April 16, 2007
Mountain West Conference Championship Release in PDF Format
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The 16th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team will compete in the Mountain West Conference Championship on April 19-21 in St. George, Utah. The Lobos have won four conference championships from 2000-03 and hope to reclaim the team title this year. UNM returns a talented team, including sophomores Py Bengtsson and Mikaela Backstedt. Bengtsson and Backstedt both tied for first last year and have competed in every tournament preparing for another run at the title. UNM has never finished below second and enters the championship with the highest team ranking.
The Course: The MWC Championship will be held at the Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club in St. George, Utah. The three-day event is 54-holes and will be played on a par 71-6,300 yard course.
The Field: The tournament field includes a strong group of conference contenders. UNM has more MWC titles than any other team and enters the event ranked 16th. The 17th-ranked BYU Cougars and the 28th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs are the only other two programs ranked according to Golfweek. The remaining field includes UNLV, Colorado State, San Diego State and Wyoming.
The Lineup: The Lobos return to their orginial lineup from the start of the spring after making minor adjustments over the last two weeks. UNM will travel Alexandra Phelps, Giselle Claux, Mikaela Backstedt, Py Bengtsson and Jodi Ewart. Complete Results: Live scoring of the event can be found at www.Golfstat.com, with a UNM recap posted at www.GoLobos.com following each day.
Lobo Conference Tournament History: Since its membership in a conference, be it the High Country Athletic, the Western Athletic or now the Mountain West, New Mexico has set the standard in conference action by capturing 13 titles in 25 years.
The Lobos won the first four Mountain West Conference championships (2000-03) and have finished second to UNLV the past three years. UNM also claimed four consecutive Western Athletic Conference titles from 1993-96.
When it came to the awards, however, UNM made a great showing among the conference with two all-conference members, marking the sixth straight year the Lobos have placed at least two student-athletes on the all-conference squad.
Kailin Downs made her fourth appearance on the team, becoming the first player in Mountain West Conference history to be named to the all-league team four times.
Individually, 10 Lobos have captured conference titles starting with Dana Howe at the 1983 High Country championships. MWC winners include Katrina Leckovic in 2003 and Ryley Webb in 2001.
The Lobos have dominated the MWC’s short history with numerous accolades. Head coach Jackie Booth has been chosen MWC Coach of the Year three times and four players have earned Freshman of the Year honors (Kristi Larsen, Kailin Downs, Ashley Rollins, Mikaela Backstedt).
UNM has been awarded the Player of the Year on three occasions. Ryley Webb won the inaugural honor in 2000, while Downs garnered the award in 2002 and 2003. In its 24-year conference history, UNM players have captured Player of the Year honors five times and Freshman of the Year honors eight times. Lobo coaches have been named Coach of the Year six times.
Over the years, New Mexico women’s golf has dominated conference tournament play, regardless of which conference it was members of at the time. Since 1982, UNM has won the conference title an unprecedented 13 times and it has taken second on seven occasions.
UNM’s first conference championship arrived in 1982 as a member of the High Country Athletic Conference. The Lobos went on to win four more HCAC titles before joining the WAC in 1991. UNM claimed two InterMountain-AIAW Regional titles (1980, 1981) before joining the HCAC in 1982.
Ewart Ranked Among Nations Best: Freshman Jodi Ewart is currently the 17th ranked player in the women’s college game according to Golfweek. Ewart ranks second in the Mountain West Conference with a 72.92 scoring average through 24 rounds. Ewart has played in every tournament this year and is coming off two top-10 finishes heading into the MWC Championship. In eight events for UNM, Ewart has cracked the top-10 four times with her best finish of second at the Edean Ihlanfedt Invitational.
PING/Arizona State Invitational (March 30 – April 1): The 15th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team tied for ninth place at the PING/ASU Invitational held at the par 72, 6,230-yard Karsten Golf Course. The Lobos carded rounds of 299-297-299 for a team total of 895. The tournament concluded the regular season and leads UNM into the conference championship.
Freshman Jodi Ewart led UNM after firing a three-day score of 214. Ewart was even par 72 in the final round and placed ninth. Sophomore Mikaela Backstedt shot a 72 and finished tied for 15th. Junior Alexandra Phelps was 7-over par 79 and carded a tournament total of 239 to tie for 74th. Sophomore Morgan Grantham had her best round of the event in the finals after shooting a 4-over par 76 and was 60th. Sophomore Py Bengtsson recorded a 231 total and shot a 79 in the finals. Bengtsson closed out play tied for 55th. Freshman Britney Choy tied for 39th and was 10-over par 226. Choy concluded the tournament with rounds of 77-74-75.
UNLV Spring Invitational (March 12-14): The 16th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team shot a 7-under par 857 for the three-day event to earn a second place finish at the UNLV Spring Invitational. The Lobos finished the tournament 10 shots behind BYU, who took home the team title. UNM completed its third tournament at the par 72, 6,199 yard Boulder Creek Golf Club and had two top-15 finishes individually.
Freshman Jodi Ewart (68-70-74=212) had the highest finish for UNM after tying for fifth with a 74 in the final round. Sophomore Mikaela Backstedt (71-70-74=215) also fired a 2-over par 74 and tied for 14th individually. Junior Alexandra Phelps carded a tournament total of 219 after shooting rounds of 71, 75 and a 73 on the final day. Phelps finished in a tie for 22nd. Junior Giselle Claux and sophomore Py Bengtsson both shot 4-under par 68 in the finals to pace the Lobos and help the team jump into second place. Claux (80-75-68=223) continued to improve her game throughout the tournament and finished in a tie for 38th. Bengtsson shot a 5-over par after three rounds and tied for 29th.
UCF Challenge (March 5-6): The No. 11th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team finished tied for eighth in the final round of the UCF Challenge held Orlando, Fla. The Lobos shot a 58-over par 922 in the 54-hole event held at the par 72, 6,233 yard Grand Cypress Golf Club. UNM had its best round of the tournament in the finals and tied Alabama on the leaderboard. Duke captured the team championship after crushing the competition by 26 shots.
Freshman Jodi Ewart (76-75-74=225) tied 15th after shooting a 74 in the finals. Sophomore Py Bengtsson (77-80-75=232) had her best round of the tournament after firing a 3-over par 75 on the final day. Sophomore Mikaela Backstedt (74-79-80=233) came in tied for 36th, while junior Alexandra Phelps (80-78-76-234) was 18-over par and tied for 39th. Junior Giselle Claux (81-78-81=240) was 24-over par and tied for 56th.
Wildcat Invitational (Feb. 26-27): The No. 14th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team shot a 17-over par 301 in the finals of the Arizona Wildcat Invitational to tie for fifth place at the par 71-6,238 yard Arizona National Golf Club. The Lobos conclude their first tournament of the spring and were led by junior Giselle Claux. Claux carded a 71 to finish in 11th place. The team title went to Arizona State at 16-over par, eight strokes in front of Duke. Claux (72-76-71=219) was even par in the finals, moving up three places to 11th.
Freshman Jodi Ewart (72-77-71=220) made the biggest leap in the individual standings for UNM. Ewart fired an even par 71 in the finals to move from a tie at 23rd to sole possession of the 16th spot.
Junior Alexandra Phelps (80-71-82=233) carded an 82 Tuesday falling from into a tie for 47th. Sophomore Py Bengtsson (84-72-79=235) recorded a tournament total of 235 after shooting a 79. The final Lobo to compete was sophomore Mikaela Backstedt. Backstedt shot an 80 in the finals but did not have a tournament total after being disqualified in the second round Monday afternoon.