United Athletic Conference

Sam Houston's Jennifer Herbst has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Golfer of the Week for September 22 through September 28.

 

Herbst, a sophomore from Perth, Australia, was one of two golfers to finish sub-par on her way to a second-place finish at the Huntsville Toyota Bearkat Invitational, finishing with a 2-under-par 211. After a 1-over-par 72 in the opening round, she was 1-under-par in the second round and then jumped a spot in the standings with a 2-under-par 69 in the final round to earn the runner-up finish. In addition to her outstanding individual play, she helped lead the Bearkats to their second team title of the year, finishing 11 strokes ahead of second-place California Baptist with a 17-over-par 869.

 

Other nominees: California Baptist's Jocelyn Chee finished fifth at the Huntsville Toyota Bearkat Invitational with a 3-over-par 216 to help the Lancers take second as a team, finishing only behind the host Bearkats … Grand Canyon's Siripatsorn Patchana took ninth at the Huntsville Toyota Bearkat Invitational, shooting a 6-over-par 219 … Tarleton's Sofia Rodriguez shot a 12-over-par 225 to lead the Texans at the Huntsville Toyota Bearkat Invitational … UT Rio Grande Valley's Maria Jose Ramirez led the Vaqueros at the Huntsville Toyota Bearkat Invitational with a three-round total of 225 to finish tied for 22nd.

 

NM State hosts its annual Aggie Invitational this week and will be joined by WAC members Dixie State, Seattle U, Stephen F. Austin and UT Rio Grande Valley. Chicago State will also hit the course, traveling to Indianapolis for the Butler Fall Invitational, and Lamar will head to Florida for the Jupiter Women's Invitational in Port St. Lucie.

 

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 Grand Canyon tied with Seattle U  at 296.3.

 

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.