The UNM women's golf team is making its way to the top of GolfWeek/Sagarin rankings. This week the Lobos were picked as the third-best team in the nation.
The Lobos have been in reserve since Feb. 11, after taking second place at the 2004 Regional Challenge, and head coach Jackie Booth said they owe their advancement partly to the University of Arizona's fall on its own course last week.
The Wildcats, who were previously in the third spot, finished ninth at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, allowing UNM to improve one position.
The Wildcats and the Lobos have met three times this season. Arizona beat UNM the first time, but UNM won the last two.
Booth said she noticed signs of frustration in the Arizona team at the Regional Challenge.
"They did not play well in their last tournament," Booth said. "I watched their team give up in the last tournament we played because they got so frustrated."
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UNM will not be back on the course until the team goes to Hawaii on March 16 for the Hawaii Invitational in Oahu.
UNM standout and consistent leader, Kailin Downs, said the team is looking forward to the tropical environment because it has been difficult to practice in Albuquerque with the rainy weather that has been hanging around.
"It's really hard to motivate yourself when the wind is blowing and there is moisture coming down," Downs said. "But sometimes we play in tournaments in weather like this, so it'll be good."
For that reason, Downs said practicing in drizzly weather pays off in the long run.
Downs said the Lobos got a boost not only in the national spotlight this week, but more importantly, in their own confidence level.
"Our confidence level is really high right now," she said. "We believe, and we have it in our heads, that we are going to win every time we go out and play."
Downs said during its month off from competition, the team has been working on a combination of things. She said members have been having some fun times on the course, as well as doing cardio and weight training.
"We've had a real strong team practice this week," she said. "We'll be real eager to get out and compete again."
This season the women's golf team has a promising opportunity to do something no other team in UNM history has done before - win an NCAA title.
Booth said she's never had a team with such a level of commitment, chemistry and hard-work ethic.
"I think it takes a combination of things to be nationally ranked," Booth said. "And we have those characteristics."
Booth said she thinks - and always has thought - that the team that putts the best at the national championship will win the title.
"The odds are good for us at this point," she said. "I've always believed that the team that wins the NCAA is the best team of the week."
