LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 21, 2018) – Wyoming women's golf will once again hit the road as the Cowgirls travel to Tucson, Ariz., to compete in the MountainView Collegiate Invitational this weekend. The three-day tournament will begin on Friday morning with the first 18 holes on the par 72, 6,227-yard MountainView Golf Club. Coming off its first win since 2008, the MountainView Collegiate will be the first of back-to-back tournaments played in the state of Arizona for Wyoming.
 
Keeping up to date with the Cowgirls during the MountainView Collegiate and also throughout the season is not only thrilling in its own right, but also quite simple. Feel free to check GoWyo.com often for previews, recaps and features of the Cowgirl golf program. Fans are also encouraged to follow @wyo_golf on twitter for updates through the 2018 calendar year.
 
"It's a really strong field and will be a little unique because this tournament will be three-days compared to just two," Cowgirl head coach Josey Stender said. "Obviously, we're feeling good with the progress we have made and coming off a win. It's a type of golf course that we're used to as far as the layout and conditions, although only a couple of our girls have seen this golf course. We started feeling more confident late last week. I've told the team that they've done a great job of chipping away at the little things and feeling better about each specific area in their game. It all fell together in our second tournament last week. This group knows going into a field like this that we can be competitive, but we'll need five solid scores each day."
 
The Field
Including co-hosts Missouri and Kansas State, there will be 15 teams in total competing in the event. From Golfstat.com, three teams within the top-50 will compete in Tucson. Illinois, No. 10, leads the tournament field, with No. 27 Mizzou and No. 49 Kansas State also making the trip. A number of ranked individuals will be in Tucson as well. The Fighting Illini have four players in the top-100, as Mizzou has two. Kansas State's Connie Jeffrey leads the field with a 71.43 scoring average, good for 21st in the NCAA. Jess Yuen of Mizzou is close behind at No. 38 with a 72.05 scoring average. Also in the top-50 is Beth Singhsumalee of Illinois. She is 48th with a scoring average of 72.33.
 
Cowgirl Leaders
Gibson currently has a team-best 74.7 scoring average, with Sargent close behind at 75.53. Knadler sports a 77.3 scoring average, as Skavdahl sits at 78.6 and Hankins at 79.1. Additionally, Gibson has posted four subpar rounds thus far this year, with Sargent adding three and Hankins and Knadler each have one for the Brown and Gold.
 
Weather Forecast
The Weather Channel for Tucson on Friday is expected to be partly sunny in the low 80s, while Saturday will have periods of sun also in the low 80s. The final day of the event will be high 70s but is still expected to be delightful with plenty of sunshine.
 
Cowgirl Lineup
The Brown and Gold will go into the MountianView Collegiate with a familiar lineup. Gabrielle Gibson, Megan Knadler, Erin Sargent, Caitlyn Skavdahl and Sarah Hankins will all compete for UW this weekend.
 
Last Time Out
By winning the Lady Thunderbird Invitational last weekend, the Cowgirls picked up their first team victory since the fall of 2008. UW claimed the victory with a 598 (+22) on Friday. UW's last win as a squad came on Oct. 14, 2008. The Cowgirls then won the Bronco Fall Invite hosted by Boise State and finished in a four-way tie with a 603 (+27).
 
Last Time at MountainView Collegiate
The Cowgirls didn't participate in the Mountainview Collegiate last season, but in 2016 UW was led by Megan Knadler, as she tied for 42nd. She shot a 76 (+4) on the final day and finished one shot ahead of Gibson with a 225 (+9). Gibson led the cowgirls during the last round with a 75 (+3) to make her final score 226 (+10) for the tournament. Wyoming ended the tournament in 15th place with a total score of 915 (+51). The Cowgirls shot rounds of 296 (+8), 312 (+24) and 307 (+19).
 
Up Next
Wyoming will host the 12th Annual Cowgirl Classic in Maricopa, Ariz., next weekend. The tournament will take place at the beautiful Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.