March 25, 2010
The 22nd-ranked University of New Mexico women’s golf team participates in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational this weekend. The 54-hole tournament will be played Friday through Sunday at the University of Texas Golf Club (par 72, 6,324 yards) in Austin.
THE COMPETITION – The 16-team field features eight schools ranked in the top-30 of the March 22 Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. No. 22 UNM joins No. 2 UCLA, No. 8 Arizona, No. 12 Stanford, No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 23 Vanderbilt, No. 25 TCU and No. 26 UC Davis, plus Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Tulsa, UT Chattanooga and Washington in the field.
LOBO LINEUP – Head coach Jill Trujillo will send the following players to Texas: 1) Jodi Ewart, 2) Sarah Salvo, 3) Rebecca Hellbom, 4) Bethany Buchner and 5) Britney Choy.
LAST YEAR AT THE BETSY RAWLS — The Lobos finished fourth at 891. No. 14 Purdue took the title in the 17-team field at 872. Top-ranked Arizona State was second at 878 followed by No. 19 Arkansas at 880. The Lobos entered the tournament ranked 34th in the nation in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index poll, but had a better showing than three teams ranked ahead of them. UNM finished six shots ahead of No. 10 Duke and 31 strokes better than 13th-ranked Vanderbilt. No. 23 Arizona finished 15th at 932.
Jodi Ewart finished in third place at 1-under 215 after a 73 in the final round. Purdue’s Maria Hernandez won the individual title at 6-under 210.
Senior Mikaela Backstedt recorded her best tournament of the season in relation to par. Backstedt finished at 7-over 222 (75-72-75), tying for 14th. Britney Choy tied for 29th at 227 (74-75-78). Morgan Grantham (78-81-75) and Rebecca Hellbom (73-79-82) tied for 50th at 234. Sarah Salvo, competing as an individual, finished at 247 (84-81-82), tying for 83rd.
LOBOS WON HERE TWO YEARS AGO — The 22nd-ranked Lobos won the 2008 Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational, finishing the 36-hole event one shot better than fifth-ranked Florida. The tournament was shortened to 36 holes after the second round was cancelled due to heavy rains. UNM shot a 47-over par 623. Three Lobos finished in the top-5 individually.
EWART RANKED 4TH NATIONALLY — According to the March 23 Golfstat Cup standings, Lobo senior Jodi Ewart is ranked as the No. 4 women’s golfer in the nation. She is having a spectacular season:
current scoring average of 71.12, which is more than 1.5 strokes lower than her own school record of 72.68 set last season
has not won a tournament this season, but has finished second three times in six tournaments
6 of her 17 rounds have been in the 60s (3 68 and 3 69) after having five in the 60s her first three seasons (94 rounds)
currently 1st in the nation in Greens in Regulation (84.1%) and 2nd in par-4 scoring (3.98)
BRUIN WAVE INVITATIONAL RECAP – Led by Jodi Ewart’s 4-under 68 and second-place individual finish, the 21st-ranked University of New Mexico women’s golf team ended in sixth place at the Bruin Wave Invitational in Santa Clarita, Calif.
Ewart had five birdies and a bogey in tying a career-low round. She finished at 5-under 211, three shots behind Pepperdine’s Danielle Kang.
The Lobos shot an even-par 288 on the final day, the third-lowest round among the 18-team field playing at the Robinson Ranch Golf Club (par 72, 6,282 yards). UNM finished at 19-over 883 (295-300-288). The round could have been even better as the Lobos played the front nine in 7-under, but were 7-over on the back. Southern Cal rallied past top-ranked UCLA for the team title at 866.
Ewart shot 68 as a freshman at the UNLV Spring Invitational. Her score ties for the 6th-best round in school history while 4-under-par ties for 8th-best at UNM.
UNM senior Britney Choy shot 72 to finish in a tie for 15th at 219 (72-75-72). Sophomore Sarah Salvo tied for 40th at 227 (75-78-74). Sophomore Rebecca Hellbom tied for 45th at 229 (79-75-74) while freshman Bethany Buchner tied for 61st at 235 (79-75-81).