This Week in WAC Women's Golf - April 14
Complete Release (PDF)
TICKETSMARTER WAC WOMEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK ANNOUNCED
Sam Houston's Jennifer Herbst has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Golfer of the Week for April 6 through April 12.
Herbst, a sophomore from Perth, Australia, shot a school-record 65 in the opening round of the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational to set her up for a five-shot victory and her first tournament win of the season. After firing the 7-under 65 to open the tournament, she used a 1-under-par 71 and a 5-over-par 77 to earn the victory. It was her seventh top-10 finish of the season and she leads the WAC in stroke average at 71.8 per round.
Other nominees: NM State's Alison Gastelum tied for 21st at the Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bays GC in University Place, shooting a 13-over-par 229 … Utah Valley's Leighton Shosted posted her fourth top-five finish of the season by tying for third with a 5-over-par 221 at the Bobcat Desert Classic.
TROPHY TIME
It's time for the 2022 WAC Women's Golf Championship, which will be conducted on April 18-20 at Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville, Texas. Golfers are set to begin teeing off at 8 a.m. for the first two rounds and at 7:30 a.m. for the final round.
BY THE NUMBERS
Sam Houston's Jennifer Herbst is the leader in the WAC in stroke average at 71.8 strokes per round. Teammate Zulaikah Nasser is second at 72.5, followed by CBU's Jocelyn Chee in third at 73.4. As a team, SHSU is also the top squad with a 294.6 stroke average. Grand Canyon is second at 296.8 followed by Seattle U in third at 298.4.
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.