LARAMIE, Wyo. (April 14, 2018) – The Wyoming women's golf team is once again ready to hit the links as the 2018 Mountain West Championship is set to begin Monday morning. For the sixth-straight year the three-day tournament will be held on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
 
All nine MW teams will take part in the 54-hole championship with 18 holes on the par 72, 6,270 yard course to be played each day. The teams will tee off at 8 a.m. MT every day. The tournament will be available on Golfstat.com, and can be found using the link above. Fans are also encouraged to follow @wyo_golf on Twitter for updates throughout the week.
 
"I'm really excited," Cowgirl head coach Josey Stender said. "Our performance at our home tournament, and the head-to-head against the conference teams we have seen have been very competitive this year. We always have one of the strongest conferences in the country. Three or four of our teams, plus a handful of individuals will play in the postseason. It always is a highlight competitively for us, we're not necessarily targeting certain teams, but we will go in focused on ourselves."
 
"It's a traditional layout," Stender added. "The rough will be really long and the greens are always fantastic and extremely quick. We have to keep it in play and for the most part, if we adapt to any kind of changes, we'll be just fine."
 
Last Time Out
The University of Wyoming Cowgirl golf team closed out the 12th annual Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, finishing in eighth place. UW totaled a 296 (+8) during the final 18 holes for a three-round mark of 892 (+28), which became the best team score for the Brown and Gold at the event. The previous high for Wyoming was set last year at 902 (+38). UW's final-round score was also the tenth-best team round in program history. Senior Gabrielle Gibson posted a 220 (+21) for a share of 21st, while sophomore Erin Sargent tied for 30th with a 222 (+6).
 
Cowgirl Lineup
UW will take an experienced group to California for the tournament. Gibson, Sargent, Caitlyn Skavdahl and Megan and Kaylee Knadler will take part in the event. It will be the fourth MW Championship for Gibson, while it's the third for Megan Knadler and second for both Sargent and Kaylee Knadler. Gibson, Sargent and Megan Knadler each competed in the tournament last year, as Kaylee Knadler took a redshirt season last year, while her first Championship was in 2016.
 
2017 MW Championship Recap
The Cowgirl golf team closed the 2017 Mountain West Championship with a 315 (+27) to finish in seventh place. Wyoming totaled a 925 (+61) during the three-day championship event. It was the second-best team score for the Brown and Gold in the 18 MW Championships they've competed in. Leading UW was Sargent, who tied for 21st in the individual rankings with a 227 (+11) for the tournament.
 
Cowgirl Leaders
Heading into the final tournament of 2018, Gibson leads the team with a 74.7 scoring average. She is followed by Sargent at 75.6. Megan Knadler is third on the team with a 77.1 average. As of right now, the Cowgirls all-time record for a single season is 75.6, which was set by Juanita Rico during the 2011-12 season.
 
In UW's ten tournaments throughout the year, Gibson has led the way in seven of them, including tying with Megan Knadler for a Cowgirl-best fifth place finish at the Rebel Beach. With a victory at the FIU Pat Bradley in October, she became the first Cowgirl since Jonelle Martinez at the 2009 Mountain West Championship to win an event. Sargent has led in three, with her best finish coming in fourth place at the BYU Entrada Classic.
 
Weather Forecast
There will be no lack of sunshine in Rancho Mirage during the Championship. Monday and Tuesday is forecasted to be mid-80s, while Wednesday is expected to have a high of 90 degrees with wind throughout the day.