Lobos Kick Off Spring Season With Peg Barnard Invitational
The Field vs. New Mexico – Stanford, Washington, Cal, Colorado, Denver, Fresno State, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, San Jose State, UC Davis and USF.
The Lobos – Manon Molle’, Ingrid Gutierrez, Alexandra Moisand, Eva Saulnier , Darian Zachek.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – After three months of competition dormancy, the New Mexico Lobos are coming out of winter hibernation.
“Our spring schedule is one of the toughest in the country,” admitted Lobo head coach Jill Trujillo. “I think we’re ready to get back into it. We had six really good rounds of qualifying to prepare us for our first event.”
The Lobo women’s golf team kicks off their spring season this weekend (Feb. 13th-14th) at the 21st Annual Peg Barnard Invitational in Stanford, Calif. Hosted by the No. six team in the country, Stanford, the tournament will entertain 13 teams.
“We’re going to see some of our good conference teams like San Jose State, Fresno State, and Nevada,” said Trujillo.
The 13-team field also includes No. 14 Washington, No. 20 Cal, Colorado, Denver, Nebraska, Oregon, UC Davis and USF. Oregon returns to attempt to reclaim the overall title after a 2015 victory at the event. The Ducks edged out UC Davis with a final round rally, finishing three shots ahead. UC Davis’s Paige Lee also returns for a chance at back-to-back wins after clenching the 2015 individual medal, shooting two shots better than Stanford’s Mariah Stackhouse.
Located in the foothills overlooking Stanford’s campus, the par-71, 6,084-yard, oak tree-lined Stanford University Golf Course is consistently rated as one of the finest courses in the world.
“Stanford’s course is not dissimilar to our home course,” Trujillo commented. “Their front nine is fairly flat with smaller greens kind of like our back nine, and their back nine is hilly with a lot of ups and downs like our front nine.”
The weather will be in typical California fashion with sunny skies and a light breeze, so weather should not interfere with the Lobo game plan. While winter break was a relaxing time for recovery, the Lobos are eager to get back on the course and start the spring season strong.
“The break definitely gave us some much needed rest, but we are all really excited for the first event,” said junior Manon Molle’. “We’ve been waiting for three months and none of us have played at Stanford, so we are all excited to play on this course.”
“The girls are hungry for a win and they know how to do it,” said Trujillo. “We didn’t end the fall season on a very high note, but we still shot school records. This is a team that can win and I really expect to bring home some hardware this spring.”
The Lobos will tee off at Stanford Golf Course on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. (PT)
For live stats visit BirdieFire.com