SAN DIEGO – The Aztec women's golf team kicks off the fall portion of their 2021-22 season on Monday when it plays in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational at the University of New Mexico's Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M.
The 54-hole tournament will span two days with 36 holes being played Monday and 18 on Tuesday. Both days will begin at 6:30 a.m. PT (7:30 a.m. MT) with a shotgun start.
The Aztecs will be going up against New Mexico, BYU, Cal, Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, Fresno State, Iowa, Kansa, UNLV, New Mexico State, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Jose State and Texas State. Oregon State was ranked No. 33 in the Golf Channel's preseason rankings.
SDSU finished second in the Mountain West last season and made the NCAA regionals for the 11th time in the last 12 years. Following the season, head coach Leslie Spalding retired after 10 successful seasons on The Mesa.
Lauren Dobashi, who spent the last eight seasons with national power Stanford, was announced as the new Aztec head coach in August. While an assistant and associate head coach with the Cardinal from 2014-19, Dobashi (pronounced DOH-BOSH-EE) helped Stanford to a national title in 2015 and six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, including three straight NCAA regional titles (2016-18).
Dobashi will use the lineup of Esti Garcia Rubio, Sara Kjellker, Bernice Olivarez Ilas, Anna Lina Otten and Anika Sato in the first tournament of the season. The SDSU lineup features players from five different countries.
Kjellker (Hollviken, Sweden) is the reigning Mountain West champion and Golfer of the Year and is a four-time All-Mountain West selection. She is returning to SDSU for a fifth year, utilizing the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA due to COVID-19.
Bernice Olivarez Ilas (Ayala Alabang, Philippines) logged a 75.76 scoring average last season, second on the team. She also ranked second in team count percentage (.961) and had one top-5 finish and three top-10 showings.
Anna Lina Otten (Neuss, Germany) was in the Aztec starting lineup six of seven tournaments last spring. Her best score came at the Bruzzy, a 12-over and her highest finish was at the Lamkin Invitational where she tied for 22nd (14-over) while competing as an individual).
This will be the first collegiate tournament for freshmen Esti Garcia Rubio (San Diego, Calif.) and Anika Sato (Utsunomiya, Japan). Garcia Rubio is a local product, coming to SDSU from Chula Vista's Mater Dei Catholic where she was a four-time first-team CIF selection. Sato attended Kaishi Kokusai High School where she placed ninth in the Japanese High School Championships.
This is the sixth time consecutive fall season (there wasn't a 2020 fall season) the Aztecs will open in Albuquerque, N.M. Behind three top-25 individual performances, SDSU finished fifth when they last played this tournament in 2019.
This will be the 66th year New Mexico has hosted a women's tournament. The UNM Championship course is par-72 and has a yardage of 6,317.
Aztecs Open Season at New Mexico
