New Mexico Lobos Women’s Golf – At the Windy City Collegiate Classic
Where: Westmoreland Country Club – Wilmette, Ill. (NW of Chicago) – 6,291 yards, par-72
When: Monday (36 holes), Tuesday (18 holes) – 54-holes
New Mexico vs. the Field: Arizona, Georgia, Iowa State, Kentucky, Miami, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, Tulane, USC, Wisconsin
The Lobos: Ingrid Gutierrez, Katerina Jaeger, Alexandra Moisand, Eva Saulnier, Kalyn Thayer
WILMETTE, Ill. — Once again, Lobo Coach Jill Trujillo is testing her young New Mexico Lobos.
And it’s possible that Trujillo’s Lobos know exactly who to chase in the 15-team Windy City Collegiate Classic: the Wildcats.
But which ones?
In this challenging field, maybe you need to start by looking at the host team: the Northwestern Wildcats, the team that rolled out of Albuquerque last month as the champions of UNM’s Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational.
The Wildcats were ranked No. 5 in the Oct. 3 Golfweek rankings. Northwestern also is coming off back-to-back 15th-place finishes in the NCAA championships. This is a solid golf program.
The Westmoreland Country Club might not be a true home-turf advantage for Northwestern, but the Wildcats surely have played those links more than anyone else coming to Chicago for the 54-hole event – including the New Mexico Lobos.
However, Northwestern won’t be the favorite in its own tournament, if you simply go by Golfweek’s poll. The Wildcats from Arizona are ranked No. 3 on the list.
And there are other loaded teams in this event. Southern California is ranked No. 7 and Oklahoma State hold down the No. 10 spot. That’s four teams in the Top Ten. It will be a tough testing ground for New Mexico, but also an opportunity to make some noise on the national level.
The Lobos five-player roster will consist of Ingrid Gutierrez, Katerina Jaeger, Alexandra Moisand, Eva Saulnier and Kalyn Thayer.
If you go by rankings and performances so far in the fall of 2014, this appears to be a four-horse race between Arizona, Oklahoma State, Southern Cal and Northwestern.
All four teams are coming off solid performances in the Annika Intercollegiate held Sept. 28-30 in Orlando, Fla. South Carolina won that event, but Arizona was second, Oklahoma State was third, Southern Cal was sixth and Northwestern finished seventh. And each of those four teams did not post a team score over 300 during the tournament.
Arizona and Northwestern were separated by ten shots – 861 to 871. Those ten shots were formed by four scorecards over three rounds. It was tight.
The USC Trojans, who were No. 1 in the nation most of 2013-14, are the defending champions at the Windy City Classic. USC had nine tournament wins in 2013-14 including the program’s tenth NCAA regional title.
The Trojans were looking up at a few teams at the Annika Intercollegiate, but USC was playing without its No. 1 player, Annie Park, who was playing in the LPGA Q School in Florida this past week. Park’s addition obviously makes the USC lineup stronger and Parks will be joined by senior Doris Chen and 2014 All-American Karen Chung.
Parks was the only player at her LPGA Stage II level to shoot under par in all four rounds. She finished third in the event to advance to the Q School finals.
The Lobos are without their No. 1 player as Manon Molle is still out with a fracture in her foot. The Windy City field also includes Ohio State, Tulane and Iowa State who all advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2014.
Arizona had the tournament medalist last year in Lindsey Weaver, now a junior. The Arizona Wildcats finished third at the Windy City in 2013.
Westmoreland Country Club: Founded in 1911, this course has played host to the Western Open, the Western Amateur and both the Chicago District Golf Association’s Women’s Championship and USGA Women’s Amateur Championship. The original 1912 course design by William Watson has undergone several renovations, most recently by Arthur Hills in 1993.