SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State women's golf team defends its conference title when it ventures to the Palm Springs area next week for the Mountain West Championship, April 20-21, in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The 54-hole event will be contested at Mission Hills Country Club on the renowned Dinah Shore Tournament Course, home of one of the LPGA Tour's majors, the ANA Inspiration, formerly known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
The nine-team field will play 36 holes on the par-72, 6,270-yard layout on Tuesday and 18 holes in the final round on Wednesday. The Aztecs will tee off with Fresno State and Boise State on the 10th hole at 7:10 a.m. PT Tuesday, while the pairings for the final round will be based on team standings.
The MW Championship returns to Mission Hills for the eighth straight time after a two-year run in 2011 and 2012 at the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield, Ariz., just outside of Phoenix. During the 2009 and 2010 campaigns, the event was held at the Black Horse Club in Seaside, Calif., near Monterey. In the league's 20-year history, the championships have also been conducted in three other states: Oregon, Utah and New Mexico.
Head coach Leslie Spalding will accompany five golfers to Coachella Valley next week, featuring Sara Kjellker, Andrea Gomez, Anna Lina Otten, Bernice Olivarez Ilas and April Ranches.
SDSU won the 2019 MW Championship by one stroke at 40-over 904 after finishing as the runner-up in each of the three previous championships (2016-18). Last year's MW Championship was canceled because of the COVID pandemic. San Diego State captured its first MW title in 2015 at 12-over 876. In addition to its two conference championships, the Aztecs have finished fifth at the MW tourney on seven occasions, second five times, third and seventh twice, while placing fourth and sixth once each.
Kjellker is the only SDSU golfer who has competed at the championship, tying for second in 2019 at 3-over 219 and tying for 35th in 2018 at 20-over 236. Kjellker, who currently is 42nd in the latest Golfstat individual rankings, leads San Diego State in scoring average (73.67), rounds below par (5) and even-par rounds (2). She has two runner-up finishes (Lamkin Invitational and The Bruzzy) this year and three top-10 finishes.
Ilas, meanwhile, ranks second on the team in stroke average at 76.13 with a best finish of a tie for third at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational at 2-over 218. Gomez is right behind Ilas at 76.27 with a pair of top-20 finishes. Anna Lina Otten (79.27) and April Ranches (80.33) rank fourth and fifth on the team, respectively.
At No. 47, the Aztecs are one of five teams in the MW Championships ranked among the top-100 teams in the latest Golfstat rankings released April 14, along with No. 46 New Mexico, No. 54 San José State, No. 59 UNLV and No. 73 Fresno State. Boise State, Colorado State, Nevada and Wyoming are also in the tournament this week, while the two remaining MW members - Air Force and Utah State - do not sponsor women's golf programs.
SDSU owns a 4-3 record in head-to-head results against conference foes during the 2021 campaign, including a 1-0 record against Colorado State and Fresno State, 1-1 marks vs. New Mexico and San José State, and an 0-1 record with UNLV. San Diego State has yet to face Boise State, Nevada and Wyoming.
Women’s Golf Set for MW Championship
