This Week in WAC Women's Golf - Feb. 24
Complete Release (PDF)
TICKETSMARTER WAC WOMEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK ANNOUNCED
UT Rio Grande Valley's Julie Lucio has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Golfer of the Week for February 16 through February 22.
Lucio played one of her best tournaments of her career. The native of Brownsville, Texas tied her career best with a three round total of 219. She fired a 74-74-71 during the three rounds at the Islander Classic to finish in a tie for sixth place in the 96-person event. The junior helped the Vaqueros to a t-4th finish in the 18-team field. As a team UTRGV set a program record with a three-round team total of 890.
Other nominees: At the Islander Classic, Tarleton's Mathilde Brogens registered a three-round card of 77-76-76 (229) as the Texas No. 1 golfer.
ON THE TEE
California Baptist leads the week off on Friday, travel to Rio Grande, Ariz. for the Rio Grande Collegiate Invitational. Five more schools will begin play on Monday with Dixie State, Seattle U and UT Rio Grande Valley all traveling to Grand Canyon for the GCU Invitational. NM State will also be in action, heading to Seal Beach, Calif. for The Gold Rush, hosted by Long Beach State.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sam Houston's Jennifer Herbst is the leader in the WAC in stroke average at 71.6 strokes per round. Teammate Zulaikah Nasser is second at 71.9, followed by SU's Rivekka Jumagulova in third at 72.7. As a team, SHSU is also the top squad with a 291.9 stroke average. Seattle U is second at 296.0 followed by NM State in third at 296.5.
UPPING THE COMPETITION
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.
IT'S BIGGER IN TEXAS (AND UTAH)
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.
WAC CHAMPIONSHIP HEADS TO THE LONE STAR STATE
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.