Gophers junior Isabella McCauley will compete in one of the premier amateur events in the world this spring.

The U announced Tuesday that the Inver Grove Heights native received an invite to play in the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur from April 2-5. That’s the week prior to the Masters, as is the newfound tradition.

This marks the first time in the event’s six-year history that a Gopher has been invited to play in the 72-player event.

“I’m so excited to be invited,” McCauley said in a release. “This is simply a dream come true. I’ve been working towards this for a long time, so it’s amazing seeing the hard work pay off.”

McCauley’s invitation comes via being one of the 30-highest ranked U.S. amateurs who weren’t otherwise qualified. McCauley is currently the 58th-ranked amateur in the world. The latest accolade is just par for the course for McCauley, whose resume continues to grow.

McCauley was named to the final ANNIKA Award watch list this fall. She’s a Big 10 champion who’s reached the NCAA championship as an individual in both of her collegiate campaigns and earned honorable mention All-American honors last spring.

“I am thrilled for Bella,” Gophers coach Matt Higgins said in a release. “Her hard work, dedication, and commitment have paid off. To compete against the best women amateurs in the world is a remarkable achievement, and I am excited to watch her showcase her talent at such a prestigious tournament.”

— Jace Frederick

NHL

Canadiens’ Heineman hit by car in Salt Lake City

Montreal Canadiens player Emil Heineman is expected to miss three to four weeks after being hit by a car while walking in downtown Salt Lake City a day before playing at the Utah Hockey Club.

The team announced that the 23-year-old Swedish forward was out of the game against Utah Tuesday night with an upper-body injury after being involved in a pedestrian accident.

Salt Lake City police said in a news release sent to the Associated Press that they received a 911 call around 3 p.m. Monday, and officers were dispatched to the scene near 200 East 500 South and checked the area but could not find the pedestrian or the passerby who reported the incident. Police said officers received information later in the evening from a nearby business, which said it had info likely associated with the crash.

After learning of Heineman’s identity, police said he did not show any signs of serious injuries and was being attended to by team doctors. It was not immediately clear what his injury was.

OLYMPICS

Mint replaces medals that quickly deteriorated

Some of the medals from the Paris Olympics seem to be quickly losing their shine.

The French mint told the Associated Press that it is replacing a number of medals from the 2024 Paris Games and Paralympics after athletes complained that they have already deteriorated — with some posting pictures on social media.

The Monnaie de Paris declined to say how many medals have been returned, but French website La Lettre put the number at over 100. Contacted by the AP, the French Olympic committee and the IOC also would not reveal figures.

In total, the French mint produced 5,084 medals for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The Monnaie de Paris has taken the issue of damaged medals very seriously since the first exchange requests in August,” the French mint said. “Since then, the company has modified and optimized its relative varnishing process. The Monnaie de Paris will replace all damaged medals at the athletes’ request during the first quarter of 2025.”

SKIING

With Shiffrin out, Rast earns 2nd win

Swiss skier Camille Rast earned the second World Cup victory of her breakthrough season, leading teammate Wendy Holdener for a Swiss 1-2 finish at a night slalom.

The result pushed Rast back to the top of both the slalom and overall season standings.

With injured slalom stars Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova missing, Rast had a frenetic final run to improve from eighth position and beat runner-up Holdener by 0.16 seconds.

Rast became the first skier other than Shiffrin or Vlhova to win the annual floodlit race since Frida Hansdotter triumphed in 2017, a year before the Swede won Olympic slalom gold.

Paula Moltzan was the best American finisher in sixth, 0.73 behind Rast.

Shiffrin, who won the first two slaloms this season, is recovering from abdominal surgery to clean out a deep wound she suffered in a GS crash in November.

Women’s college basketball

Man accused of stalking says he’s ‘guilty’ in court

One day after Michael Thomas Lewis was charged with felony stalking of Indiana Fever star and WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark, the 55-year-old Texas man shouted “guilty as charged” as soon as he sat down in a courtroom Tuesday.

Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of the 22-year-old Clark beginning on Dec. 16, the Marion County prosecutor’s office wrote in a court filing.

WISH-TV of Indianapolis reported that Lewis behaved “very erratically” in his first court appearance and, at times, appeared to be laughing and joking while noting he had not been taking his medication while jailed or while living out of his car.

Prosecutors said they were seeking a higher than standard bond because Lewis traveled from his home in Texas to Indianapolis “with the intent to be in close proximity to the victim.”

The court also filed a not guilty plea on Lewis’ behalf, and Judge Angela Davis suggested Lewis “remain silent” in jail and only speak with his attorney.

Briefly

WNBA >> New York’s Breanna Stewart was one of a handful of players given the franchise tag by their teams, along with Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas), Satou Sabally (Dallas) and Gabby Williams (Seattle).

— From news services