MARICOPA, Ariz. – The Wyoming women's golf team will tee off in a tournament event for the first time in program history at the Women's National Golf Invitational (NGI).
 
The 10-team event will be contested on the par-72, 6,304-yard Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club where UW hosts the annual Cowgirl Classic.
 
Bowling Green State, Bradley, Coastal Carolina, Denver, Lipscomb, Mercer, Missouri State, Rutgers and Stetson comprise the remainder of the field.
 
"First and foremost, this was a goal for us at the beginning of the year. We knew we had the group that could make it to postseason. What version of that we weren't quite sure yet," UW head coach Josey Stender said. "Secondly, we are going there to win. I think we have a great combination of having some competitive rhythm going and with how we played at our event there it's nothing but confidence right now."
 
UW is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Mountain West Championships. Freshman Kiley Reisner finished second to lead the Cowgirls to their best finish in the conference tournament.
 
Champion Leia Chung (-5) of Boise State and Reisner (-3) were the only players to finish under par.
 
Earlier this season, Reisner finished tied for fourth individually and set a new program record for lowest event score after finishing the 54-hole Cowgirl Classic with a 207 (-9).
 
Reisner, who was the individual medalist at the Thunderbird Classic and Bobcat Desert Classic this season, became only the third Cowgirl to be named to the All-Mountain West team, joining Jordan Lintz (2000) and Jonelle Martinez (2009) on the list.
 
"She has this extremely high level of confidence, but it is also backed up by her work ethic. She knows that she has put the time in and has the reps and has played at the highest level," Stender said of Reisner. "So, that belief drives that, yet what has been really neat to see has been how it is now reinforcing a much more mature, confident, calculated process."
 
Playing in the NGI will allow Meghan Vogt to finish her stellar career in the postseason. The senior carded back-to-back rounds of 73 to finish +6 (tied for 14^th) at the MW Championships.
 
Vogt tied the program record for lowest round (67) in October after teammate Elle Higgins set the mark in September.
 
"Meg has been transformational for this program on all levels. She deserves this experience, not only as a leader on the team but as a participant because of what she has done," Stender said. "I think the team really wants this for her and to enjoy their time with her as a teammate."
 
Higgins (+7), a junior, finished tied for 17^th at the conference tournament and sophomore Kira Reisner (+11), Kiley's older sister, finished tied for 28^th to help the Cowgirls move past fifth-place Nevada and out-pace sixth-place Colorado State by six strokes.
 
Each round of the NGI will begin at 8 a.m. MT with all teams starting on hole No. 1 and playing 18 holes per day from Friday through Sunday. UW will be paired with Stetson in the final group Friday with the Cowgirls scheduled to tee off between 11 a.m. and 11:36 a.m.

Fans can follow the live results here: NGI leaderboard. To hear Stender talk about UW's historic season, listen here: One Wyoming Podcast.