Junior Shayna Miyajima has helped propel the Aztecs to four straight top-seven finishes in the spring.
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Aztecs Look To Solidify NCAA Chances At MWC Championship
SDSU women look for first-ever conference championship beginning Thursday.
April 21, 2003
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THIS WEEK'S EVENT
Mountain West Conference Championship
Hosted by: MWC
Site: Meadows Course - Sunriver Resort, Ore.
Dates: April 24-26
Par: 71
Yardage: 5,851
The Field: San Diego State, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV, Wyoming
2002 Champion: New Mexico 293-305-284--882, +30
2002 Medalist: Lynette Duran, CSU 72-70-74--216, +3
Aztecs Look To Solidify NCAA Chances At MWC Championship
With top-seven finishes in all four spring events placing it squarely on the postseason bubble, the San Diego State women's golf team has one final shot to improve its chances for an NCAA regionals appearance at the April 24-26 Mountain West Conference Championship.
Held at the par-71, 5,851-yard Meadows Course at the Sunriver Resort in Oregon, the MWC Championship is a 54-hole event with 18 played each day beginning at 10 a.m. Looking for its first-ever conference tournament title, SDSU will be paired in Group 2 with New Mexico and BYU, while Group 1 consists of UNLV, Colorado State and Wyoming.
The Field: At A Glance
San Diego State (No. 81 Golfweek/No. 83 Golfstat) struggled through the fall season but rebounded with an impressive spring, taking top-seven results in all four events. Their spring play has elevated the Aztecs to NCAA Regionals consideration, and a head-to-head win over either New Mexico or UNLV could be enough to garner SDSU selection. The Aztecs have played well at the Sunriver Resort's Meadow Course, claiming second place the first two years the championship was held there in 2001 and 2002. SDSU possesses a pair of bona fide all-conference candidates in Sandy Kim (three straight 6th-place finishes, 5th in the MWC with a 76.72 avg.) and Shayna Miyajima (MWC Golfer of the Month for March and 7th in MWC scoring at 76.76) and two of the top six returning scorers from the 2002 championship in Miyajima (T-4th, 220, +7) and Jennifer Hoene (7th, 222, +9).
No. 12/16 New Mexico has won each of the first three MWC Championships and looks to be the favorite again this season as the highest nationally ranked team in the conference. The Lobos won a pair of tournament titles in the fall but registered a tie for third and two sixth-place finishes in three spring events. UNM golfers own three of the top four averages in the MWC, led by regular-season leader sophomore Kailin Downs (73.64), who is rated 17th in the nation by Golfweek/Sagarin.
In only its second season, the UNLV program has been playing at an accelerated developmental pace and stands as the second-highest ranked team in the conference at No. 34/37. The Rebels gained the first tournament win in their regular-season finale at the Utah Dixie Classic, in which SDSU tied for seventh. Freshman Sunny Oh broke through the UNM domination at the top of MWC season scoring leaderboard and is second at 75.38.
BYU (No. 51/60) played a difficult spring schedule and struggled to two 13th-place and two 14th-place results in its four events. The Cougars lost head-to-head to SDSU for the first time this season at their own tournament, the regular-season ending Dixie Classic. Sophomore Margaret Gibby leads the team and is 10th in the league with a 77.4 stroke average.
No. 69/72 Colorado State finished third at last season's MWC Championship and has the returning medalist in the event, sophomore Lynette Duran. The Rams have two fifth-place finishes on their resume for the spring season and are led by senior Mayumi Motoyama's 77.22 stroke average.
Wyoming (No. 145/144) has struggled this season. The Cowgirls' best result this season was a seventh-place finish at the Boise State Fall Classic. Senior Kim Nissen has been Wyoming's top player this year with an 81.44 average.
MWC Championship Field 4/14 4/16 SDSU Record
Team Rankings Golfweek Golfstat vs. In 02-03
San Diego State 81 83
BYU 51 60 1-3
Colorado State 69 72 3-2
New Mexico 12 16 0-4
UNLV 34 37 0-4
Wyoming 145 144 4-0
Mountain West History Lesson
New Mexico has dominated the first three years of the MWC Championship, claiming the team title each time by at least 11 shots. Since the tournament moved to the Meadows Course at the Sunriver Resort in 2001, SDSU has finished second in each of the last two editions.
The Lobos own 11 of the 12 records the MWC has kept for its championship. However, UNM individuals have won medalist honors only once with Ryley Webb's 2001 title. Individuals from three different schools have won the MWC, including then-freshman Lynette Duran of CSU last year, who returns this season as a sophomore to defend her title.
Last season, SDSU was the only team to break 300 in each of the first two rounds and carried a three-stroke lead over second-place Colorado State into the final round. However, New Mexico came from third place and four shots down by shooting the tournament-low score in the final round with an even-par 284. The Aztecs ended up as the only team in the 200s each round with a final-round 299, but had to settle for second place at 41-over 893, 11shots behind New Mexico's 882.
Duran's 3-over total of 216 last season finished two shots ahead of runners-up Heather Rollo of SDSU and Kristi Larsen of UNM at 218. Three golfers, including Shayna Miyajima, tied for fourth at 220 and Jennifer Hoene had seventh to herself at 222.
Kim In The Clutch
The consistent play of junior Sandy Kim (West Linn, Ore./West Linn HS) was a major catalyst for the San Diego State women's golf team's remarkable turnaround from the fall to the spring seasons. By finishing among the top-20 in all four spring events, Kim helped the team register top-seven results in all four spring events after only one in the fall.
Kim has three consecutive sixth-place finishes to go along with a 16th-place result at the spring-opening Lady Aztec Invitational. Going back to the fall season, Kim has finished among the top-26 in the last seven events.
In the Aztecs' last event at the Apr. 7-8 Utah Dixie Classic, SDSU's regular-season finale, Kim matched her career-best with a second-round 71 and tied for sixth place out of 120 individuals. She helped SDSU tie for seventh place and defeat four higher-ranked regional teams head-to-head to keep the Aztecs' NCAA Regional chances alive. It was her second 71 in as many events, as she also had a 1-under-par second round en route to season-best 54-hole score of 222 that tied for sixth at the Mountain View Collegiate.
Kim had an even-par second round at the Oregon Duck Invite and started her streak of sixth-place finishes there at 228... She has now shot 79 or better in each of her last 20 rounds... Kim has a team-best 75.45 stroke average for the spring, more than two shots better than her fall average of 77.71, and has overtaken fellow junior Shayna Miyajima for the team's season scoring average lead at a career-best 76.72.
Miyajima Named MWC's March Golfer Of The Month
Junior Shayna Miyajima (Wailuku, Hawaii/Baldwin HS) was named the first Mountain West Conference Women's Golfer of the Month for the spring season. Miyajima registered back-to-back career-best second-place finishes as well as a tie for 13th place in leading the Aztecs to three consecutive top-four results to begin the spring.
After a fall season in which she averaged a team-best 77.64 strokes per round but registered only one top-20 result, Miyajima caught fire to begin the spring of her junior season and correspondingly sparked the Aztecs in the process. In the span of three events and eight rounds to begin the spring, Miyajima has recorded her best result (2nd at the Oregon Duck) matched her best collegiate round (1-under 71 at the Mountain View), registered her top 54-hole score (223 at the Oregon Duck) and come within a penalty shot of her first collegiate title at the Lady Aztec.
Miyajima is averaging a career-best 76.76 strokes this season, including a 75.64 stroke average for the spring. She has four top-20s and three top-10s this year.
Around The Green
Spurred by three consecutive top-four finishes followed by a tie for seventh, SDSU's head-to-head record has improved from 19-58 after the fall season to its current 60-69-3 mark.
Four of the Aztecs' top five scorers this season have improved their averages by at least two strokes from the fall to the spring. The most dramatic improvement has been shown by redshirt freshman Toni Lutz, who has improved her spring average from the fall by 3.31 strokes while solidifying and contributing from the No. 5 spot.
Individuals Fall Spring +/- Season
Sandy Kim 77.71 75.45 -2.26 76.72
Shayna Miyajima 77.64 75.64 -2.00 76.76
Jennifer Hoene 80.50 77.64 -2.86 79.13
Claire Riley 79.50 80.00 +0.50 79.72
Toni Lutz 84.67 81.36 -3.31 82.85
SDSU has finished in the top seven of four straight events for the first time since the first four events of the fall 2000 season.
The Aztecs are 6-1 against the rest of the MWC in the spring, a vast improvement over a 2-12 mark in the fall that included only a pair of defeats of Wyoming. The only loss for SDSU in the spring came to UNLV, which won the Utah Dixie Classic while the Aztecs tied for seventh. SDSU is still looking for wins over the Rebels and New Mexico (combined 0-8). Most notably, SDSU has won three straight in the spring over Colorado State - a team the Aztecs are battling for a prospective regionals spot - after losing twice in the fall.
Lutz and senior Claire Riley will be playing in their first MWC Championship. Hoene will have played in all four conference tournaments in her four-year career and is the most experienced Aztec, while Kim is playing in her third straight. Miyajima debuted last year and will be looking for her second straight top-four finish.
Head Coach Felicia Brown
Head coach Felicia Brown is in her first season at the helm of the SDSU golf program after serving as assistant coach last season. Brown prepped locally at San Marcos High School before playing collegiately at Arizona. She boasts professional playing and teaching experience on the Players' West Golf Tour and the LPGA teaching division, respectively.
2002-03 Averages Avg. Rds.
Sandy Kim* 76.72 25
Shayna Miyajima* 76.76 25
Jennifer Hoene* 79.13 23
Claire Riley* 79.72 25
Toni Lutz* 82.85 20
Brittany Bailey 85.60 5
Cameron MacFarland 86.00 2
* Starter at the Mountain West Conference Championship
Golfweek/Sagarin (4/14)
1. Duke
2. Pepperdine
3. Oklahoma State
4. Texas
5. USC
6. Arizona
7. Auburn
8. California
9. Vanderbilt
10. Tennessee
81. San Diego State
NGCA Poll (2/26)
1. Auburn
2. Arizona
3. Duke
4. Vanderbilt
5. Oklahoma State
6. Pepperdine
7. Texas
8. USC
9. California
10. Tennessee
Golfstat (4/16)
1. Duke
2. Pepperdine
3. Texas
4. USC
5. California
6. Arizona
7. Auburn
8. Oklahoma State
9. Vanderbilt
10. UCLA
83. San Diego State
Golf World Poll (4/11)
1. Duke
2. Pepperdine
3. Oklahoma State
4. USC
5. Auburn
6. Texas
7. Vanderbilt
8. Arizona
9. Florida
10. Tennessee
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