Colorado State University Athletics
Preview: Rams focused on finishing strong at Mountain West Championship
4/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
WEEKLY RELEASE #12 (PDF) / MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
Mountain West Championship / April 17-19
Rancho Mirage, Calif. / Mission Hills Country Club
Live Scoring
MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
Colorado State will close the 2016-17 women's golf season at the 2017 Mountain West Championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The three-day tournament will feature nine MW teams, and will be played out over three 18-hole rounds, beginning Monday morning (rounds will begin at 8 a.m. MT each day). The tournament is held at Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club (par 72; 6,270 yardage).
"I think the big thing is to not get caught up that it's a conference championship," head coach Annie Young said. "If we come with a better focus we'll play better; it's just little lapses that are hurting us. I'd like to see us go out on a high note to finish the year."
CSU's lineup will include Katrina Prendergast, Ellen Secor, Brianna Becker, Elisabeth Rau and Jessica Sloot.
"It's surprising to me that they haven't had that moment where they all put it together, so that's the hope for this week," Young said. "All of the girls who have played this course have played very well at one time. Elisabeth had a top-10 here, Katrina played unbelievable last year, Bri has had good rounds... We're trying to pull out the positives this week and help them remember those."
San Diego State is the tournament favorite, according to its national GolfStat ranking (No. 30), followed by San José State (36), UNLV (43), Fresno State (70), Nevada (88), New Mexico (111), CSU (121), Wyoming (140) and Boise State (175). UNLV won last year's championship.
"It's a good conference," Young said. "We have three teams that are going to make regionals, without question, based on rankings. If we finish in the top five, I think it's a good tournament. History shows, since it's been a nine-team field, that we haven't finished in the upper half. That has to change."
HISTORY AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP
- CSU, New Mexico, San Diego State and Wyoming are the only teams to play in all 18 Championships.
- The Rams carded a 921 a year ago, improving two places from eighth in 2015 to sixth in 2016.
- Then a freshman, Katrina Prendergast finished runner-up at the 2016 Championship, posting the fourth-best score by a Rams golfer at the Championship. She is one of three Rams to finish first or second place in the tournament.
- As a freshman in 2014, Elisabeth Rau finished in 17th place with a 14-over 230.
- The Rams have had plenty of success in the tournament's history, including third-place finishes in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2005, and a second-place finish in 2001.
- In 2002, freshman Lynette Duran was the conference's individual champion, totaling a 3-over 216.
DYNAMIC DUO
Freshman Ellen Secor and sophomore Katrina Prendergast earned top-20 performances at the Dale McNamara Invitational (April 10-11), tying for 14th place. It marked the fourth time this season that at least two Rams have placed in the top 20 of a tournament, with each one featuring the duo.
"A sophomore and freshman are leading our team, and that's exciting for the future of this program," Young said. "Those two are very talented players who will continue to get better."
Prendergast jumped onto the scene a year ago as a freshman, setting a single-season school record for stroke average and finishing runner-up at the Mountain West Championship and qualifying for NCAA Regionals. As a sophomore, she has seven top-20 finishes (two top-10), including all five tournaments during the spring season.
Secor has followed in Prendergast's footsteps as a successful freshman, finishing fifth as an individual at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic, her first collegiate competition. She followed that performance up with top-12 placing the next two tournaments, plus two 14th-place finishes this spring.
Their season stroke averages of 74.31 (Prendergast) and 75.00 (Secor) are on pace to finish third and fourth, respectively, in school history.
SENIOR SALUTES
Two CSU golfers will play their final rounds for the Green & Gold. Elisabeth Rau has competed in 38 career tournaments over the past four seasons, holding a career stroke average of 77.17 (seventh in CSU history). She carded a personal best of 69 at this year's Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, placing 11th out of 105 golfers. A year prior at the tournament she posted her best tournament score (214), while CSU set a team school record. Becker transferred to CSU after two seasons at Hawai`i. She has competed in 19 tournaments for the Rams, averaging 77.04 strokes per round (fifth in CSU history). She has carded a 69 twice and posted an even-par 216 during CSU's school-record-setting performance at the 2015 Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown. Earlier this year, she placed 12th at the Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate.
Rau is a three-time Academic All-Mountain West recipient while Becker earned the honor in her junior season, the first in the league.
"I get sad thinking about Elisabeth leaving because she's done a lot for this program," Young said. "Not just the golf, but the attitude she brings every day. If you had five Elisabeths on your team it'd be quite the team. The competitiveness that Bri brings to the program is special. She never wants to lose anything. She's very hard on herself but she always wants to excel and be better. Not to mention the students and people these two are. If every player could be like these two, the university would be incredible. They're going to be missed."
RECORD CHASERS
Several CSU golfers are in the all-time record books for their performances in 2016-17 and throughout their careers:
Brianna Becker
- 77.04 career scoring average (on pace to finish 5th in CSU history)
- 67 (Round 2, Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational); T-1st in single-round history (Prendergast now owns two of the four 67s in school history)
- 68 (Round 1, Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate); T-6th in single-round history
- 7 top-20 finishes (T-2nd in single-season history, along with her 2015-16 total and three others)
- 74.31 season stroke average (on pace to finish 3rd in single-season history; would own two of top-three averages).
- 77.17 career scoring average (on pace to finish 7th in CSU history)
- 68 (Round 2, Ptarmigan Ram Classic); T-6th in single-round history
- 5 top-20 performances (one more would tie for 6th in single-season history)
- 75.00 season scoring average (on pace to finish 4th in single-season history)
Team
- 305.00 season scoring average (on pace to finish 7th in school history)
- 281 score during Round 3 of the Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate (T-2nd in CSU single-round history)
- 875 score at the Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate (6th in CSU tournament history).
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM
CSU's women's golf team posted a team GPA of 3.78 this past fall, the highest among all CSU teams in 2016. Looking back further, four of CSU's six golfers from 2015-16 earned Mountain West Academic All-Conference honors for holding a cumulative grade-point average above 3.0, with three of them on the Rams' 2016-17 roster. Additionally, Brianna Becker and CSU graduate Mikayla Tatman were named All-American Scholars by the Women's Golf Coaches Association. Dating back to 2004, at least one Rams golfer has been a recipient.
GREB TO JOIN RAMS' PROGRAM
In November, prep star Haley Greb signed her National Letter of Intent to play for the Rams, beginning this fall. Greb, from Pendleton High School in Oregon, earned four all-state honors and won the 2016 Oregon Junior Amateur.
YOUNG APPOINTED TO NCAA COMMITTEE
In September 2015, CSU head women's golf coach Annie Young was named to the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Committee. The four-year appointment extends through the 2018-19 academic year. As part of the committee, Young makes monthly conference calls, selects teams for regionals and evaluates potential rules changes, in addition to other tasks. During the spring, she traveled to regionals and the NCAA Championship, representing the NCAA.
"I'm honored that I get to play a role in the progression of women's golf," Young said at the time. "I'm most excited to learn how everything works. It will be neat to be part of the selection process, and to learn more about the most-efficient way of scheduling."
Players Mentioned
