Pueblo eighth.

In addition, Colorado Mesa’s Brandon Bingaman will be competing as an individual.

At the combined 20-team South Central and West Regionals, five schools and the top two individuals not on those teams will advance to the Division II finals, set for May 20-24 in Hershey, Pa.

Women’s NCAA Division II Regionals — Only one Colorado-based NCAA Division II women’s golfer earned a spot in the Division II Regional fields that were announced on Monday and that will be contested May 5-7.

Colorado State-Pueblo freshman Leina Kim is one of four individuals who earned a spot in the West Regional set for Tiara Rado Golf Course in Grand Junction. The nine-team field — plus the four individuals — will vie for three team and three individual berths to the Division II finals, set for May 15-18 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Kim was the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s women’s golfer of the year this season. She owns six top-five finishes in the 2012-13 school year, including one victory.


Conference championships, which mark the start of the most important part of the school season, begin within the next week and continue through early May for Colorado teams.

Two in-state NCAA Division I programs — the University of Denver and University of Northern Colorado women — won conference titles last year and will be looking to extend their success. In fact, the University of Denver women, now led by new head coach Lindsay Hulwick (pictured), are taking aim at a rather remarkable feat: winning 10 straight conference championships. The Pioneers won the Sun Belt Conference title the last nine seasons, and now are focused on claiming the Western Athletic Conference championship early next week in Mesa, Ariz.

“We’re in a new conference, and our goal for sure is to win and keep our streak going,” DU junior Tonje Daffinrud said recently. Denver is ranked among the top 35 Division I women’s teams in the nation.

This will be the only season in the WAC for both the DU women and men as they will move to the Summit League this summer.

Meanwhile, two Colorado Division I golf teams — the University of Colorado and Air Force Academy men — have each won two team titles so far in the 2012-13 college season.

After the conference tournaments, local teams will hope to land spots in NCAA regional events. Division I regionals are scheduled for May 9-11 (women) and May 16-18 (men). The top performers at regionals then will advance to the NCAA championship finals, set for May 21-24 (women) and May 28-June 2 (men).

Here’s the schedule of all the Division I conference tournaments featuring Colorado teams, plus the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s and women’s meets. The events are listed in chronological order:

Big Sky Conference Women, April 21-23 in Chandler, Ariz. — Colorado team competing: Northern Colorado. … After claiming its first Big Sky championship last year, the Bears and senior Carleigh Silvers will both be defending conference titles. … Northern Colorado recently won the Monterey Bay Invitational, with Silvers claiming the individual title. … UNC is ranked 174th in the nation by Golfstat.

Pac-12 Conference Women, April 22-24 in Valencia, Calif. — Colorado team competing: Colorado. … Last spring, CU hosted an NCAA regional tournament at Colorado National Golf Club and for the first time in program history earned a spot in the NCAA Championship finals, where the Buffs finished 18th. … Earlier in the spring of 2012, CU placed sixth in the Pac-12 Conference tournament. … After losing three top players in 2012, the Buffs haven’t posted a top-five team finish yet this season. … CU junior Jennifer Coleman won one individual title — the Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque in mid-September — during the 2012-13 campaign. She’s ranked 113th in the country individually by Golfweek. … CU is ranked 74th in the nation by Golfweek.

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men, April 22-23 in Goodyear, Ariz. — Colorado teams competing: Adams State, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State-Pueblo, Fort Lewis, Regis, Colorado-Colorado Springs. … Last year, the Colorado School of Mines men won the RMAC spring title, with Colorado Mesa placing second. It was Mines’ first conference championship since 1968. … The Orediggers went on to finish 11th in the NCAA Division II Championship Finals. … Going into this week, CSM has won four team titles this season. … Three programs in the RMAC field are ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in NCAA Division II: Mines (21st), CSU-Pueblo (40th), and CU-Colorado Springs (44th). … CSM’s Michael Lee is ranked 74th in the nation by Golfstat, which combines all classes in its individual rankings. Colorado Mesa’s Brandon Bingaman is 80th nationally, according to Golfstat.

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women, April 22-23 in Goodyear, Ariz. — Colorado teams competing: Adams State, Colorado Christian, Colorado Mesa, Colorado State-Pueblo, Regis. … Last spring, CSU-Pueblo earned the RMAC title… Later, Colorado Mesa finished 11th in its first trip to the NCAA Division II Championship Finals. … Currently, CSU-Pueblo is the highest-ranked local Division II women’s team, sitting at 36th, according to Golfstat.

Western Athletic Conference Women, April 22-24 in Mesa, Ariz. — Colorado team competing: Denver. … After winning the last nine Sun Belt Conference championships they competed in, the Pioneers will be going for their 10th straight league crown. … DU recorded a 17-stroke victory last year in the SBC championship. Denver’s Rachael Watton won the individual conference title, with teammate Tonje Daffinrud fourth and Kelly Drack seventh. … This season, Daffinrud has recorded five top-10 finishes and is ranked 38th in the nation individually by Golfweek and Golfstat. … Watton is ranked 163rd in the country individually by Golfweek, while Elyse Smidinger is 196th. … DU is 32nd in the Golfstat women’s national team rankings.

Mountain West Conference Women, April 25-27 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. — Colorado team competing: Colorado State. … CSU finished fifth in this tournament last year. … The Rams are playing in the Fresno State Lexus Classic Monday and Tuesday (April 15-16) before gearing up for the conference tourney. … CSU sits 129th in the Golfweek team rankings.

Pac-12 Conference Men, April 29-May 1 in Los Angeles — Colorado team competing: Colorado. … CU finished eighth in the Pac-12 tourney last year. … This season, the Buffs own two team victories and three seconds. … CU’s Jason Burstyn won one individual title in the fall and finished third in the Bandon Dunes Championship in March. Burstyn is ranked 128th in the nation individually by Golfstat. … CU sits 67th in the national Golfstat team rankings.

Western Athletic Conference Men, April 29-May 1 in Henderson, Nev. — Colorado team competing: Denver. … DU placed seventh in its Sun Belt title defense last year, with Chun-Ji Kim finishing fourth individually. … DU recently took second place at its own Desert Shootout. … The Pioneers are ranked 101st in the nation by Golfstat and Golfweek.

American Sky Conference Men, April 29-May 1 in San Antonio — Colorado team competing: Northern Colorado. … UNC was fifth in the conference last year as Steven Kupcho finished sixth individually. Kupcho subsequently had a 2012 summer season that earned him CGA Player of the Year honors. … UNC stands 150th in the Golfstat national rankings.

Mountain West Conference Men, May 3-5 in Tucson, Ariz. — Colorado teams competing: Colorado State and Air Force Academy. … CSU made it to the NCAA regionals last year after advancing to the championship finals in 2011. … In the 2012 MWC Championship, CSU finished fifth and Air Force seventh. … CSU’s Kirby Pettitt placed fifth individually last year in the conference tournament. … Pettitt and teammate Jordan Wetsch won individual titles in the fall of 2012. … CSU’s Parker Edens took third recently in DU’s Desert Shootout. … Air Force won its second team title of the season at the Jackrabbit Invitational in March, with Kyle Westmoreland claiming the individual crown. … Both CSU and Air Force still have one significant tournament remaining before the MWC championship, the Ping Cougar Classic April 26-27 in Provo, Utah. … CSU is ranked 69th nationally by Golfstat, while Air Force is 119th.
 

But that’s not to say that golfers from Norway haven’t made their mark. For instance, Norwegian Suzann Pettersen is among the top 10 players in the Rolex women’s world golf rankings.

And, locally speaking, the top college golfer for a Colorado-based team this season hails from Norway.

University of Denver junior Tonje (pronounced Tonya) Daffinrud is ranked one of the top 50 women’s college golfers in the country by both Golfstat (43rd) and Golfweek (38th).

Though Daffinrud hasn’t won an individual title this season — she did claim a victory as a freshman — she’s been a model of top-level consistency. In the six college tournaments she’s played this season, the 21-year-old has posted a remarkable five top-10 finishes.

“We’ve had many great players at DU in recent years, but Tonje is something,” said coach Lindsay Hulwick, the new head coach at DU, where she served as an assistant coach from 2005 to 2012. “I don’t know if any player has had (a run of top-10s like that). She’s quite impressive, but I’m not at all surprised by what she’s doing.”

Just last week, Daffinrud (pictured in a DU photo) made her way into the Pioneer record book alongside two of the best players the program has produced. In firing a 7-under-par 65 at the Anuenue Spring Break Classic in Kapalua, Hawaii, the junior tied the lowest round in DU women’s golf history. Current LPGA Tour player Stephanie Sherlock and former LPGA Tour competitor Katie Kempter previously shot 65 at tournaments for DU, both during the 2007-08 season.

“It’s fun to have records and have that in my resume,” Daffinrud said this week. “But for me it’s not about that. It’s a nice bonus.”

If nothing else, it confirms that Daffinrud may also have what it takes to make it to the LPGA Tour, like Sherlock and Kempter have done.

“It kind of confirms how far I’ve come,” Daffinrud said. “For a long time, I’ve had the goal of going professional. Shooting rounds like that inspire and motivate me to work toward that.”

After tying the course record with the 65, Daffinrud finished second in the tournament, behind only Pepperdine’s Grace Na, one of the top 10 women’s college players in the country.

In addition to that runner-up showing, Daffinrud has one third place, a fifth, a seventh and a 10th this season. Only once has she finished outside the top 10: a 33rd-place showing at the Bruin Wave Invitational a month ago.

Daffinrud, who owns a 73.2 stroke average this season, was named the Western Athletic Conference’s Women’s Golfer of the Month for October, and the Women’s Golfer of the Week for last week.

Daffinrud actually missed the season opener for DU, but she had a good reason: She was playing for her homeland of Norway in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Turkey in late September. Individually, Daffinrud had a solid showing at that worldwide amateur event, finishing 32nd out of 157 competitors.

Daffinrud has been playing on national teams for Norway since age 13. In 2008 as a junior golfer, she won every tournament in which she competed. But given Norway’s climate, she’s been a big fish in a small golf pond, relatively speaking.

“The season (in Norway) is pretty short; it starts in May and ends in September,” she said. “And golf is not as big a sport (as it is in some other countries). The weather and courses are not as good everywhere. But the Norwegian Golf Federation has put a lot of resources into building junior golf.”

The NGF’s support has helped Daffinrud develop as a player over the years. In fact, one of the keys she cites as a reason for her good play this season is due in part to the federation’s help. Since last summer, Daffinrud has been working on the mental side of the game with Dr. Joseph Parent, author of the popular “Zen Golf”. In fact, Daffinrud had some in-person sessions with Parent before going to Hawaii for last week’s tournament.

Daffinrud came onto DU’s radar four years ago in Illinois at the Junior Solheim Cup. Among Daffinrud’s matches that week was one against Lexi Thompson, who would go on in 2011 to become then the youngest winner ever of an LPGA Tour event, at age 16. Thompson barely defeated Daffinrud, 1 up, in singles.

Hulwick, then a DU assistant under Sammie Chergo, was at the Junior Solheim Cup recruiting.

“(Daffinrud) really caught my eye,” Hulwick recalled. “She’s very athletic, tall, and has a great swing. Her game and maturity were already at a high level. I knew we had to get her.”

And the timing was right. Though Daffinrud was also being recruited by some of the top college programs in the country, DU was coming off its best finish ever at the NCAA Championship Finals, a fifth place.

And why did Daffinrud choose Denver?

“At the end it came down to the coaches,” she said. “I’m pretty independent in how I practice and play golf. Of course, we have a team structure, but the coaches let me do it my way. I want to follow my own path, and at DU I found that (opportunity). And being from Norway, the cold doesn’t really affect me. The eduction is very impressive as well.”

Daffinrud is double majoring in international business and economics, and she said there’s no question she’ll return to DU for her senior season.

But the most important part of this college season remains ahead, and that’s what Daffinrud is concentrating on now. The Pioneers have a maximum of four tournaments remaining, starting with this weekend’s SMU Invitational in Dallas. Then there’s the team’s one and only Western Athletic Conference Championship, where the Pioneers will try to win their 10th straight conference title, the last nine coming in the Sun Belt. Then DU hopes to earn a spot in the NCAA regionals, and the NCAA Championship Finals.

“We’re in a new conference, and our goal for sure is to win and keep our streak going,” Daffinrud said. “Regionals are our most important tournament; we want to make it to nationals.

“Individually, my goal is to win the last four tournaments. I play to win. I’ve come close (this season), but I’m not satisfied. Hopefully, I’ll make it to nationals regardless of how the team does. And a top 10 at nationals would be something I would be happy about. I want to get after it.”

Hulwick said big goals are within reach for Daffinrud.

“She’s very disciplined and committed,” the coach said. “She sets goals and she achieves them. She’s very independent, and she wants to be the best. She puts in the extra time before and after practice. You don’t see her kind of drive very often.”