Feb. 21, 2006
Final Results in PDF Format
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The 23rd-ranked University of New Mexico women’s golf team had an impressive showing in its second competition of the spring, finishing 10th at the Wildcat Invitational played at the Arizona National Golf Club (par 71, 6,166 yards) in Tucson. Complete results are available at www.golfstat.com.
Playing in an 18-team field that featured 15 ranked schools, including seven currently in the top-10, the Lobos completed the 54 holes at 24-over-par 876. However, they finished ahead of five teams – No. 4 Georgia, No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 15 Washington and No. 16 Stanford – that are ranked higher in the most recent Golfweek poll.
No. 9 Arizona State won the team title at 12-under 840, outdistancing top-ranked Duke by six shots.
The individual winner was Vanderbilt’s Jacqui Concolino, who fired a 5-under 66 in the final round to finish at 9-under 204, nipping Cal’s Sophia Sheridan by one shot.
Arguably the youngest team in the field with three freshmen and two sophomores, the Lobos were led by Mikaela Backstedt, who shot a 3-under 68 in the final round to tie for 11th at 1-under 212. The freshman sensation was playing in her first tournament of the spring after recovering from a broken left thumb suffered before Christmas.
Sophomore Alexandra Phelps (Albuquerque Eldorado HS) tied for 25th place at 4-over 217 while freshman Py Bengtsson was a shot behind at 218, tying for 31st.
Sophomore Giselle Claux had the misfortune of closing with two double bogeys to end in a tie for 63rd at 16-over 229. Freshman Morgan Grantham was 85th at 241, 28-over.
After playing two tournaments in nine days, the Lobos are off for nearly three weeks. The next competition is March 13-15 at the UNLV Spring Invitational in Las Vegas.