April 27, 2013
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - The San Diego State trio of Paige Spiranac (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Emma Henrikson (Malmö, Sweden) and Christine Wong (Richmond, B.C.) captured all-conference honors Saturday following the final round of the 2013 Mountain West Women's Golf Championships on the par-72, 6,324-yard Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club.
Spiranac and Henrikson garnered their first career all-MW awards as first-team selections, while Wong was a second-team pick, earning all-conference accolades for the fourth year in a row, as the league recognized two all-MW teams for the first time this season. In addition, Henrikson was tabbed as the conference's freshman of the year, joining Malin Enarsson and Wong, who captured the award in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Wong carded the Aztecs' lowest score of the championships with a 72 over the final 18 holes, offsetting two bogeys with a pair of birdies on the front nine before closing with 10 straight pars to finish alone in third place with a collective 8-over 224. With her effort, the SDSU senior jumped four spots from the previous day, falling just one stroke short of joining an eventual playoff, where New Mexico's Manon DeRoey defeated Demi Mak of UNLV on the first hole of sudden death.
In addition, Spiranac recorded her best round of the tournament with a 74 to finish two shots in back of Wong at 10-over 226. The Aztec sophomore was 1-under for the day until a double-bogey and bogey on holes 14 and 15 thwarted her progress up the leaderboard. Still, Spiranac managed to climb one slot into sixth place in her first MW championship appearance.
Henrikson, meanwhile, carded a 78 over the final 18 holes to tie for the 15th position at 17-over 233, securing her fifth top-20 finish of the season. Including Saturday's round, Henrikson has maintained a 75.76 stroke average during the 2012-13 campaign, which ranks seventh in the conference.
Despite posting its lowest score of the tournament with a final-round 302, SDSU dropped one spot into fifth place in the team standings at 62-over 926, finishing four shots behind fourth-place Nevada (+58) and eight strokes in back of Fresno State (+54), which took third. UNLV (+40) took home the team title after besting Boise State (+52) by 12 shots.
The Aztec lineup also included sophomore Kristina Lynn (Carlsbad, Calif.), who lowered her score for the second straight day with a 78 to tie for 31st at 27-over 243, while fellow classmate Amy Alston (Mission Viejo, Calif.) tied for 39th at 266.
SDSU will wait to hear if it will make its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA regional tournament when the 72 bids are announced on Monday, April 29. The three regional sites this year are in Auburn, Ala., Norman, Okla. and Stanford, Calif., May 9-11.
Mountain West ChampionshipsFinal ResultsMission Hills C.C.Dinah Shore Tournament CourseRancho Mirage, Calif.Par 72, 6,324 yards
Team Scores1. UNLV 314-290-300--904 (+40)2. Boise State 310-304-302--916 (+52)3. Fresno State 306-308-304--918 (+54)4. Nevada 316-309-297--922 (+58)5. San Diego State 312-312-302--926 (+62)6. New Mexico 323-320-306--949 (+85)7. Colorado State 316-318-316--950 (+86)8. Wyoming 343-305-321--969 (+105)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 + SDSU)T1. Manon DeRoey, New Mexico* 75-75-73--223 (+7)T1. Demi Mak, UNLV 77-73-73--223 (+7)3. Christine Wong, SDSU 78-74-72--224 (+8)T4. Nikki Prichard, Nevada 76-72-77--225 (+9)T4. Mayko Chwen Chang, UNLV 80-69-76--225 (+9)----6. Paige Spiranac, SDSU 76-76-74--226 (+10)T15. Emma Henrikson, SDSU 74-81-78--233 (+17)T31. Kristina Lynn, SDSU 84-81-78--243 (+27)T39. Amy Alston, SDSU 92-84-90--266 (+50)
*captured medalist honors on first playoff hole
2012-13 Mountain West Conference Awards
Women's Golfer of the Year
Dana Finkelstein, UNLV
Freshman of the Year
Emma Henrikson, San Diego State
Coach of the Year
Amy Bush, UNLV
All-Mountain West Conference First Team
Emma Henrikson, Fr., San Diego State; Paige Spiranac, So., San Diego State; Manon DeRoey, Jr., New Mexico; Sammi Stevens, Jr., New Mexico; Dana Finkelstein, So., UNLV
All-Mountain West Conference Second Team
Christine Wong, Sr., San Diego State; Hayley Young, Sr., Boise State; Madchen Ly, So., Fresno State; Charlotte Brooks, Jr., UNLV; Demi Mak, Jr., UNLV; Mayko Chwen Wang, So., UNLV