This Week in WAC Women's Golf - March 17
This Week in WAC Women's Golf - March 17
Complete Release (PDF)
TICKETSMARTER WAC WOMEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK ANNOUNCED
Seattle U's Keisha Lugito and Rivekka Jumagulova have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Co-Women's Golfers of the Week for March 9 through March 15.
The duo of Keisha Lugito, a graduate student from Walnut, Calif., and Rivekka Jumagulova, a freshman from Almaty, Kazakhstan, shared weekly honors after tying for fifth place at the Pizza Hut Lady Thunderbird with a 5-over-par 221 to also help the Redhawks to a second-place team finish. Lugito opened the tournament with a 4-over-par 76 before going even-par 72 in the second round and 1-over-par in the third round. Rivekka started off with a 6-over-par 78 and just kept getting better, shooting a 1-over-par 73 and then a 2-under par 70 to climb seven spots in the final round.
Other nominees: Tarleton's Sofia Rodriguez shot a 17-over-par 233 to tie for 18th at the HBU Women's Intercollegiate in Sugar Land, Texas ... UT Rio Grande Valley's Maria Jose Ramirez tied for 13th at the HBU Husky Invitational, shooting 231 on the week … Utah Valley's Victoria Estrada led the Wolverines at the Pizza Hut Lady Thunderbird Invitational with a 10-over-par 226.
ON THE TEE
Four teams will head to two different tournaments this weekend. California Baptist and Stephen F. Austin will meet up in Sedona, Ariz. for the Red Rocks Invitational while Grand Canyon and NM State head south for the Hawkeye El Tigre Invitational in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sam Houston's Jennifer Herbst is the leader in the WAC in stroke average at 71.9 strokes per round. Teammate Zulaikah Nasser is second at 72.5, followed by SU's Rivekka Jumagulova in third at 73.0. As a team, SHSU is also the top squad with a 294.5 stroke average. Seattle U is second at 295.6 followed by Grand Canyon in third at 296.2.
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.