Oct. 6, 2007
Weekly Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The 10th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team will compete in the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational on Oct. 8-10 in Sammamish, Wash. Tournament action gets underway Monday and continues through Wednesday, Oct. 10 at the Sahalee Country Club Golf Course. The stellar 16-team field will play 18 holes each day. Tee times run from 9:00 a.m. PT on Monday and 10:00 a.m. PT Tuesday with a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. PT on Wednesday.
Ihlanfeldt Invitational History – The Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational is named for the founder of the Washington women’s golf program. One of the Pacific Northwest’s most honored golfers, Ihlanfeldt started the UW program in 1974. She never accepted payment for her work as the Huskies coach, instead donating her salary back to the program to fun scholarships. The tournament has been an annual event since 1981, when UCLA captured the first team title and Kellie Antolock from BYU took home the individual honors. Last year, UNM competed in the event and finished runners-up to Stanford. Mari Chun from Stanford won the individual trophy last year.
The Course – The Sahalee Country Club Golf Course is one of the top collegiate venues in the country. The course plays to a par-72 and 6,192 yards.
The Field – The 16-team field features four program’s in the top-10 including No. 3 USC, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 7 Arizona and No. 10 New Mexico. Altogether 10 of the 16 teams are ranked in the top-50 according to the Golweek poll. Competing are Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, California, Long Beach State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, Pepperdine, New Mexico, Stanford, UNLV, USC, San Francisco, Washington, Washington State.
Results/Media Coverage – Results and live scoring from the 2007 Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational can be obtained at www.GolfStat.com. A full Lobo recap and results of each round will be posted at www.GoLobos.com.
Lobos Ranked 10th Nationally – New Mexico women’s golf is ranked 10th according to the Golfweek rankings released today. The Lobos have three golfers ranked in the Top 50 individually including sophomore Jodi Ewart who is ranked 14th. Juniors Mikaela Backstedt and Py Bengtsson are 31st and 42nd respectively. UNM is coming off an eighth place finish at the 2007 Margaret Moses Branch NCAA Fall Preview held at the UNM Championship Golf Course earlier this week.
The Lobo Lineup – The Lobos will Jodi Ewart, Mikaela Backstedt, Py Bengtsson, Alexander Phelps and Giselle Claux. The lineup was set Friday after Claux sealed the final qualifying spot over junior Morgan Grantham. The Lobos look to improve on their second place finish at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational a year ago.
The Lobos return every golfer from last year’s team that made the school’s 13th appearance in the NCAA Championships. The Lobos finished 22nd out of 24 teams. UNM posted five top-five finishes in 11 tournaments a year ago. The Lobos are scheduled to compete in 10 tournaments this year with the hopes of playing in the national championships on their home course in May.
NCAA Fall Preview Recap – The University of New Mexico women’s golf team finished in a tie for eighth place at the Margaret Moses Branch NCAA Fall Preview being played at the UNM Championship Golf Course (par 73, 6,351 yards). The UNM Championship Course is the site of the 2008 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships. UNM hosts the event next May 20-23. The Lobos shot a 5-over 297 for a 54-hole of 888. UNM finished 28 strokes behind first-place Duke, the nation’s top-ranked team that led wire-to-wire.
The consistent Blue Devils shot a 5-under 287 for a total of 860 to edge Southern California by one stroke. The Trojans had the low round of the tournament with an 8-under 284 today. Southern Cal’s Dewi Claire Schreefel won the individual title at 15-under 204. She shot a 6-under 67 in the final round to outdistance Duke standout Amanda Blumenherst by four shots. Blumenherst also shot 67 on another perfect day in Albuquerque.
Sophomore Jodi Ewart was the top Lobos’ top finisher. She tied for 15th at 2-under 217 after a 1-under 72 today. Junior Mikaela Backstedt was even on her final round and finished in a tie for 21st at 221, 2-over for the tournament. Fellow junior Py Bengtsson shot 74 for the third straight day, tying for 25th at 3-over 222. Senior Giselle Claux, playing as an individual, finished in a tie for 69th at 232. Senior Alexandra Phelps had a 78 to tie for 74th (233, +14), while sophomore Morgan Grantham was at 240, tying for 83rd.
New Leadership For Lobos – Former Lobo and assistant coach Jill Trujillo was promoted to head coach over the summer after spending most of the 2007 spring semester as the Lobos’ interim head coach. Trujillo took over a nationally respected program last year and helped guide UNM to its 15th straight NCAA postseason appearance and 13th showing at the NCAA Championships. Trujillo will be assisted by former Lobo Shelly Schlagel.
Ewart Ranked Among Nation’s Best – Sophomore Jodi Ewart is currently the 14th ranked player in the women’s college game according to Golfweek. Ewart tied for 15th at the NCAA Fall Preview last month and is coming off one of the greatest seasons in school history. The England native earned Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors following the 2006-07 season. Ewart finished in the top-10 on six occasions on her way to setting a new UNM scoring record. Ewart’s 73.35 stroke average is the best by a Lobo, eclipsing the previous mark of 73.40 set by her teammate, Mikaela Backstedt, in 2005-06.
National Rankings – UNM enters the month of October ranked 10th according to the most recent Golfweek poll. The Lobos finished the 2006-07 academic year ranked 21st in the nation according to the final Golfweek poll. UNM was ranked in the top-25 all of last season and made a record five top-5 finishes. The Lobos have consistently ranked among the nation’s best throughout the history of the program.
Senior Leadership – New Mexico returns two seniors in Giselle Claux and Alexandra Phelps. Claux, native of Lima, Peru, joined the Lobo women’s golf program in 2004. She has competed in 27 career events and has a 77.13 scoring average. Phelps, from Eldorado High School in Albuquerque, has played 76 rounds as a Lobo and enters her senior season with a 77.71 scoring average. Over the summer, Phelps captured her third Albuquerque City Women’s Amateur championship.
Choy Out For Fall – Sophomore Britney Choy will sit out the fall semester after having back surgery over the summer. The native of Wahiawa, Hawai’I participated in two tournaments as a true freshman including the Dick McGuire Invitational and the PING/Arizona State Invitational. UNM looks for Choy to be healthy for the spring.