Women’s Golf Preview: Mountain West Championships (April 16-18)

Fresno State Women's Golf - Tournament #10 (Spring Tournament #6)
Tournament: Mountain West Championships
Format: Stroke play/54 holes/5-count-4 (18 holes/day)
Host: Mountain West Conference
Dates: April 16-18 (Mon.-Wed.)
Golf Course: Mission Hills Country Club (par 72, 6,270 yards)
Location: Rancho Mirage, California
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com

Fresno State Lineup:
1. Mimi Ho
2. Brigitte Thibault
3. Alison Muirhead
4. Samantha Spencer
5. Dominika Gradecka

Participants-9:
Boise State (162)
Colorado State (84)
Fresno State (80)
Nevada (129)
New Mexico (65)
San Diego State (48)
San Jose State (58)
UNLV (41)
Wyoming (138)

(All numbers in parenthesis indicate the team's ranking by Golfstat as of (April 10, 2018)

Schedule of Events:
Sunday, April 15 – Practice round
Monday, April 16 – First round tee times: first at 7 a.m. PT, last at 9:06 a.m. (Fresno State 7:45-8:21 a.m.)
Tuesday, April 17 – Second round tee times: first at 7 a.m. PT, last at 9:06 a.m. (based on rd. 1 scores)
Wednesday, April 18 – Final round tee times: first at 7 a.m. PT, last at 9:06 a.m. (based on rd. 2 scores)

Team notes:

There are nine Mountain West women's golf programs; each are vying for the automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA postseason at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club, Monday thru Wednesday.
Fresno State enters its sixth MW Championship golf tournament this week since joining the league. In the Bulldogs' five previous events, they have finished third three times (2016, 2014, 2013), fourth once (2017) and seventh once (2015).
Fresno State has one team conference championship in its 13-year program history (2008 WAC tournament).
Fresno State has three individual conference champions in its 13-year program history (Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir-2014, Laura Luethke-2008 and Hali Coppin-2010).
Only one of Fresno State's individuals entered for the 2018 edition participated in last season's championship (Ho). She placed 26th.
Years of experience at the Mountain West Championship: Ho (3), Gradecka (0), Muirhead (0), Spencer (0) and Thibault (0).
The Bulldogs enter this weekend's event ranked No. 80 by Golfstat, up from No. 79 prior to the Dale McNamara Invitational.
Of the nine participating teams, Fresno State is one of six teams ranked inside the Golfstat top 100 team rankings. Overall, the 'Dogs have the fifth-best Golfstat ranking among all the MW teams.
The Bulldogs own a 300.07 team scoring average (+13.41 vs. par) after nine tournaments and 27 rounds this season.
Senior Mimi Ho enters this weekend's event with a team-best 73.89 scoring average. She has played in all nine tournaments for Fresno State this season (27 rounds).
Freshman Brigitte Thibault owns the team lead for most rounds scored in the 60's (4).
Fresno State's two true freshman Thibault and Alison Muirhead have qualified and competed in each of the Bulldogs' nine tournaments and are in the lineup again this week.
Ho is ranked No. 205 nationally in the latest Golfstat poll (April 10). She is the only Bulldog ranked inside the nations' top 250 individual rankings.
Weather at the Championships on Monday (High 83F, Low 51F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 20-30 mph wind; Tuesday (High 79F, Low 55F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 5-10 mph wind; Wednesday (High 86F, Low 57F) is forecasted to have a zero percent chance of rain and 10-15 mph wind.

Season Flashback:
• Sept. 11-12: Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational
Team finish – T-14/18 (897); Low individual – Mimi Ho, T-33 (221)
• Sept. 26-27: Coeur d'Alene Resort Collegiate Invitational
Team finish – 4/18 (860); Low individual – Mimi Ho, T-4 (210)
• Oct. 6-7: Bettie Lou Evans Invitational
Team finish – 8/16 (912); Low individual – Mimi Ho, T-15 (222)
• Oct. 22-24: Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown
Team finish – 5/16 (868); Low individual – Mimi Ho, T-2 (210)
• Feb. 12-13: The Gold Rush
Team finish – 8/14 (911); Low individual – Mimi Ho, T-22 (226)
• Feb. 26-27: Bruin Wave Invitational
Team finish – 14/16 (959); Low individual – Brigitte Thibault, T-44 (237)
• March 5-6: Fresno State Classic
Team finish – T-3/11 (897); Low individual – Mimi Ho, T-7 (220)
• March 23-25: PING/ASU Invitational
Team finish – 12/14 (900); Low individual – Brigitte Thibault, T-9 (215)
• April 9-10: Dale McNamara Invitational
Team finish – 6/13 (898); Low individual – Brigitte Thibault, T-14 (222)

Last year at the Mountain West Championships:
Team Leaderboard in 2017
1. UNLV: 287-290-291=868 (+4)
2. San Diego State: 287-291-293=871 (+7)
3. San Jose State: 297-290-289=876 (+12)
4. Fresno State: 292-299-298=889 (+25)
5. New Mexico: 287-304-304=895 (+31)
6. Nevada: 304-305-302=911 (+47)
7. Wyoming: 310-300-315=925 (+61)
8. Colorado State: 311-305-317=933 (+69)
9. Boise State: 308-323-304=935 (+71)

Fresno State Leaderboard in 2017
T9. Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir: 72-74-74=220 (+4)
T15. Yifei Wang: 74-75-75=224 (+8)
T18. Kristin Simonsen: 73-78-75=226 (+10)
T18. Hayden Mammen: 73-74-79=226 (+10)
26. Mimi Ho: 80-76-74=230 (+14)

All-Time Mountain West Women's Golf Championship Results
Year: Team Champion/Individual Champion (School)
2017: UNLV/Fernanda Escauriza (San Diego State)
2016: UNLV/Alexandra Kaui (UNLV)
2015: San Diego State/Manon Mollé (New Mexico)
2014: New Mexico/Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir (Fresno State)
2013: UNLV/Manon DeRoey (New Mexico)
*Fresno State joined conference to start the 2013 season*
2012: TCU/Sanna Nuutinen (TCU)
2011: TCU/Therese Koelbaek (UNLV)
2010: New Mexico /Jodi Ewart (New Mexico)
2009: New Mexico /Jonelle Martinez (Wyoming)
2008: New Mexico /Jodi Ewart (New Mexico)
2007: TCU/Jodi Ewart, (New Mexico)
2006: UNLV/Da Sol Chung (UNLV)
2005: UNLV/Elena Kurokawa (UNLV)
2004: UNLV/Sunny Oh (UNLV)
2003: New Mexico /Katrina Leckovic (New Mexico)
2002: New Mexico /Lynette Duran (Colorado State)
2001: New Mexico /Ryley Webb (New Mexico)
2000: New Mexico /Jordan Lintz (Wyoming)

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - Follow the team on social media on Twitter at @FresnoStateWG.

Women’s Golf Preview: Mountain West Championships (April 16-18)

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Players Mentioned

Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir

Dominika Gradecka

Mimi Ho

Hayden Mammen

Alison Muirhead

Kristin Simonsen

Samantha Spencer

Brigitte Thibault

Yifei Wang

Fresno State Athletics