Texas Tech University Athletics
Big Week Ahead for Women's Golf
March 07, 2008 | Women's Golf
March 7, 2008
LUBBOCK, Texas - There will be little time for rest for the No. 48 Texas Tech women's golf team during the next week as it heads west for a pair of events. The Red Raiders will be competing in the Rio Verde Invitational March 7-9 and the UNLV Spring Invitational March 10-12.
The 6,313-yard par-72 Rio Verde Country Club will play host to 17 teams besides Tech. Joining the Red Raiders in battling for the team title will be Arkansas-Little Rock, Ball State, Bowling Green, Bradley, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State and Minnesota. Also competing will be Missouri State, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Ohio, Southern Illinois, Toledo, host Western Michigan, Wisconsin and Xavier.
Coming off a strong final round in at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in its last event, Tech is looking to carry over the success it enjoyed during the fall season. The Red Raiders can look to their performance at last year's Rio Verde Invitational for motivation as they finished in fifth place. Ulrika Van Niekerk and Rosalyn Kim enjoyed strong outings at the event last year as the duo shot identical seven-over 223 scores and tied for ninth place.
Once the Rio Verde Invitational is wrapped up, Tech will hop a plane and head to Boulder City, Nev. for the UNLV Spring Invitational. The Red Raiders will be among 18 schools vying for the team title at the 6,153-yard Boulder Creek Golf Club. Five top 50 squads will be competing at the event, including No. 35 BYU, No. 43 Indiana, No. 45 Nebraska, Tech and No. 49 Oregon. Campbell, Colorado State, Idaho, Eastern Washington, Fresno State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Sacramento State, Washington, Washington State and host UNLV will also be there, while Colorado and Kansas State wrap up the Big 12 teams that will be competing.
Last year in Nev., the Red Raiders enjoyed three strong rounds of 298, 291 and 301 to give them their second-lowest team score of the year at 891. Their second-round 291 marked the lowest round in school history at the time and currently ties it. Van Niekerk led the team at the event with a 19th-place finish.
Coach Stacey Totman will again look to her young and talented group for strong showings during this tough week-long swing. Junior Megan Dowdy currently paces Tech with a 75.8 stroke average for the year, while freshmen Robyn Scott and Stephanie Smith enjoyed successful outings in Puerto Rico last time out. Scott led the Red Raiders with a plus-11 227, while Smith was right behind at 228.
Action in Rio Verde is set to tee off in the morning. Results of the event can be found at www.texastech.com or www.golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
