Albuquerque, N.M. – The University of New Mexico’s Women’s golf team is set to open their season at home, in the 38th annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational.
This year’s tournament is set to take place September 12-13, with UNM looking to improve on last year’s finish despite the depth of the field.
The team gears up for the upcoming season with high expectations, entering her tenth year at UNM, Lobo head coach Jill Trujillo is excited to see how the year will play out especially with regards to the team’s newest addition.
The 2016-17 Lobo women’s team includes four seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and a lone freshman. This marks a change for the Lobo women, who, over the last few years, have been considered one of the youngest teams in the nation. Now experience, and talent are staples of the team’s identity.
Of course with that kind of talent, now coupled with tournament experience, the competition for the team’s five travelers is stiff. Head Coach Jill Trujillo sees the inner competition between her players as a mark of continued improvement;
“We’re highly competitive, they can’t let their guard down for one moment” explained Trujillo.
This year’s McGuire field includes eight teams ranked inside the GolfWeek Top-25, following up last year’s nine total teams. Three teams in Northwestern (8), Oklahoma State (9) and Arizona State (10) are ranked inside the Top-10.
The fifteen teams slated to compete are: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado, Denver, Iowa State, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UNLV, Washington State.
This year’s McGuire will see the return of junior Sarah Cho who was last year’s individual champion in the tournament. The then-Sophomore birdied two of her final three holes to secure the individual crown for Northwestern.
This year’s especially strong field has been attributed to the UNM Championship Course being set to play as host for the upcoming NCAA Regionals.
“I look forward to seeing something great, we tied for sixth last year against some strong teams and I have no doubt that we’re going to finish high this year too. I think they’re all really excited for the season to start and it’s always great to start with our home event.” concluded Trujillo.