April 7, 2010
The 24th-ranked University of New Mexico women’s golf team participates in the PING/ASU Invitational this weekend. The 54-hole tournament will be played Friday through Sunday at the ASU Karsten Golf Course (par 72, 6,230 yards) in Tempe. Arizona State is the host. Live stats are available at GolfStat.com.
THE COMPETITION – The 17-team field features 12 schools ranked in the top-30 of the March 31 Golfstat.com rankings. No. 24 UNM joins No. 5 Alabama, No. 7 Arizona, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 14 California, No. 21 Denver, No. 26 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 8 Purdue, No. 43 San Jose State, No. 13 Stanford, No. 31 Texas, No. 49 Tulsa, No. 1 UCLA, No. 6 USC, No. 36 Washington and No. 110 Washington.
LOBO LINEUP – Head coach Jill Trujillo will send the following players: seniors Jodi Ewart and Britney Choy, sophomores Rebecca Hellbom and Sarah Salvo and freshman Bethany Buchner. Sophomore Erin Miller will compete as an individual.
LAST YEAR AT THE PING – The Lobos shot a 4-over-par 292 in the final round – its low 18 of the tournament – to finish in fifth place on the par-72, 6,230-yard Karsten Golf Course.
What stood out is the Lobos had a higher finish than seven teams positioned higher in the latest Golfstat.com national rankings, including No. 1 UCLA. UNM was at 893. The Bruins finished sixth at 897. UNM also had a better tournament than No. 14 Pepperdine, No. 15 Vanderbilt, No. 17 California, No. 20 Denver, No. 25 Stanford and No. 27 Arizona.
The only schools to finish ahead of UNM were winner and 5th-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 12 Purdue, No. 2 Arizona State and No. 4 Southern California.
New Mexico was anchored by junior Jodi Ewart, who tied for fourth at 2-under 214 (70-73-71). Ewart made consecutive birdies at 14 and 15 that led to a final round 71 and her sixth top-7 finish in seven tournaments in 2008-09. Purdue’s Maria Hernandez was the individual winner at 5-under 211.
Lobo junior Britney Choy tied for 20th at 225 (76-75-74) for her best finish since an eighth-place tie at the Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque last September.
Freshman Rebecca Hellbom posted a lower number for the third straight day, shooting 73, which tied for her second-lowest round of the season. Hellbom tied for 27th at 227 (78-76-73).
Senior Morgan Grantham had a solid final round at 2-over 74. Mikaela Backstedt tied for 50th at 232 (77-79-76) while freshman Sarah Salvo, competing as an individual, tied for 70th at 237 (78-81-78).
EWART RANKED 6TH NATIONALLY – According to the March 30 Golfstat Cup standings, Lobo senior Jodi Ewart is ranked as the No. 6 women’s golfer in the nation. She is, indeed, having a spectacular season:
current scoring average of 71.75, which is nearly 1 stroke 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 seven tournaments
6 of her 20 rounds have been in the 60s (3 68s and 3 69s) after having five in the 60s her first three seasons (94 rounds)
currently 1st in the nation in Greens in Regulation (81.7%) and 3rd in par-4 scoring (4.03)
LONGHORN INVITATIONAL RECAP – The 22nd-ranked Lobos finished in ninth place at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas March 26-28. UNM shot a 32-over 320 in the final round – its highest score in 20 rounds this season – at the University of Texas Golf Club (par 72, 6,255 yards) for a 54-hole total of 925. UCLA won the 17-team tournament at 884.
After her two highest scores of the season, Lobo senior Jodi Ewart rebounded with a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 19th place at 10-over 226 (76-77-73). Her round was highlighted by an eagle-3 at the par-5, 459-yard fifth hole. The 226 is Ewart’s highest for 54 holes since her sophomore season.
The rest of the Lobos all shot in the 80s on a windy day in south Texas.
Sophomore Rebecca Hellbom tied for 33rd at 15-over 231 (76-73-82). Senior Britney Choy tied for 43rd at 18-over 234 (78-74-82). Sophomore Sarah Salvo tied for 54th at 21-over 237 (75-78-84) while freshman Bethany Buchner tied for 58th at 22-over 238 (79-76-83).
Texas A&M’s Sarah Zwartynski led wire-to-wire with a 3-under 213. She won by six shots and was the only golfer in the 90-player field to finish in red numbers.