SAN DIEGO – The Aztec women's golf team will play in the Mountain West Championships at the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. April 18-20.
Among the nine Mountain West schools, four are in Golfstat's top 75, led by the reigning champion San Jose State, who is No. 10 in the nation.
SDSU has finished in the top two in six of the past seven MW Championships.
The Aztecs' starting five will be Bernice Olivarez Ilas, Anika Sato, April Ranches, Andrea Gomez and Sammy Lee.
Olivarez Ilas (Ayala Alabang, Philippines) leads the team with an 18-hole average of 74.1 strokes. She has led the Aztecs in six of their nine tournaments this season and has three top-10 finishes, including last week's Riverside Classic where she tied for sixth with a two-over-par 218, which led to her winning Mountain West Golfer of the Week honors.
Sato (Utsunomiya, Japan) tied for 11th in Utah last week, finishing one stroke behind Olivarez Ilas. She is averaging 75.3 strokes per 18, good for second on the team.
April Ranches, a fifth-year senior from San Diego, is coming off a strong showing last week where she finished tied for 22nd with a seven-over-par 223. She has three top 35 finishes on the year.
Gomez (Huixquilucan, Mexico) is tied with Sato for having the second highest count percentage on the team (.833, 10-12). She had a season-low round of 72 in her final 18 last week.
Lee (San Ramon, Calif.), one of three seniors on the team, shot a 224 last week (T-25th), just one stroke off a career best 54-hole score.
Teams will play 18 holes each day. On Tuesday, the Aztecs begin at 8:30 a.m. and are paired with UNLV and Wyoming.
The forecast calls for sunny skies with temperatures reaching the 80's by the end of the round.
Aztecs Competing in Mountain West Championships
