United Athletic Conference

NM State's Amelia McKee has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Golfer of the Week for September 29 through October 6.

 

McKee, a junior from Spring, Texas, was the top finishing WAC golfer at the Aggie Invitational, taking second with a 6-under-par 210 and finishing just two strokes out of the lead. Playing on the Aggies' home course, she posted three-straight subpar rounds. After shooting a 1-under-par 71 in the opening round, she had her best round of the week on the second day, firing a 3-under-par 69. She followed that up with a 2-under-par 70 on the final day to move up one spot for the runner-up finish. As a team, the Aggies finished just one stroke behind UIW, shooting an even-par 864.

 

Other nominees: Dixie State's Abby Livingston led the Trailblazers at the Aggie Invitational, shooting a 1-over-par 217 to record her second collegiate top-10 finish, taking 10th among 104 golfers … Seattle U's Keisha Lugito took third at the Aggie Invitational, finishing with a 4-under-par 212 to trail the leader by just four strokes … UT Rio Grande Valley's Sophia Tejada posted a career-low 6-over-par 222 with a career-low 2-under-par 70 in the final round of the Aggie Invitational.

 

The schedule starts on Friday with Grand Canyon traveling to Colorado for the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, hosted by University of Denver. Chicago State begins competition on Saturday at the Bradley Coyote Creek Classic in Bartonville, Ill. Seattle U hosts the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational beginning on Monday and the Redhawks will be joined by California Baptist and Utah Valley at the event. Lamar, NM State and Sam Houston will all be in Tulsa for the Dale McNamara Invitational while Stephen F. Austin and Tarleton will meet up in Jonesboro, Ark. for the Lady Red Wolves Classic.

 

Sam Houston's Jennifer Herbst is the leader in the WAC in stroke average at 70.9 strokes per round. Teammates Zulaikah Nasser and Anna Takahaski are second and third at 71.1 and 72.3 respectfully. As a team, SHSU is first at 288.1, followed by California Baptist (293.7) and Seattle U (295.3).

 

The WAC will be in a unique situation this season with two teams having earned automatic qualifications to NCAA Regionals in May. NM State will be the defending WAC champions, having won the 2021 Championship by seven strokes at Boulder Creek GC before earning a top-10 finish at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional. Sam Houston also earned an automatic selection after winning the Southland Conference Championship by 19 strokes over Central Arkansas. The Bearkats were unable to compete in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional after wet weather made the course unplayable. Senior Hanna Alberto still advanced to the NCAA Championship, becoming the first SHSU golfer to play at the final site.  

 

On Jan. 14, the WAC announced the addition of five new schools in the upcoming years. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah were all offered and accepted membership invitations. With the addition, the WAC now has six schools in Texas, more than any other conference in the country, and will have three schools in Utah, also a national best. The four Texas schools joined the league on July 1, 2021 and Southern Utah will follow 365 days later, officially joining the WAC on July 1, 2022.

 

Originally the site for the canceled 2020 WAC Women's Golf Championship and for the first time since 2004, the WAC Championship heads to Texas as Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville will play host to the conference tournament on April 18-20, 2022. Designed by Byron Nelson and Joe Finger, Riverhill has been host to over 40 USGA and Texas Golf Association events.