SAN ANTONIO (February 11, 2012) – The Baylor men’s golf team, ranked No. 32 in the latest Golfstat standings, opens its spring schedule Feb. 13-14 at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be held at the 6,765-yard, par-71 course at Oak Hills Country Club.
The first 36 holes will begin with an 8 a.m. CST shotgun start Monday, followed by the final 18 holes at 7:30 a.m. CST Tuesday. Live scoring for all three rounds will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
Meanwhile, after posting one of the most successful fall seasons in program history, the 22nd-ranked Baylor women’s golf team begins its spring slate Feb. 12-14 at the UCF Challenge.
The 54-hole tournament will feature 18 holes on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at the par-72, 6,374-yard course. Sunday and Monday will feature an 8:30 a.m. CST start, while Tuesday’s final round will begin at 8 a.m. CST. Live scoring for all three rounds will be available at www.GolfStat.com.
2012 marks the sixth year of the UCF Challenge and the fifth year it’s been held at RedTail. Baylor is joined in the 18-team field by host UCF, Auburn, Augusta State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Kansas, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas, Tulane, USF and UTSA. Eight teams in the field participated in the 2011 NCAA Regionals, while 17 of the 18 are currently ranked in the Top 100 by Golfstat.
Four individuals in the field are ranked in the Top 25 nationally, including Baylor freshman Hayley Davis (No. 23), who will lead the Lady Bears’ youthful lineup. Joining Davis are fellow freshmen Stani Schiavone and Emma Carberry and seniors Valerie Sternebeck and Chelsey Cothran.
During its fall season, Baylor finished either first or second in three of its four tournaments. The Jay Goble era began with a sixth-place finish at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic. Back-to-back tournament titles soon followed at the Dick Maguire Invitational in September and the Price’s “Give ‘Em Five” Intercollegiate in October. Baylor’s fall season concluded with a second-place showing at the Alamo Invitational.
Davis, the Big 12 Golfer of the Month for September, led the Lady Bears with a 71.92 scoring average, -0.33 score vs. par, eight rounds of par or better and four top-10 finishes in the fall. Cothran was second to Davis in all four categories during the fall. Davis and Cothran were the only Lady Bears to finish in the Top 25 in all four fall events.
Davis, Cothran, Sternebeck and Schiavone competed in all four of Baylor’s fall tournaments. Carberry, who competed in one fall event as an individual, will make her Baylor lineup debut at UCF.
Following its trip to Florida, Baylor will travel to New Orleans for the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic, which will be held Feb. 26-28 at English Turn Golf & Country Club.
UCF CHALLENGE INFORMATION
Dates: Sun., Feb. 12-Tue., Feb. 14
Location / Course: Sorrento, Fla. / RedTail Golf Club
Par / Yardage: 72 / 6,374
Format: 18-18-18
Field (18 teams): (3) Auburn, Augusta State, (22) Baylor, (60) Coastal Carolina, (56) Georgia State, Kansas, Kennesaw State, (37) Kentucky, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Mississippi State, (27) South Carolina, (15) Texas, (53) Tulane, (47) UCF, USF, (55) UTSA
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com
The 15-team tournament field will feature five Big 12 programs (Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech) and seven teams from the state of Texas (Baylor, Houston, North Texas, Rice, Texas State, Texas Tech and UTSA). Texas Tech swept the 2011 UTSA Oak Hills Invitational team (15-under) and individual titles (Nils Floren, 5-under). At the 2011 UTSA Oak Hills Invitational, Baylor finished tied for fifth with Louisiana-Lafayette. Baylor tied for third at the 2010 event.
Baylor’s spring-opening lineup will be anchored by four upperclassmen – senior Joakim Mikkelsen, senior Lorenzo Scotto, junior Ryan O’Rear and junior Jerry Ruiz. Freshman Kyle Jones will make his fifth career appearance in Baylor’s starting lineup, while redshirt freshman Niclas Mansson will compete as an individual.
Mikkelsen paced the Bears with a 71.27 scoring average, -0.33 score vs. par, 11 rounds of par or better and four top-10 finishes through 15 fall rounds. O’Rear finished second to Mikkelsen during the fall in both scoring average (71.60) and score vs. par (0.00), while being the only Bear to post a Top 25 finish in all five fall events.
Scotto played in three fall tournaments, scoring a 72.56 average and posting three Top 25 finishes. Jones played in four of Baylor’s five fall events, finishing with a 73.50 scoring average. Both Ruiz and Mansson played in two fall tournaments.
Following the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational, Baylor will head west Feb. 25-26 for the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, Calif.
UTSA OAK HILLS INVITATIONAL INFORMATION
Dates: Mon., Feb. 13-Tue., Feb. 14
Location / Course: San Antonio, Texas / Oak Hills CC
Par / Yardage: 71 / 6,765
Format: 36-18
Field (15 teams): (32) Baylor, Houston, (40) Iowa State, Kansas State, (50) Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana Tech, (37) North Texas, (34) Oklahoma, Rice, Southeastern Louisiana, Texas State, Texas Tech, (38) Tulsa, UTSA, (27) Wichita State
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com
