Augustana University Women's Golf

Kirby enters her 14th season at the helm of the Augustana women's golf program in 2016-17. Kirby has led Augustana women's golf to seven consecutive NSIC Championships and five region championships in the last seven seasons. Augustana has won two straight NCAA Super Region Three Championships and has made the NCAA Championship field in eight of the last nine seasons.  Kirby's team won the 2015-16 NSIC Championship by 63 strokes. The Vikings were led by individual medalist Kali Trautman at the NSIC Championship. Trautman became the sixth Viking to win individual medalist honors at the conference championship in the last seven years. Trautman carried the momentum into the Super Region Three Championship where she won a playoff to become the third player in program history to win an inividual region title. Marisa Toivonen earned All-America honors for the second time in her career in 2015-16, earning WGCA All-America Second Team honors following a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Toivonen ended her career with two top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Five members of the 2015-16 team earned All-NSIC honors, including first team selections Marisa Toivonen, Emily Israelson, Sierra Langlie and Kali Trautman. Jordan Bormann was named to the All-NSIC Second Team following her sixth-place finish at the NSIC Championship.   After missing the cut for the NCAA Championships in 2013-14 for the first time since 2006-07, Kirby guided Augustana to the Central Region title and a return trip to the national tournament in 2014-15.  Kirby had four All-NSIC selections last season, including first team selections Sierra Langlie and Toivonen. Langlie became the fifth individual at Augustana to win individual medalist honors at the NSIC Championship under Kirby and just the second to win individual central region championship medialist honors. After taking the conference title for the sixth straight season, Augustana would look to make a run back to the top of the region after placing second in 2012-13 and fifth in 2013-14. The Vikings did just that winning the Central Region title to advance to the NCAA National Championship for the seventh time in program history.  Despite missing the cut as a team for the national championships in 2013-14, Augustana had some success at the national level qualifying to individuals in Marisa Toivonen and Allie Ostrander. Toivonen went on to shoot and eight-over-par 292 (73-74-72-73) in the four-round tournament to place fourth overall, marking the highest individual finish in program history at the national championship.   The Vikings finished 11th at the 2012-13 national tournament, and under Kirby posted a program-best eighth-place showing in 2007-08. The Vikings Allie Ostrander won the leagues individual crown in 2012-13 and joined teammates Maggie Leland and Emily Kvidera on the All-Conference first team. Kvidera capped an outstanding collegiate career with NSIC Golfer of the Year honors. She was the league-leader with a 77.7-stroke average and was named the NSIC Player of the Week five times. True freshman Jennifer Pederson was chosen NSIC Newcomer of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Conference second team. Kirby has been chosen as the NSIC's Coach of the Year six times during her career. She has coached five NSIC Tournament medalists Kvidera 2009-10, Leland 2011-12 & 2013-14, Ostrander 2012-13, Langlie 2014-15 and Kali Trautman 2015-16. Three of her players have been named NSIC Player of the Year Toivonen in 2015-16, Kvidera in 2012-13 and Leland in 2011-12. And Kvidera, 2009-10, Leland, 2010-11, and Pederson, 2012-13, were Conference Newcomers of the Year. With Kirby at the reins, Augustana showed continued improvement as a member of the North Central Conference. The advance was capped by a runner-up finish at the 2006 championships and the program's first NCC title in 2006-07. Kirby was also named North Region Coach of the Year and NCC Coach of the Year in 2006-07.   The Vikings burst onto the national scene during the 2008 season, qualifying for their first NCAA Championship. The road to the nationals was drama-packed as the Vikings orchestrated a memorable comeback at the North Regional competition. The Vikings occupied last place in the six-team field entering the final day, a seemingly insurmountable 16 shots separating them from second place and a spot at nationals. However, Augustana registered its best round of the tournament and edged past Minnesota State and Upper Iowa for runner-up honors. Pre-NSIC, the Vikings crowned the final three NCC individual medalists. Carley Roach won the 2005 conference title, while Courtney Belanger captured the 2006 and 2007 crowns. Roach was also just the second four-time All-NCC first team performer in league history as she placed in the top five at the NCC meet all four years of her stellar career. Kirby is among South Dakota's most prominent golfers, having won the state women's stroke play championship five times (1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, and 1982) and the Sioux Falls City Tournament 17 times.  She most recently won the 2009 South Dakota Golf Association Mid-Amateur Championship. She and her husband, Kevin, won the state husband/wife golf crown in 1994, and she teamed with Patty Coddington, now her assistant coach, to win the state two-woman title in 2001. She was inducted into the South Dakota Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2005, her first year of eligibility. She was voted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. A Sioux Falls native, Kirby played at Arizona State University, where she helped the Sun Devils capture the 1975 NCAA national championship. After college, Kirby pursued professional golf, competing in an LPGA qualifying tournament in 1978. However, after the four days of competition, Kirby fell two shots short of obtaining her LPGA card. Still an avid golfer, Kirby won the 2006 South Dakota Golf Association (SDGA) Pre-Senior Championship and also competed in the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.  

Speer is in her second season as an assistant coach with the womens golf team in 2015-16. She is a 2009 Augustana graduate and is the Coordinator of Student Success Programs at Augustana.   Espeland was a four-year letterwinner on the womens golf team at Augustana from 2005-09. She was a member of the first team to participate in the NSIC in 2008-09 and earned Academic All-NSIC honors her senior season.   She was a member of the 2007-08 North Central Conference Championship team and was on teams that placed fifth or better in the conference all four seasons. 

Coddington joined the Augustana women's golf coaching staff in November, 2007, teaming up with her lifelong friend and Viking head coach, Peggy Kirby. Born and raised in Sioux Falls, S.D., Coddington is one of the most decorated women's golfers in South Dakota history. She has won four South Dakota Golf Association Mid-Amateur championships, and was the 2012 and 2011 SDGA Senior Amateur champion.   Patty and her husband, Keel, won the Senior Husband and Wife championship in 2012 and were runners-up in 2011. The couple also claimed runner-up  honors in the 2004 Husband and Wife Tournament. Patty has also won three SDGA Two-Women championships, joining Kirby to win the 2001 crown. Coddington has represented the state of South Dakota at the USGA State Team Competition five times. She is a past president and board member of the SDGA. She is also on the SDGA Junior Foundation Board and First Tee of South Dakota Board and continues to compete in state tournaments. In the summer of 2012, she was inducted into the SDGA Hall of Fame. Coddington graduated from Sioux Falls Washington High School and attended Augustana in 1975. She then transferred to Southern Methodist University, where she graduated in 1977. The Coddingtons have been married since 1999. They have two children, Mike and Alisa. Mike is a 1993 Augustana graduate.