St. Olaf College Women's Golf

Connelly golfed at the University of Wisconsin and graduated in 2003 with a career scoring average of 77.79 which ranked second in school history at that time. She won 2003 NCAA Central Regional Individual medalist honors which helped the Badgers make their first NCAA National Championship appearance. Connelly was a three-time All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten selection.  After her college career Connelly spent three seasons playing professionally on the Duramed Futures Tour. She went on to coach at Edgewood College (Wis.) for two years and helped lead the Eagles to their first Northern Athletics Conference title. 

Brian Stevens is in his second season as the head coach of the St. Olaf women's golf program in 2025-26. He was promoted to head coach on August 9, 2024 after spending the spring portion of the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach. In his first season with the program, St. Olaf finished seventh at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships in 2024-25 with a young roster that included two seniors, one junior, three sophomores, and one first year. Three of the seven Oles improved their scoring averages from the year before. Stevens previously was the head girls golf coach at Northfield High School from 2004-19 and served as an assistant coach for the Raiders since 2021. Under Stevens' leadership, Northfield qualified for the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) AAA State Tournament twice, finishing eighth in 2010 and sixth in 2011.  He coached four MSHSL All-State players who finished second in 2018, third in 2019, sixth in 2011, and seventh in 2022. Northfield has had an individual player qualify for the state tournament every year from 2008-23. Under Stevens, the program grew from 16 players in grades 7-12 in 2004 to over 70 in 2015. Stevens and his wife, Vicki, have a daughter, Molly, and a son, Nate.

Tyler Lindstrom is in his first season as the head coach of the St. Olaf men's hockey program in 2025-26 after being promoted following three seasons as an assistant coach on June 23, 2025. In Lindstrom's three seasons on staff, St. Olaf has compiled a record of 42-33-8 (.554) and has appeared in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs each season. The Oles advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament all three years, including the program's third-ever MIAC Playoff title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023-24. St. Olaf was the runner-up in 2024-25. During his time at St. Olaf, the program has produced one two-time American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) First Team West All-American, one Sid Watson Award finalist (national player of the year), one MIAC Defensive Player of the Year, one two-time All-USCHO honoree, and one All-DIIIHockeyNews.com selection. St. Olaf has also had seven All-MIAC honorees and six MIAC All-Playoff Team selections in Lindstrom's three seasons. In addition to the on-ice success, St. Olaf's program has excelled academically with 25 AHCA All-America Scholars, 38 Academic All-MIAC honorees, and 12 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honorees. Lindstrom came to St. Olaf after wrapping up his five-year NCAA Division III playing career at Curry College in Milton, Mass. Over his career, Lindstrom played in 100 games for the Colonels and, after graduating from Curry, worked as a scout for the New England Wolves of the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).    During his playing career at Curry, Lindstrom recorded 21 points on six goals and 15 assists in 100 games while tallying 179 shots from his spot on the blue line. He served as a team captain in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons after spending the 2019-20 season as an assistant captain. Lindstrom was an AHCA All-American Scholar and Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Academic All-Conference honoree in all five of his collegiate seasons.   A Brooklyn Park, Minn. product who played his high school hockey at Breck, Lindstrom graduated from Curry in May 2021 with a bachelor of arts in business management and went on to earn his MBA in May 2022.   After completing his bachelor’s degree, Lindstrom served as a Midwest Scout for the New England Wolves, spent time as a U15/U18 coach for the Neponset Valley River Rats in Canton, Mass., served as the program director for Base Elite, and worked as a skills coach for MN Lakers Hockey.

Tor Hanson '23 is in his second season as the head coach of the St. Olaf men's and women's Nordic skiing programs in 2024-25. After spending the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach for the programs, he was promoted to head coach in August 2024. In his first season leading the programs, the St. Olaf women won their fourth consecutive U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association (USCSA) team national title and the men finished in a tie for third in 2024-25. The women's program won all three team events in Bend, Ore., while the men finished in the top four in each of the events. At the 2024-25 USCSA National Championships, 11 student-athletes combined for 26 All-America accolades, with eight Ole women accounting for 19 accolades and three Ole men landing seven. Lily Hubanks '25 won a pair of individual national titles in the 7.5K Freestyle and 15K Classic, while Amae Kam-Magruder '27 won the Classic Sprint. St. Olaf also had 12 student-athletes named USCSA Scholar All-Americans. As an assistant coach in 2023-24, Hanson assisted Kevin Brochman in leading the St. Olaf women to their third consecutive USCSA national championship, while also working with the men’s team that placed fifth. The two teams combined to produce 15 All-America performances at the USCSA National Championships, including individual national titles for Hubanks in the 7.5K Freestyle and Kam-Magruder in the 15K Classic.   During his time as a student-athlete at St. Olaf, Hanson helped the Ole men to top-six finishes at the USCSA National Championships in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. As a senior, he finished in a tie for 39th in the individual combined standings and matched his career-best finish by placing 38th in the Freestyle Sprint. Hanson earned USCSA Second Team Scholar All-American honors in each of his final two seasons after being named to the USCSA National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team in 2020-21.   A U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) certified Level 100 coach, Hanson graduated from St. Olaf in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He has also served as a performance coach for Minneapolis Ski Club since June 2020, working with over 30 high school athletes to supplement their winter training with summer roller ski practice five days a week.

Annie Rydel is in her first season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf women's hockey program in 2025-26 and works primarily with the goaltenders. Rydel came to St. Olaf after two seasons on the staff for the women's hockey program at Augsburg University, her alma mater. Rydel played two seasons of hockey for both Augsburg after transferring from Hamline University. Over her career, she started 61 games with a .920 save percentage and 1.95 goals-against average, while earning All-Conference honors from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) as a senior.  Rydel earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Augsburg in 2020.

Terry VanDeWalker is in his fifth season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf men's hockey program in 2025-26. Before coaching at St. Olaf, he spent 25 years as a professional, touring musician, performing over 2,000 concerts both nationally and internationally.  St. Olaf has qualified for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs in each of VanDeWalker's four seasons on staff, including winning the tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2021-22 and 2023-24. The two MIAC Playoff titles came as the No. 7 and No. 5 seeds, as the Oles logged three consecutive road victories, including wins at nationally-ranked teams in the championship games, in both seasons. VanDeWalker played hockey at St. Olaf for the legendary Whitey Aus from 1991-93 before finishing his collegiate career at Bethel University. A graduate of Minnehaha Academy, he played four seasons for hockey luminary Dave Palmquist in high school. After moving back to Northfield in 2005, he spent 10 seasons coaching all levels for the Northfield Hockey Association and is currently a level IV certified USA hockey coach. VanDeWalker and his wife, Beth, are both St. Olaf graduates and have three children.

Ashley Holmes is in her first season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf women's hockey program in 2025-26 after joining the coaching staff in June 2025. Holmes joined head coach Tracy John's staff after spending two seasons as the director of operations for the University of Minnesota women’s hockey program. Prior to that, she served as an assistant coach at fellow Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) member Augsburg University for nine seasons. At the University of Minnesota, Holmes managed and organized all aspects of team travel, oversaw all administrative functions of the women’s hockey office, coordinated scheduling of facilities for team practices/functions, and was responsible for video operations, among other responsibilities. The Golden Gophers posted a 56-22-3 (.710) record during Holmes’ two seasons and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both seasons, including a run to the Frozen Four in 2024-25, while finishing both seasons ranked in the top five nationally. During her nine seasons at Augsburg, Holmes helped the Auggies to a record of 123-73-24 (.614) and eight consecutive MIAC Playoff appearances from 2016-23. She was primarily responsible for the team’s defense and coached one two-time All-American, eight All-MIAC selections, seven Honorable Mention All-MIAC honorees, and one MIAC Rookie of the Year. Holmes recruited 52 traditional first-year and 11 transfer student-athletes over nine recruiting classes at Augsburg. Holmes played collegiate hockey at the University of North Dakota, skating in 138 games while earning All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Academic Team honors in 2011-12 and WCHA Scholar-Athlete Award honors in 2009-10. She graduated from North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in biology/pre-medicine and a minor in psychology in 2013 before earning a master of arts in leadership from Augsburg in 2018. Holmes got her start in coaching as an assistant coach at Alexandria Area High School in 2013-14, helping the program to a Section 6A title and a fifth-place finish in the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Class A State Tournament.  

Olivia Spellmire is in her fourth season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf College women's hockey program in 2025-26. During Spellmire's three seasons on staff, St. Olaf has posted an overall record of 36-38-3 (.487) and has finished with above-.500 records in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) twice (2022-23, 2024-25). The Oles qualified for the MIAC Playoffs in both 2022-23 and 2024-25. Over the last three seasons, St. Olaf has had six All-MIAC honorees, three Honorable Mention All-MIAC selections, and two MIAC All-Playoff Team honorees, as well as 35 Academic All-MIAC honorees, 16 American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-American Scholars, and seven College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honorees. Prior to coming to the Hill, Spellmire spent two seasons as an assistant women's hockey coach at the NCAA Division I level at Brown University (2020-21) and Maine University (2019-20). Brown did not compete in the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During her season at Maine, Spellmire helped lead the Black Bears to the Hockey East semifinals with a sweep of No. 8-ranked Boston University. At Maine, she was in charge of video breakdown and analysis of opponents and players in addition to designing practice plans. Spellmire had a decorated collegiate career at Lake Forest College and played one year of professional hockey in the Swedish Women's Professional League following graduation.   At Lake Forest, Spellmire played in 110 career games and tallied 132 career points on 53 goals and 79 assists. She left the program first all-time in assists, second all-time in points, and third all-time in goals and game-winning goals. Additionally, she was an assistant coach at Lake Forest High School for three seasons.  As a senior, Spellmire was named the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Player of the Year and a First Team All-NCHA selection, an America Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) First Team All-American, the NCHA Tournament MVP, and was a finalist for the Laura Hurd Award for the nation's top NCAA Division III women's hockey player. A 2018 graduate of Lake Forest with a bachelor's degree in finance, Spellmire received her MBA with an emphasis in sports business from Grand Canyon University.

Kasi Peterson is in her second season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf women's hockey program in 2025-26. In her first season with the program, St. Olaf finished 12-13-1 (.474) overall and 9-8-1 (.519) in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) to land a spot in the MIAC Playoffs for the third time in four seasons. St. Olaf had one All-MIAC honoree, two Honorable Mention All-MIAC selections, one MIAC All-Playoff Team honoree, 14 Academic All-MIAC selections, six American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) All-American Scholars, and four College Sports Communicators Academic All-District choices.