Nov. 9, 2004
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NEXT IN LOBO WOMEN’S GOLF
No. 12 New Mexico at Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 14 – Monday, Nov. 16
WHERE: Mission Inn Golf Course – Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
FORMAT: There are 16 seeded teams in a double-elimination bracket. The teams will play each other in a match-play format.
FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS (SEEDS):
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 UNLV No. 8 Furman vs. No. 9 Texas No. 4 Washington vs. No. 13 Purdue No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 12 Arizona No. 3 Arizona State vs. No. 14 Texas A&M No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Wake Forest No. 7 New Mexico vs. No. 10 Florida No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 15 North Carolina
RESULTS: Live stats available at www.GolfStat.com. Recaps and results of each round also available at www.GoLobos.com
No. 12 LOBOS TO PARTICIPATE IN HOOTERS MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP – The 12th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team will participate in the prestigious Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship Sunday, Nov. 14 – Tuesday, Nov. 16 at the Mission Inn Golf Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. Live stats of the tournament will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
The tournament is unique and challenging given that it’s a match-play format against some of the nation’s top competition. The tournament features 16 seeded teams in a double-elimination bracket. Eleven of the 16 teams are ranked in Golfweek’s Top 25, including five of the top 10. The field, which was based on the 2004 national championships finish, is headed by defending NCAA champion and second-ranked UCLA and top-ranked and defending Match Play champion Duke. There will also be a men’s tournament running simultaneously with the women’s tournament. The women will be teeing off on the Las Colinas Course.
The seventh-seeded Lobos, who own the sixth toughest schedule in the nation heading into the tournament, will match up against 10th-seeded Florida in the first round. If the Lobos can get by the Gators, they will face the winner of the No. 2 Oklahoma State/No. 15 North Carolina matchup in the second round; if they falter, they will take on the loser of the Cowgirl/Tar Heel faceoff in the consolation bracket.
QUICK GLANCE AT THE LOBOS – The Lobos are ranked 12th in this week’s Golfweek/Sagarin ratings. They are ranked 10th in Golf Stat’s NCAA Head-to-Head rankings released Nov. 2. New Mexico was ranked No. 10 in the Golfweek preseason poll and peaked at No. 9 after placing second at the Dick McGuire Invitational.
In their last tournament, the Lobos won their second straight Landfall Tradition title Oct. 29-31 in Wilmington, N.C. New Mexico has placed in the top 10 in all four of its tournaments this season, taking second at the Dick McGuire Invitational, seventh at the Stanford Intercollegiate and eighth at the NCAA Fall Preview.
Sophomore Ashley Rollins |
Individually, the Lobos have four starters ranked in the top 120 according to Golfweek. Senior Kailin Downs heads the pack at No. 12, while junior Christine Fernandez is in the top 50 at No. 44. Senior Christina Spence is ranked 99th and sophomore Ashley Rollins is at 120th.
Downs, who set the UNM junior scoring-average mark last season with a 73.91 average, is looking to topple Katrina Leckovic’s career scoring average of 75.34 in her last season. After three years and four tournaments, Downs’ average is at 74.02. The preseason All-American was named the Mountain West Golfer of the Month in September and October, marking the sixth and seventh times in her career she has won the award. She leads the Mountain West with a 71.92 scoring average.
Fernandez, the Lobos’ top finisher at the 2004 NCAA Championships, is having a stellar junior season, as she is second on team with a 73.33 average, which is good for second in the Mountain West.
Also returning to the lineup is 2004 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Ashley Rollins, who set the UNM freshman record with a 74.62 average her rookie season. Rollins is fourth on the team this season with a 74.58 average. Senior Christina Spence, a 2003 All-Mountain West honoree, is at a 74.44 average in three tournaments this season, good for third in the Mountain West. Redshirt freshman Giselle Claux (76.89 avg.) has started three tournaments and and freshman Alexandra Phelps (80.11 avg.) has started twice for UNM this fall.
THE CLASS OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST – The Lobos are clearly the class of the Mountain West Conference when it comes to women’s golf. UNM has won four of the five MWC Championships and is currently the highest ranked team in the league at No. 12 in the nation. The Lobos own the top-four scoring averages in the MWC and Kailin Downs has already been named the MWC Golfer of the Month twice this season. Downs leads the league with a 71.92 average, while Christine Fernandez is second at 73.33, Christina Spence is third at 74.44, and Ashley Rollins is fourth at 74.58.
BY THE NUMBERS –
— New Mexico has made 12 appearances at the NCAA Championships (1982, `83, `84, `85, `87, `88, `93, `95, `96, `98, 2001, 2004)
— The Lobos have been ranked in the top 15 since Sept. 29, 2003
— New Mexico has made 12 straight postseason appearances
— UNM has claimed 13 conference championships
— The Lobos have won 38 tournament titles in their history
— The Lobos have won 11 tournament titles in the last four years
— The Lobos currently have the 6th toughest schedule in the nation
— The Lobos have the top 4 players in scoring average in the Mountain West
PLAYER NOTES –
DOWNS NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST GOLFER OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER – Senior Kailin Downs was named the Mountain West Golfer of the Month for October, marking the second time she has won the award this season and seventh in her career. She also garnered the award in September. Downs’ key performance to earn the award came at the Landfall Tradition, where she placed second with a career-best score of 211. She also took third at the Dick McGuire Invitational. Overall, she has placed in the top five on 14 occasions during her career.
The Bend, Ore., product leads the team and the Mountain West with a 71.92 scoring average. She is ranked 12th in the country by Golfweek and 15th by Golf Stat.
Downs, who was named a Golfweek second-team preseason All-American for the second consecutive year, has established herself as one of the nation’s premier collegiate golfers and solidified her national standing with an excellent summer of golf. She advanced to the round of 32 in match play at the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur and won two of her three matches in helping lead Team USA past Japan in the 2004 Fuji Xerox U.S. vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championships held July 16-18 in Ichihara, Japan.
Downs earned honorable mention All-America honors for the second straight season in 2003-04 after setting a new UNM junior record with a 73.91 scoring average. She also owns the sophomore record (74.1). Downs was the 2004 recipient of the Edith Cummings Munson Award, which is presented by the NGCA to an individual based on academic and athletic achievement. She boasted a 3.82 GPA in General Management to earn NGCA Scholar-Athlete honors for the third straight season and also earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America third team.
Last season, Downs was named the MWC Women’s Golfer of the Month in September after winning her first career tournament at the 2003 Dick McGuire Invitational and Co-MWC Golfer of the Month in February after placing fourth at the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge. Downs was the only player in the conference to earn Golfer of the Month honors twice in 2002-03 (September and April). As a freshman, Downs garnered Golfer of the Month honors in October of 2001.
ASHLEY’S ROLLIN’ – Sophomore Ashley Rollins, who made a splash onto the collegiate golf scene her freshman season, was named a third-team preseason All-American by Golfweek. Rollins lived up to the hype in her first season as a Lobo, establishing a new freshman record at UNM with a 74.62 scoring average and finishing the season ranked No. 52. For her efforts, she was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year and also earned All-MWC honors.
One of the top recruits in Coach Booth’s tenure, Rollins made the cut at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur and won all four of her matches at the AJGA Canor Cup prior to attending UNM.
In her first action of the 2004-05 season, Rollins tied for 14th at the Dick McGuire Invitational with a 3-over 222. Rollins’ scoring average through four tournaments this season is 74.58, good for fourth in the Mountain West. She is ranked 120th by Golfweek and 140th by Golf Stat.
FERNANDEZ LOOKING FOR EVEN MORE – Junior Christine Fernandez was a welcome addition to the 2003-04 Lobo squad after transferring from the University of Tulsa. After starting in all but one tournament last season, Fernandez has stepped up even more in her second year, and is now one of the elite players in the nation. She is ranked 44th by Golfweek and 59th by Golf Stat with a 73.33 average through four tournaments, which is also good for second best in the MWC.
Fernandez tied for 17th at the Dick McGuire Invitational in her first action of the 2004-05 season, but she really stepped into the national spotlight with a great showing at the NCAA Fall Preview. In a tournament that featured 16 ranked teams, Fernandez shot a 1-over 214 to tie for fifth, which was her best 54-hole total as a Lobo. She led the Lobos with a 217 at the Stanford Intercollegiate, marking her third top-20 finish of the season.
Fernandez finished in the top 10 in three tournaments last season, including a career-best tie for second at the Dr. Thompson Invitational in Hawai’i, where she shot a season-low round of 68 in the second round. She also placed in the top 10 at the Las Vegas Founders Women’s Collegiate Showdown and shot a season-low 219 to tie for ninth at the Mountain West Championships. The Las Vegas, Nev., native was the Lobos’ top finisher at the 2004 NCAA Championships, carding a 7-over 295 to tie for 33rd.
SPENCE BACK IN LINEUP – Senior Christina Spence, who garnered All-MWC accolades in 2002-03, is back into the starting lineup this season and is making the most of her senior season. Spence is third in the conference with a 74.44 scoring average in three tournament appearances. She has placed in the top 20 twice this season, including season-best 19th after shooting a 6-over 222 at the Landfall Tradition. She is ranked 99th by Golfweek and 106th by Golf Stat.
NEW ADDITION – Redshirt freshman Giselle Claux, a native of Lima, Peru, joined the Lobos for the 2004 spring season after sitting out fall competition. A talented golfer with international experience, Claux competed for the Peruvian National Team in several Junior South American tournaments. She placed fourth at the 2003 Junior South American tournament in Montevideo, Uruguay.
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Claux has started in three tournament thus far in 2004-05 for UNM. In her first collegiate tournament, she tied for 78th at the Dick McGuire Invitational. She dramatically improved in her second tournament, tying for 31st at the Stanford Intercollegiate.
NEW ADDITION, Pt. 2 – Freshman Alexandra Phelps, a native of Albuquerque, is ready to contribute to her hometown Lobos. Phelps won the 2004 Class 5A state golf championship and also won the 2004 Albuquerque Women’s City Championship. She earned the Albuquerque Tribune Lighthouse Award/Athlete of the Year for girl’s golf in 2004. She played as an individual in the Dick McGuire Invitational and started in the NCAA Fall Preview and Stanford Intercollegiate.
LAST TIME OUT –
LOBOS REPEAT AT LANDFALL TRADITION (Oct. 29-31) – The 14th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team captured its 11th tournament title in the last four years by repeating as champions of the Landfall Tradition Oct. 31. The Lobos won the 12-team field, which included seven ranked teams, with a score of 297-285-296–878 (+14), three strokes better than host UNC-Wilmington. UNM also won the Landfall Tradition, which was held at the par-72, 6,034-yard Jack Nicklaus Course, in 2003.
Kailin Downs narrowly missed winning her second tournament championship of her career, finishing in second place with a 5-under 211 (73-67-71), only two strokes behind Vanderbilt’s Chris Brady. It marks the 14th time in Downs’ career that she has finished in the top-five of a tournament.
Ashley Rollins carded her best three-round total of the season, tying for 16th place with a 4-over 220 (71-75-74). Christina Spence also placed in the top 20, shooting a 6-over 222 (75-72-75) to tie for 19th. Christine Fernandez tied for 28th with a 10-over 226 (78-72-76), while Giselle Claux carded a 15-over 231 (80-74-77) to tie for 40th.