Sept. 11, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Lobo Women`s Golf
What: Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic
When/Where: Sept. 14-15, Fort Collins, Colo.
Online: Live Scoring on Golfstat.com
2009-10 Roster: Jodi Ewart, Sr.; Britney Choy, Sr.; Jordan Kennon, Jr.; Rebecca Hellbom, So.; Erin Miller, So.; Sarah Salvo, So.; Bethany Buchner, Fr.
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
What’s not to like about the 2009-10 University of New Mexico women’s golf team?
You got senior Jodi Ewart, who needs one bag for her clubs and two more bags to carry around all her hardware. You got Britney Choy, another talented and focused senior, who is gung-ho to have her best season ever and break into the NCAA Top 50. She was UNM’s top finisher in the 2009 NCAA Championships.
You got sophomore Rebecca Hellbom, whose game is almost as pure as her singing voice and you have Sarah Salvo, another one of the top sophomores in the Mountain West Conference.
Then you toss in a promising freshman in Bethany Buchner, quality depth from sophomore Erin Miller and junior Jordan Kennon, unleash them on one of the nation’s top collegiate courses, and what you have in the making is potentially a third s
straight MWC title for the Lobo women.
Or maybe even more….
“This team knows what it takes to get it to the level we want which is winning a conference championship, getting to nationals and having a high finish at nationals,” said Jill Trujillo, in her third season as the Lobos` head coach. “But our number one goal here at all times is to win a national championship.
“Our older players believe that can happen and the challenge is for them to make sure the younger players have the same belief. It`s not just what might happen; it`s what can and will happen.”
Oh, yeah, let’s not forget another key ingredient to this year’s team: coach Trujillo, arguably, probably, the best coach in the MWC and one of the best in the nation.
Trujillo has led New Mexico to four team titles, including the 2008 and 2009 Mountain West Conference Championships. She was named the 2007-08 MWC Coach of the Year.
The Lobo letterwinner from 1987-90 was named the 2009 Central Region Coach of The Year by the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional membership. Her Lobos finished ranked No. 22 in 2009 and Ewart was ranked No. 9 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.
“Jill is awesome,” said Choy. “She isn’t just a great coach. She is like your best friend. She helps you so much with your golf game, with your mental game, and anything you might have to deal with off the course.”
Trujillo also deals with what the Lobos have to face on the course. That’s one reason the Lobos charged to their second straight MWC title in 2009 and went on to finish 19th at the NCAA Championships and finished sixth at an NCAA regional.
Another reason is an obvious one: The Lobos are a very good team led by an exceptional golfer in Ewart, who finished third at the 2009 NCAA Central Regional.
The UNM senior will be looking for her fourth straight MWC Player of The Year award in the spring of 2010. She was a first team All-American in 2009 and a huge reason the Lobos won both the Dick McGuire Invitational and the MWC title last season.
“It’s an honor to be able to coach the golfer who might go down as the best in school history,” said Trujillo. “But Jodi isn’t out there for accolades and awards. It’s not just Player of The Year, McGuire champion, first team All-American for Jodi. Those aren’t the first things on her mind.
“She starts with precise things, little things, like swing, scoring average, putting, course management. She works hard on the little things about golf and that hard work brings her that success. The team watches her practice every day and they know how hard she works and the type of attitude she takes onto the course.”
Ewart obviously has led by example. She led the MWC in stroke average last season with a school-record 72.68 average. She had six top-five finishes including wins at the McGuire and the Arizona Invitational. She would like to win a few more tourneys in 2009-10.
“There is a girl (Maria Hernandez), who just graduated from Purdue,” said Ewart. “She won six tournaments in her senior year, including the national championship. She’s kind of my hero.”
Hernandez might have set a standard and a six-pack of wins for Ewart to shoot at, but Coach Trujillo says Ewart and Choy set standards for Lobos. “Players like Jodi and Britney set a standard for what we look for in golfers at New Mexico,” said Trujillo.
That standard obviously is excellence on the course and accountability off the course as a student and a citizen. These qualities also help bring the Lobos together as a team. These focused student-athletes care about each other and work hard as individuals in order to build team success.
“It’s an individual sport in many ways, but chemistry is important,” said Choy. “We care about each other and that helps you play for each other. We all want the team to succeed.”
Said Ewart: “Our chemistry is good. We get along really well, no problems whatsoever. In terms of golf, we have good depth and our fourth and fifth spots will score very well for us this season.”
The Lobos open their 2009 fall season Monday at the Ptarmigan/CSU Rams Fall Classic. They return to the UNM Championship Course for the Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational on Sept. 19-20.
If Trujillo has a problem this season, it might be in forming the top five that make up a team’s score during a tournament. This is a balanced group of Lobos that has the talent to make up for the loss of seniors Mikaela Backstedt and Morgan Grantham — UNM`s No. 4 and No. 5 scorers in the 2009 NCAA finals.
“They all made a lot of improvement over the summer and they are pushing each other,” said Trujillo. “Britney is on Jodi’s heels. Britney wants the same things as Jodi. Rebecca is on Britney’s heels and Sarah is on Rebecca’s heels and down the line.”
What all these Lobos want really is the same thing: individual excellence that leads to team success. The Lobos have the balance and the drive. They have the coach. They have the course and they have the leaders.
“Britney and I are trying to take on leadership roles,” said Ewart. “I think that might be just going out and showing the other girls our work ethic and how much we want it.
“I think everyone knows what they have to do, so I don’t think we have to get vocal. If you work as hard as you can and play as hard as you can, you will benefit the team. I think we`re going to have a great year.”
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner