The UNM women's golf team cruised to a 19-stroke victory at the Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday.
The Lobos shot a three-day total of 888 - 12 strokes over par.
Sophomore Jodi Ewart won the individual title, shooting even for the tournament.
From tee time on the first day of the tournament, the Lobos came out prepared and took an early lead. Shooting a 6-over-par 298, the Lobos' closest competitor was BYU, which shot a 15-over-par 307 in the first round.
BYU finished the tournament in second place at 31 over par.
UNM head coach Jill Trujillo was named MWC Coach of the Year at the end of the tournament.
Although their nearest competitors were nine strokes back in the first round, Trujillo said it was important the Lobos didn't get complacent.
"That was one of the goals," she said. "It is our home course, and yes, we're expected to win, but they had to look at other small things to get to the big goal of winning the championship."
Ewart shot 219 for the tournament to earn her second straight MWC title.
She entered Saturday two strokes off the lead at plus-one but shot three birdies in the final four holes to earn the win.
Ewart said she is used to playing catch-up.
"I've been in this situation so many times," she said. "I knew that as soon as the first birdie would drop, I would carry on from there."
Ewart got her birdie on 15. From there, she went on to birdie 17 and 18, leaving her with a 3-under-par 72 and even for the tournament.
Sophomore Jodi Ewart celebrates after making a birdie on the 18th hole Saturday in the final round of the Mountain West Conference Championships. Ewart won the individual title, shooting even for the tournament.
Colin Bridge /
Daily Lobo
And on such a rigorous course, even was good enough.
But for Ewart, winning isn't anything new. On Saturday, she became the first person in MWC history to win back-to-back individual conference titles.
"It feels really good," she said. "I didn't know I was the first person to win it back-to-back. But it was a huge advantage having it on our home course. So, it was always going to be in one of our favor to win it."
Heading into the third and final day, Britney Choy, who finished the tournament in fourth, was leading the field with a two-day total of 145 - 1 under par.
But Choy got some bad breaks throughout the day, specifically on the first hole.
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"I got plugged in the bunker," she said. "I could only see only half an inch of my ball. That really pushed me back on the first hole."
Choy finished up the day with a 78 and plus-four overall for the tournament.
With first place out of reach, Choy passed the torch to Ewart.
But UNM's title is more than just a piece of hardware to add to the shelf, as the win gets UNM an automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals.
Trujillo said the momentum the Lobos gained from the MWC Tournament will prove invaluable when they compete in the NCAA Regionals, which begin May 8.
"This is a shot in the arm for us," she said. "Especially for Jodi, Mikaela (Backstedt) and Morgan (Grantham). Morgan had the tournament of her career."
Grantham finished second to Ewart.
Trujillo said the Lobos should have a chance to surprise some people at regionals with their solid performance.
"Each and every one of them - I give all the credit to them," she said. "They're such good people and fighters. They fought a lot this weekend."
