April 2, 2004
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SAN DIEGO - SDSU heads to Utah for its fourth spring tournament, the BYU Dixie Classic, the last regular season tournament of the season. The Aztecs will use the 54-hole event to prepare itself for the MWC Championship, which will be held April 22-24 in Sunriver, Ore. SDSU has finished in the top four in each of its last two tournaments, including a second place finish at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Hawai'i. This week's tournament field consists of 13 teams, including 10 that are ranked in Golfweek's Top 100. The teams will play Entrada Golf Course at Snow Canyon, which is set for 6,150 yards with a par of 72. 36-holes will be played on Monday with the final round on Tuesday. SDSU enters the tournament ranked No. 43 by Golfweek and No. 49 by Golfstat. The Aztecs are the third highest ranked team in the field behind No. 21, and defending champion, UNLV and No. 32 San Francisco.
Starters at BYU Dixie Classic
* SDSU will have a different lineup for the third straight week as the Aztecs try to solidify the starting five for the postseason. The top three remain the same as the trio of senior Shayna Miyajima, junior Heather MacRae, and Jenna Wilson have competed in all eight tournaments and will continue this week in Utah.
* The final two spots belong to sophomore Megan Malhaupt and freshman Jamie Oliver. It is the fifth tournament in the starting lineup for Malhaupt and Oliver's sixth opportunity. The two have almost identical statistics as Oliver is fifth on the team with a 79.8 stroke average and Malhaupt is sixth at 80.2.
* This is the third tournament Coach Brown has used this starting five, as they also competed at the Las Vegas Collegiate and the Arizona Wildcat Invitational, two of the Aztecs' toughest tournaments this year.
Recapping the Mountain View Collegiate
* SDSU finished fourth at the Mountain View Collegiate last week in Texas after shooting 906 (+42). The Aztecs shot 296-299-311 for the three rounds. The first round of 296 was the lowest total for SDSU this season, outside of the Lady Aztec Invitational.
* The tournament was highlighted by two top-10 individual performanes for SDSU, as Jenna Wilson placed second and Heather MacRae finished in seventh. Wilson shot 72-71-74 for a one-over total of 217. MacRae finished at five-over 221 after rounds of 75-72-74.
* Senior Sandy Kim played in her first event of the spring after coming off an injury, and shot a 75 in the first round. Megan Malhaupt also shot a career best 74 in the first round. Shayna Miyajima finished at 16-over 232 to place 46th.
MacRae Honored By MWC
* Heather MacRae was named the MWC Golfer of the Month for March after posting top-10 results in each of SDSU's tournaments. MacRae recorded a career best second place finish at the at the Dr. Thompson Invitational in Kaneohe, Hawai'i, and led SDSU to a runner-up finish. She followed that performance with a seventh place finish at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz. For the month, McRae had a 73.67 stroke average and lowered her season average to 75.55.
* MacRae leads SDSU with four top-10 finishes on the year, and has also posted five top-20 finishes in the last six tournaments. Her 75.00 stroke average in the three spring tournaments leads SDSU. In addition, MacRae led SDSU in scoring at the Las Vegas Showdown to finish the fall as she tied for sixth against a great field with a 3-over total of 219. After a slow start, MacRae has been climbing the rankings and is currently 115th in Golfstat's listings.
Fantastic Frosh
* Freshman Jenna Wilson is the Aztecs top-ranked player as she has cracked the top-100 and is currently No. 96 by Golfstat. Wilson recorded her best result of the spring season last week in Texas as she placed second at the Mountain View Collegiate. It was her second straight top-20 finish.
* Wilson made an immediate impact on the Aztecs in the fall. The Scotland native shot the top two rounds in SDSU history with scores of 67 and 68, set the 54-hole tournament scoring record with a five-under 211 at the Lady Aztec Invitational, and posted the second best 36-hole score in SDSU history when she fired a 145 to finish second at the Heather Farr Memorial.
* Overall, Wilson has the top stroke average for the Aztecs at 75.20 in 20 rounds this season.
By The Numbers
* The Aztecs are No. 43 in Golfweek's latest rankings with a rating of 76.21. Against the nation's 51st-ranked schedule, the Aztecs are 56-34 overall and 35-34 against Golfweek's Top 100.
* According to Golfstat's Division I team rankings, SDSU is the country's 49th-ranked team with a division record of 159-50.
* SDSU also has the 20th ranked freshman class according to Golfstat behind the strength of Wilson and Oliver.
Coming Up Next: The Postseason
* The postseason is approaching quickly with the MWC Championships being held on April 22-24 in Sunriver, Ore. The Aztecs have never won the MWC Championship and will be chasing New Mexico who is currently ranked No. 3 in the country.
* SDSU is also planning its first NCAA Regional bid since 2001, which will be on May 6-8 in Stanford, Calif., where the Aztecs can earn their first trip ever to the NCAA Championships (May 18-21 in Auburn, Ala.).