New Mexico Lobos Women’s Golf at the 2014 Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational
Where: University of Texas Golf Club – Austin, Texas.
First-Round Team Leaders: 1- UNLV 284. 2- SMU 286. 3- Baylor 288. 4- Tulane 291. 4 (tie)- Texas 291. 4 (tie)- Iowa State 291.
Individual Leaders: 1- Haley Davis, Baylor, 65. 1 (tie)- Chonlada Chayanun, Iowa State, 65. 3- Alexandra Rossi, SMU, 66. 4- Dana Finkelstein, UNLV, 67.
AUSTIN, Texas – Lobo Coach Jill Trujillo was looking for a good start Sunday at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational and her two freshmen responded.
“Great play by our freshmen,” said the University of New Mexico women’s golf coach.
Ingrid Gutierrez carded a solid 74 Sunday over 18 holes at the University of Texas Golf Club and Alexandra Moisand also had a solid 75 on her first card. However, the freshmen didn’t get enough help from the three sophomores in the lineup and UNM fell into the No.14 spot in the 15-team field.
“Small mistakes will cost you on this course and we had a few,” said Trujillo. “We can’t make it harder than it is.”
The Lobos shot a 311 Sunday and find themselves 27 shots behind first-round leader UNLV which had a team card of 284. SMU is in second place at 286 and Baylor is third at 288. The top four individual cards off a five-person team form a team score each day.
If the first round accomplished anything for the Lobos – and the Mountain West – it targeted a team and an individual who appear poised to make a strong charge throughout the 2013-14 season.
The UNLV Rebels went 4-under-par as a team and Dana Finkelstein, the individual champion of the Lobos’ Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, fired a 67 to fall into the No. 4 spot two shots off the pace.
The individual lead is shared by Baylor’s Haley Davis and Iowa State’s Chonlada Chayanun, who both carded 65 over the first 18 holes. SMU’s Alexandra Rossi is in third place at 66. The Rebels also got a 69 from Harley Dubsky to help pace them to the first-round lead.
New Mexico sophomore Eva Saulnier had the third best card for UNM at 79 followed by Katerina Jaeger at 83 and Kalyn Thayer at 85.
Gutierrez was pretty steady on the day with two birdies and four bogeys. She got her birdies on the 318-yard, par-4 seventh hole and birdied the 170-yard, par-3 16th hole. Moisand also had four bogeys against a single birdie on the 346-yard, par-4 10th hole.
The Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational is being hosted by the University of Texas. The field includes Texas, Baylor, Indiana, Iowa State, Miami, Minnesota, SMU, San Diego State, Tulane, Tulsa, UC Irvine, UNC Wilmington, UNLV and UTSA. The SDSU Aztecs of the Mountain West are tied for ninth place at 299.
In the past two tournaments for UNM, the Lobos have posted their best round over the final 18 holes. In last week’s Windy City Collegiate, UNM cut 16 shots going from round two to the final round. In the Golfweek Conference Challenge, UNM cut 14 shots off its second round card.
The Lobos are still playing without their No. 1 golfer, Manon Molle.