SAN DIEGO – Playing its second tournament in five days, the San Diego State women's golf team will add to its frequent flyer mileage this week when it travels to the Pacific Northwest for the Molly Murphy Crowley Collegiate Invitational, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, in Portland, Oregon.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament gets underway Monday in a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. PT on the par-72, 6,254-yard Waverley Country Club, while the final 18 holes are slated for a Tuesday completion with tee times beginning as early as 8 a.m. A live scoring link, courtesy of Golfstat, will be available for all three rounds on GoAztecs.com.
Along with No. 29 SDSU, the inaugural event features eight teams ranked in the latest Golfweek poll, including co-hosts Oregon State (4) and California (40), as well as Oregon (11), Washington (16), UC Davis (53), Colorado (55) and Georgia (57). In addition, the Aztecs will get an early look at Mountain West rival Colorado State, while Stanford and Santa Clara round out the highly competitive field.
Ninth-year SDSU head coach Leslie Spalding will bring seven golfers to the Rose City, including the starting lineup of Sara Kjellker (Hollviken, Sweden), Gioia Carpinelli (Boppelsen, Switzerland), Bernice Olivarez Ilas (Ayala Alabang, Philippines), Fernanda Escauriza (Asunción, Paraguay) and Ella Adams (Adelaide, Australia), while April Ranches (San Diego, Calif.) and Daniela Anastasi (La Jolla, Calif.) will compete as individuals.
Kjellker was the Aztecs' top finisher last week at the Golfweek Conference challenge near Vail, Colorado, where she shot a career-best 7-under-par 209 to tie for fourth place on the individual leaderboard, while Olivarez Ilas landed in the 24th spot at 3-over 219, followed by Carpinelli (T-34th, +6) and Escauriza (T-45th, +8). In addition, the junior transfer Adams will receive her first starting assignment for the Scarlet and Black after participating as an individual at the Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational in New Mexico, where she tied for 45th at 9-over 225.
Collectively, the Aztecs have placed fifth at both of their fall tournaments thus far, recording a 1-under 863 at the Branch/McGuire Invite, which is tied for the third-lowest 54-hole score in program history, while their 6-over 870 posted at the Golfweek Conference Challenge is tied for eighth all-time.
Entering the week, Kjellker earned a No. 34 individual ranking by Golfweek, while five other golfers in the Molly Murphy Crowley Collegiate are also among the top 50, including Georgia's Caterina Don (4), Washington's Karen Miyamoto (11), Oregon State's Ellie Slama (14), UC Davis' Rei Nakatani (32) and Oregon's Tze-Han Lin (45)
Following the week's tournament, San Diego State wraps up its fall slate when it heads north to the Bay Area for the Stanford Intercollegiate, Oct. 11-13, in Stanford, California.
Women's Golf Set for Molly Murphy Crowley Collegiate
