March 7, 2005
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NEXT IN LOBO WOMEN’S GOLF
No. 13 New Mexico at Gamecock Classic
WHEN: Friday, March 11 – Sunday, March 13
WHERE: University Club – Blythewood, S.C. – Par 72 – 5,996 yards
Hosted by the University of South Carolina
THE FIELD (Rankings – Golfweek): Alabama, Augusta State, East Tennessee State, Florida State, No. 20 Furman, No. 14 LSU, Minnesota, No. 13 New Mexico, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Virginia
RESULTS: Live stats available at www.GolfStat.com. Recaps and results of each round also available at www.GoLobos.com
No. 13 LOBOS TRAVEL EAST FOR GAMECOCK CLASSIC IN SOUTH CAROLINA – The New Mexico women’s golf team, ranked 13th in the latest Golfweek rankings released March 7, heads to Blythewood, S.C., this week for the Gamecock Classic at the University Club. The 12-team tournament is hosted by South Carolina and features 20th-ranked Furman and 14th-ranked LSU. Live stats of the tournament will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
The Lobos are coming off a 10th-place finish at the Regional Challenge (Feb. 7-9) in Palos Verdes, Calif. Christine Fernandez and Kailin Downs each posted scores of 230 to lead the Lobos at the tournament.
Individually, the Lobos have four starters ranked in the top 200 according to Golfweek. Senior Kailin Downs heads the pack at No. 12, while junior Christine Fernandez is in the top 55 at No. 54. Sophmore Ashley Rollins is ranked 127th and senior Christina Spence is at 164th.
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 five tournaments, Downs’ average is at 74.09. 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 72.87 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 74.00 average, which is also good for second in the Mountain West. Ashley Rollins, the 2004 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, is fifth in the conference with a 75.33 average, while senior Christina Spence is at a 76.08 average. Redshirt freshman Giselle Claux (77.25 avg.) has started four tournaments and and freshman Alexandra Phelps (80.11 avg.) has started twice for UNM this season.
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. 13 in the nation. The Lobos own three of the top five 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 72.87 average, while Christine Fernandez is second at 74.00. Ashley Rollins is fifth at 75.33, and Christina Spence is ninth at 76.08.
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 (73 straight weeks)
— 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 5th toughest schedule in the nation
— The Lobos are 55-23 overall vs. all opponents in tournament play
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.
Senior Kailin Downs |
The Bend, Ore., product leads the team and the Mountain West with a 72.87 scoring average. She is ranked 12th in the country by Golfweek.
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’ current scoring average is 75.33, good for third in the Mountain West. She is ranked 127th by Golfweek and 186th 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 54th by Golfweek and 66th by Golf Stat with a 74.00 average, which is also good for second best in the MWC.
Junior Christine Fernandez |
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 ninth in the conference with a 76.08 scoring average in four 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 164th by Golfweek and 236th 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.
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.
Claux really came alive at the Collegiate Match Play Championships, winning all four of her matches in the No. 5 position against Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and UNLV.
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 TAKE 10TH PLACE AT REGIONAL CHALLENGE IN FIRST ACTION OF THE SPRING (Feb. 7-9) – The No. 8 New Mexico women’s golf team finished in 10th place at the 2005 Regional Challenge after shooting a 28-over 312 in the final round. For the tournament, the Lobos were 303-309-312–924 (+72), besting top programs such as No. 2 Arizona State, No. 16 Stanford and No. 17 Texas. No. 10 Pepperdine won the 14-team field, which featured 13 teams ranked in the top 25, with a 44-over 896 (296-296-304). The prestigious tournament was held at the par-71, 5,912-yard Palos Verdes Country Club.
Kailin Downs and Christine Fernandez each shot 17-over par with a score of 230 to tie for 30th place. Downs completed the tournament with scores of 72-78-80, while Fernandez shot 79-72-79.
Ashley Rollins (77-77-81) and Giselle Claux (75-82-78) also shared the same score, placing in a tie for 48th with a 22-over 235. Christina Spence shot the best round of the day for the Lobos on Wednesday with a 4-over 75. She finished the tournament with a score of 81-87-75–243 (+30), tying for 66th place.
FALL RECAP
The New Mexico women’s golf team wrapped up another successful fall season after winning the Landfall Tradition for the second straight year and by placing in the top 10 in all five of its tournaments. The Lobos closed out the fall ranked eighth in the Golf World College Coaches Poll and 12th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
In their last tournament of the fall season, the Lobos placed ninth at the prestigious Collegiate Match Play Championship played in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. UNM defeated UNLV, 4-1, on the last day of the tournament to claim the consolation bracket title. After falling in the first round to Florida, the seventh-seeded Lobos rattled off three straight victories in taking ninth place. The Lobos were one of only five teams in the tournament to win at least three matches.
The annual Collegiate Match Play Championship features 16 seeded teams in a double-elimination bracket while playing in a match-play format. The Lobos defeated 15th-seeded North Carolina and sixth-seeded Tennessee on the second day of the tournament.
Before the Match Play Championship, the Lobos won their second straight Landfall Tradition title Oct. 29-31 in Wilmington, N.C. New Mexico also placed in the top 10 in its first three tournaments, taking second at the Dick McGuire Invitational, seventh at the Stanford Intercollegiate and eighth at the NCAA Fall Preview.
Individually, Kailin Downs was named the Mountain West Golfer of the Month in September and October.