Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Hosts Big 12 Conference Women's Golf Championship
April 19, 2000 | Women's Golf
April 19, 2000
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech will serve as host of the 2000 Big 12 Conference Women's Golf Championships this weekend at the Lubbock Country Club (par 72, 6,138 yards). The 54-hole tournament tees off at 8 a.m. each day and begins with 18 holes on Friday, followed by 18 holes on Saturday and Sunday.
Boasting some of the best women's golf in the country, the Big 12 Conference currently has eight of its 12 teams ranked among the nation's top 50. Tournament favorite Oklahoma State is ranked seventh in the most recent MasterCard Collegiate Golf rankings. Texas (15), Oklahoma (26), Missouri (29), Texas Tech (30), Texas A&M (33), Nebraska (38) and Baylor (43) also are ranked.
On the line for the Red Raiders is not only the opportunity to win a conference championship, but also a bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament in Victoria, Texas, in May.
"I guess you can say this is it," Texas Tech Director of Golf Jeff Mitchell said. "If we finish well, we will probably get in the NCAA Tournament. Being on our home course should be an advantage. We have played here many times and know the course well.
"The scenario is down to how we fare with Texas A&M and Missouri," Mitchell added. "Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska and Baylor are in by my figures. We certainly hold our fate in our own hands."
Texas Tech is 26-21 against Big 12 competition this season and has defeated every team at least once, except for Oklahoma State.
Jamie Vannoy (Sandy, Ore.) has been the most consistent performer for Texas Tech all season. She leads the team with a 76.4 stroke per round average and ranks seventh in the Big 12. Vannoy has seven top 20 finishes this season, including two in the top five. Her last two finishes entering this weekend's event are a tie for third at the Utah-Dixie Classic and a seventh-place finish at the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic.
"Jamie Vannoy has been playing some of the smartest golf of her career," Mitchell said. "The rest of the squad are providing the good rounds when we need them. They have all taken it pretty low in the last three tournaments. We just have to put it together all at the same time."
Stephanie Dukes (N. Richland Hills, Texas) had been struggling during the spring until she posted an eighth-place finish in her last outing. She is second on the team with a 78.2 stroke average. Melanie Hunt (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jennifer Newhouse (Bryan, Texas) are each averaging 78.7 strokes per round, while Priscillia Hunt (Phoenix, Ariz.) rounds out Tech's top five with a 78.9 stroke average.
