U golf program makes news Tuesday on course and in court

First the news in Tuesday's metro section of the Star Tribune. Headline: Golf coach fired by U is awarded $360,000.

A Hennepin County judge awarded Katie Brenny the money, writing Brenny had been subjected to disparate treatment based on her sexual orientation (she is a lesbian) the brief time -- under two months -- she was the U associate head women's golf coach in 2010.

The story is here.

In Sports there is another story: Co-medalist lead Laorr leads U women to rare tournament title

Rare, indeed.

It's been six years since the Gophers got to celebrate a title (Diablo Grande Intercollegiate, March 18, 2008 in Patterson, Calif.).

But Tuesday the Gophers won the Entrada Classic, a 16-team tournament in Utah, by eight shots over host BYU with a 931 total. Wisconsin was third 11 shots back and No. 27 California was fourth 12 shots back. Indiana and Iowa finished in the middle of the pack.

Gopher Anna Laorr tied Alexis Nelson of Wisconsin for lowest score, but was awarded first based on having the low final round.

Laorr shot a 6-over 222, and closed with an even-par 72 at Snow Canyon Country Club, her best round as a Gopher. Nelson had a 77 her final round.

Teresa Puga was the last Gopher to win a tournament three years ago, the UCF Challenge on Feb. 15, 2011

"I'm really proud of the way we competed throughout the tournament especially with the way we battled back to pick up the win today," Gophers coach Michele Redman said. "The conditions weren't great with some wind, but we overcame that. We've kept working hard all season, and we're starting to see that pay off now. The whole team has supported each other and pushed each other, and that's great to see as a coach."

"I couldn't be happier for Anna," Redman said. "She played well for us, made smart decisions, and it's great to see her pick up her first win."

"I was pretty excited [Tuesday] to be honest, this is my favorite course," Laorr said. "For about five months, I've been trying not to put too much pressure on myself for this tournament. The course played very different than last year, but we played well as a team, and it's great to be able to celebrate a win together."

Teammate Carmen Laguna finished tied for 14th (236) while Emie Peronnin tied for 20th (239).

The women's team has been showing signs something like this was coming.

It has had three of the top five rounds in program history before this tournament.

The Gophers shot a 4-under 284 on Feb. 18 of the Central Invitational in Sarosota, Fla., to finish with an 875 total, the third best 54-hole tournament score ever.

The 284 and two 287s are among Minnesota's top-five low rounds.

MEN ON FIRE, TOO

The U of M men's golf team is off to a great start as well.

It won the Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic in Long Beach, Calif., on March 3-4.

Jon Trasmar took fourth place as an individual, teammate Alex Gaugert tied for fifth.

The Gophers had rounds of 280, 276 and 280 for a 4-under 836 total. That was good enough to beat Arizona and California-Santa Barbara by one stroke. Host Long Beach State was two back.

Trasamar finished 4-under with rounds of 66, 70 and 70. During his last round, he had a double bogey on the 10th but recovered with an eagle on the par-5 12th.

Gaugert shot a 69 in each round of the tournament to finish one stroke behind Trasamar at 3-under. Trasamer's fourth-place was his second top-10 finish of the season, Gaugert's fifth was his third top 10.

Jose Mendez tied for 12th, shooting a 69 in the final round. Jon DuToit tied for 30th at 4 over.

The Gophers won their first tournament since that 2006-07 season last fall on Oct. 21. They took first in the 14-team Barnabas Health Intercollegiate in Bedminster, N.J., by 17 shots. There were 14 teams in the field.