The UNM women's golf team kicks off the fall portion of its 2001-2002 season today when it hosts the 23rd Annual Comcast Dick McGuire Invitational at the UNM Championship Golf Course.
The tournament was originally scheduled to start Thursday, but was cut short one day because of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania Tuesday.
Many of the UNM athletic sporting events scheduled for this weekend were postponed. However, the women's golf tournament will continue.
Assistant women's golf coach Angie Hopkins said the tournament is still being held because several teams had already arrived in Albuquerque. Eight of the original 18 teams will participate in the tournament.
Hopkins said she thinks it is a good idea to continue the tournament.
"We are using it as an escape; to get away from it all," she said. "An escape for a little while from the television and all the bad things that occurred on Tuesday."
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It is one of only two times the Lobos will compete locally this season, with the other being the Isleta Lobo Golf Fund-raiser, March 29.
The Lobos have not won the Dick McGuire Invitational since 1986.
As competition begins, UNM will no doubt be looking to repeat the success of last season.
The Lobos won their second straight Mountain West Conference title and its 11th conference title in the last 22 years. UNM went to the NCAA nationals, where then junior Claudia Ferrini finished 23rd overall in individual competition.
Ferrini finished last season with a 76.4 stroke average, good for second best on the team and spent the summer playing in several tournaments in South America and securing her second-straight Peruvian National Title.
Sophomore Kristi Larsen also returns from last year's squad.
Larsen was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year last year based on her 76.6 stroke average. She also stayed busy on the links over the summer, playing in tournaments in Korea, China and Japan.
The third veteran is sophomore Kellyn Newman, who played in only one tournament last fall, but Booth said she was UNM's most improved player last year. Newman also was named to the Mountain West all-academic team.
Three freshmen - Kailin Downs, Shannon Johnson and Christina Spence - and one sophomore transfer, Katrina Leckovic, round out the rest of the 2001-2002 squad.
The two-day invitational will consist of playing 36 holes in shotgun format today, starting at 8:00 a.m., and 18 holes for the final round on Saturday.
The Lobos will then travel to Corvallis, Ore., Oct. 8-10 for the Shanico Invitational at Oregon State University.
Staff Report
