Oct. 24, 2010
The University of New Mexico women’s golf team is back on the links Monday when it participates in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown. The field will play 18 holes through Wednesday at the Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev. UNLV is the host. Live stats will be available at GolfStat.com.
THE COMPETITORS – The 17-team field includes UNM, host UNLV, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado State, East Carolina, Idaho, Kent State, Louisville, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, San Diego State, San Jose State, UC Irvine, Washington and Washington State. In the latest GolfWeek rankings, Arizona is ranked No. 11, Arkansas 15th, Kent State 25th and Oregon 30th. The Lobos are 51st.
LOBO LINEUP – Head coach Manon de Roey and Sammi Stevens. Freshman Sofia Hoglund will play as an individual.
UNM HISTORY AT THE SHOWDOWN – The Lobos’ last appearance in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown was October of 2007 when they finished fifth out of 18 schools at 886 (298-300-288). New Mexico did take the team title – out of 15 participants – in 2002 (306-283-291=880) and 2003 (288-288-293=869).
WINDY CITY RECAP – New Mexico finished eighth at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in Highland Park, Ill., Oct. 4-5. UNM shot a 23-over 307 in the final round to finish with a 54-hole total of 921 at the Northmoor Country Club.
UNM finished 45 shots behind No. 9 Purdue, which won its third straight Windy City team title at 876. Iowa State was second in the 11-team field at 883.
The Lobos started the final round like they could make a run at a top-five finish. UNM made the turn at 8-over, but dropped 15 shots on the back nine.
For the first time in her career, junior Sarah Salvo was New Mexico’s top finisher. Salvo carded a 3-over 74 in the last round to tie for 15th place at 225 (73-78-74). It’s also the highest finish of Salvo’s career.
Junior Rebecca Hellbom tied for 19th at 229 (77-74-78). She was 1-over through 12 holes in the final round, but played the last six holes in 6-over. Hellbom’s scoring average is 74.89 for nine rounds this season, but 78.33 in the final round of UNM’s first three tournaments.
Purdue’s Numa Gulyanamitta won the individual title at 215 (72-73-70), two shots better than TCU’s Brooke Beeler and Prima Thammaraks from Iowa State.
Lobo sophomore Manon de Roey (78-80-78) finished at 236, tying for 40th place.
HEAD COACH Jill Trujillo – A 1990 UNM graduate and women’s golf letterwinner from 1987-90, Jill Trujillo is in her fourth season in charge of the women’s golf program. Trujillo has led New Mexico to five team titles, including three consecutive Mountain West Conference championships from 2008-10. She was named the 2007-08 MWC Coach of the Year. Trujillo was head coach when UNM advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2007 at Daytona Beach. The Lobos finished 22nd at the Championships in 2007, 19th in 2009 and tied for 16th in 2010.