Kansas Women's Golf Team Looks to Carry Momentum in MountainView Collegiate
March 21, 2012
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s golf looks to continue smart play in Arizona when it travels to Tucson for the MountainView Collegiate March 23-24. The Jayhawks are coming off of a first-place finish in Rio Verde, Ariz., led by senior Katy Nugent who placed second individually while breaking her career-best 18-hole round and tying the tournament’s low round of 68.
Nugent is averaging 76.8 strokes per round after her solid performance at the Rio Verde Invitational and looks to continue to lead her team in Tucson. With a tougher field, Nugent knows playing smart will be the key to finishing well.
“This event has the strongest field that we will see until the Big 12 Championship,” Nugent said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to beat some teams ranked ahead of us and continue to improve our ranking. That being said, we’ve got to continue to do the little things well. If we can play smart golf and play consistently throughout our rounds, we will be in position to finish well.”
Kansas returns to Tucson for the second year in a row after placing 17th in the event last year. The Jayhawks won the event in 2006 and head coach Erin O’Neil knows it will be a tough field but hopes the momentum from Rio Verde will carry over.
“We are looking forward to returning to Tucson for the MountainView Collegiate event,” Coach O’Neil said. “This course sets up similarly to the Rio Verde course in that there are lots of birdie opportunities but you still have to play smart golf. Hopefully we can build off our momentum from last week and have another strong finish.”
Joining Nugent in the Jayhawks’ lineup are sophomores Meghan Potee and Thanuttra Boonraksasat, junior Audrey Yowell and freshman Gabriella DiMarco. Freshman Michelle Woods will compete as an individual. Yowell is also coming off her best performance in the Crimson and Blue, carding a career-low 71 in the second round and finishing tied for sixth.
A shotgun start will kick off the tournament both days, with 36 holes played Friday and the remaining 18 holes on Saturday. Kansas results will be available following each round at www.kuathletics.com.
