Dec. 7, 2011
The University of New Mexico women’s golf team ended its fall season Nov. 2, with an eighth-place finish at the 38th Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas. The Lobos’ spring season begins Feb. 6, 2012, at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational in Tucson.
LOBOS SIGN KNOPF SISTERS – Head coach Jill Trujillo announced that Ira (EAR-uh) and Xenia Knopf (ZEEN-ya ka-nawpf) have signed national letters of intent to attend UNM in the fall of 2012.
Born 14 months apart, the natives of Schwalbach, Germany, are excellent students. Xenia, the oldest, has a 3.7 high school grade-point-average, while younger sister Ira has a 3.8 GPA. Both are interested in majoring in Pharmacy or Marketing at UNM.
The Knopfs will graduate from Heinrich von Kleist Schule in Eschborn, Germany, in the spring of 2012.
2011 FALL SEASON TOURNAMENT RECAPS
BRANCH LAW FIRM DICK McGUIRE (Sept. 25-26) – A clutch putt on the penultimate hole made University of New Mexico sophomore Sofia Hoglund the improbable winner of the 32nd Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational played at the University of New Mexico Championship Course (par 73, 6,187 yards).
Playing as an individual, Hoglund drained a breaking downhill 35-footer for birdie on the par-3 7th to seal her first collegiate victory. It was Hoglund’s lone birdie in a round of 77 (4-over), but enough to edge Baylor’s Hayley Davis by one shot. Davis started the final round six shots behind Hoglund.
“It was a tough day,” said Hoglund, who took a two-shot lead into the final round. “That putt would have gone past by six or seven feet if it didn’t hit the hole. Obviously, I’m very happy.”
Hoglund finished at 3-under 216 (71-68-77). Her best finish in five previous tournaments as a Lobo was a tie for 59th. Hoglund’s stroke average in 2010-11 was 81.71 for 14 rounds.
A native of Kokkola, Finland, Hoglund is the sixth Lobo to take home the title, joining Pat Park (1962-63), Kristi Albers (1984), Tracy May (1994), Kailin Downs (2003) and Jodi Ewart (2008).
As it turned out, Hoglund was nearly contested by one of her Lobo teammates. Fellow sophomore Sammi Stevens shot a par 73 (two birdies, two bogeys) to finish in third at 218 (1-under).
For Stevens, she set UNM personal bests for highest finish and lowest 54-hole total. It is also the first time the sophomore has finished under par in 12 collegiate tournaments.
“Sofia and Sammi were just tremendous,” said UNM head coach Jill Trujillo. “Hopefully, these types of performances will continue.”
As a team, UNM finished eighth in the 18-team field at 29-over 905 (305-298-302). Baylor held off TCU, Denver and Northwestern to claim the championship at 887 (1-over).
Lobo junior Beth Buchner tied for 33rd at 227 (77-72-78) followed by seniors Rebecca Hellbom (232, 60th) and Sarah Salvo (233, T61st), and sophomore Manon De Roey (234, T66th).
WINDY CITY COLLEGIATE (Oct. 3-4) – Less than 24 hours after shooting one of the best rounds of the Windy City Collegiate Championship, the Lobos endured one of the worst as they ended in a tie for 12th place at the Glen View Club (par 72, 6,333 yards) in Glen View, Ill.
After firing a 6-over 294 in round two, New Mexico began the final round in a tie for fourth with host Northwestern. However, a 19-over 307 dropped the Lobos eight places in the standings. UNM (304-294-307) and Purdue tied for 12th in a 15-team field that featured six teams ranked in the top-25 of the latest Golf World/NGCA poll.
No. 19 Oklahoma State (882) edged 12th-ranked Arizona by one shot and Ohio State by two strokes to take the team title.
The final standings were compact as the Lobos were just seven shots behind fourth-place finisher TCU.
UNM was hanging around the upper part of the team standings for the first half of the day. After losing seven shots on the first five holes, the Lobos played par golf the rest of the front nine and remained in a tie for fourth place at the turn.
The back nine was a different story, though as New Mexico gave back 12 strokes, including a pair of harmful double bogeys on 18.
UNM sophomore Sammi Stevens continued her steady play in the fall season. She shot 74 in the final round to finish in a tie for 11th at 5-over 221 (77-70-74).
Senior Rebecca Hellbom (77-75-75) and sophomore Manon De Roey tied for 31st at 227. De Roey (73-75-79) was stung by one of those double bogeys on the final hole. Sophomore Sofia Hoglund tied for 53rd at 231 (77-74-80). Three double bogeys on par 4s were costly. Junior Beth Buchner tied for 66th at 236 (80-77-79).
Arizona’s Isabelle Boineau and Kelsey Vines from Oklahoma State shared medalist honors at 2-under 214.
BERNING CLASSIC (Oct. 16-18) – Led by junior Beth Buchner’s career-low round of 69, the New Mexico finished in fifth place earlier at the Susie Berning Maxwell Classic in Norman, Okla.
Playing on a cold and blustery day at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club course (par 72, 6,327 yards), UNM tied host and winner Oklahoma for the second-lowest score (300) among the 17 teams to finish at 23-over 887 (289-298-300).
The Lobos finished nine shots behind OU (878). The Sooners edged Texas Tech (879) by one shot.
Buchner, who started the day in a tie for 22nd, vaulted into a tie for third (217) after a round that featured four birdies (1, 2, 8 and 13) and just one bogey. Her previous low 18 was a 71 at the 2010 Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. Buchner also recorded personal bests for best score in relation to par (+1), low 54-hole total (74-74-69=217) and best finish (tie for 3rd).
Buchner’s performance was particularly impressive considering the average score of the 90-player field in the final round was 78.43.
As a team, UNM was 10-over after its first nine holes, but lost just one shot over the final nine. A shotgun format was used for the final round.
“Beth was tremendous, especially in some challenging conditions,” said head coach Jill Trujillo. “We had a rocky start, but I like the way we held it together. I can see improvement.”
Sophomore Sofia Hoglund fell to a 78 and ended in a tie for 10th place at 5-over 221 (70-73-78). A double bogey on her first hole began a rocky day for the Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire winner.
Senior Rebecca Hellbom tied for 12th at 222 (71-74-77). She was 2-over after 12 holes, but dropped three shots on the final six holes to finish with a 77. Sophomore Manon De Roey finished in a tie for 36th at 13-over 229 (74-79-76). She navigated the final nine holes in 1-under after playing the first nine in 5-over. Sophomore Sammi Stevens shot 78 to end at 231 (76-77-78) and tie for 45th.
Oklahoma’s Anne Tanguay won the individual title by three shots at 6-under 210 (72-67-71).
BETSY RAWLS LONGHORN INVITATIONAL (Oct. 31-Nov. 2) – New Mexico moved up three spots to finish in eighth place at the 38th Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas. UNM shot a 16-over 304 for a final total of 906 (299-303-304) at the University of Texas Golf Club (par 72, 6,344 yards).
Host and 20th-ranked Texas (880) claimed the team title by a 12 shots over Florida, Pepperdine and Tulsa (892).
Playing in warm and gusty conditions, the Lobos flirted with a top-five finish before falling back. New Mexico’s five golfers were a combined 12 over par on their last five holes.
“It was much better today considering the strong winds, but we have to finish stronger,” said UNM head coach Jill Trujillo. “We keep giving it away at the end. This team is so much better than the scores they have posted.”
Senior Rebecca Hellbom led the Lobos by finishing in 19th place at 9-over 225 (70-76-79). It could have been a lot better. Hellbom was just 1 over after the first 13 holes, but she dropped six strokes over the final five holes to finish with a 79. She started the final round in a tie for 11th.
Texas’ Nicole Vandermade shot a 69 to win the individual title at 2-under 214.
Sophomore Sofia Hoglund finished at 226 (74-75-77), tying for 22nd. Playing as an individual, sophomore Manon De Roey had a solid showing by placing in a tie for 27th at 227 (74-75-78).
Sophomore Sammi Stevens tied for 44th at 231 (78-76-77), but bogeyed three of her last six holes.
After struggling in her first two rounds, junior Beth Buchner shot 1-under 71 to tie for the third-best round of the day. Today’s average score among the 81-player field was 77.93. Buchner tied for 48th at 232 (81-80-71) after starting the day in a tie for 72nd. Senior Sarah Salvo also tied for 48th at 232 (77-76-79).