SADDLEBROOK, ARIZ. – The University of Missouri Women's Golf team heads west to Arizona this week to take on a 13-team field in the 2019 MountainView Women's Golf Collegiate Classic, set for March 22-24 at The Preserve Golf Club in Saddlebrook, Ariz. This will mark the 21st edition of the MountainView Classic, a tournament which is co-hosted each year by Mizzou and Kansas State. In addition to the tournament hosts, the field consists of Houston, Iowa State, North Texas, Oregon State, SMU, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Texas State, UNLV, Washington and Wisconsin.
Live scoring will be available online at the following link: http://bfire.co/-03d8d/
Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer's squad finished third at last season's MountainView Classic, and she's excited to see them contend in a tournament that her program has a longstanding involvement with.
"We've been competing in this event for a long time, and what makes it special is that since we host we can take our entire team," Priesmeyer said. "We have stayed with the same host families for years so those relationships are very special to us, and everyone looks forward to this trip in March because of that, and also because the weather is usually perfect," she said.
The Tigers come into the MountainView ranked 60th in the latest Golf Stat team rankings. The team has had to battle some injuries to the lineup, as junior Cherise Otter has missed all spring after having surgery on her wrist, and junior Jessica Yuen had to withdraw after two rounds in the previous outing due to wrist soreness. Priesmeyer said that Otter will make the trip this weekend but play as an individual in hopes that she can eventually get herself back into the lineup, but that Yuen is primed and ready to go.
"Jess has had some nice rest since the Westbrook event and she's feeling much better, so she is good to go for this week and is looking forward to the competition," said Priesmeyer. "Jess is such a tough competitor, she hated having to withdraw at Westbrook, so it will be important for her to stay patient this week and find that balance of not forcing things, but attacking when the opportunity is there," she said.
Priesmeyer's lineup at the MountainView will consist of senior Emma Allen (Southampton, England) in the No. 1 spot, followed by senior Amanda Kim (O'Fallon, Mo.) at No. 2 and senior Cayce Hendrickson (Benton, Ky.) at No. 3. Yuen (Bolingbrook, Ill.) will take the No. 4 spot, with freshman Keagan Dunn (Braselton, Ga.) in the No. 5 spot. Also playing in the tournament as individuals will be senior Mackenzie Perez (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.), redshirt freshman Julia Bower (Columbia, Mo.), and Otter (Bloomington, Ind.).
The key to a solid performance this weekend at the Preserve according to Priesmeyer is course management.
"It's a very scenic course with the mountains all around, so it's a fun place to play, but course management is crucial there," she said. "You really have to think your way around the course to be in the proper spot off the tee to give yourself a chance at being on the right side of the pin. That's important because the greens are bigger and have more undulation on them. We're looking to be in the fairway, and take advantage of the par fives and be even par or better on the par threes," Priesmeyer said.
Allen is looking to follow up a T-11 performance last time out at the Westbrook Invitational, where she shot a three-under par 213 total (69-70-74).
"Emma has been playing very well overall, and she won our qualifier this week. She loves this event and I look for her to have a very nice tournament," said Priesmeyer.
Kim led the Tigers with a career-best T-7 outing earlier this spring at the Lake Oconee Invitational (72-77-72 = 221).
"Amanda has been really striking the ball well, as good as she ever has. She was under par in our last qualifying round, and she should have confidence to go out there and back up all of the hard work she's been putting in," said Priesmeyer.
Hendrickson's best spring finish was a T-25 at Lake Oconee (74-79-75 = 228), and she's coming off her best spring total at Westbrook (73-74-73 = 220).
"Cayce is always very consistent for us, and she's so important for our team with her great attitude and how she brings everybody up. She's ready for a breakout tournament," said Priesmeyer.
Dunn had her best collegiate outing to date last time out at the Westbrook, where she tied for 35th with a two-over 218 total (73-74-71, which was 14 shots clear of her previous best). Dunn led the Westbrook field in par five scoring average.
"We're really pleased with how much Keagan has improved over the season. She's working hard and is still learning a lot about the nuances of course management, but she's got great potential and her length off the tee is a great strength," said Priesmeyer.
Perez and Bower will be making their second appearances of the 2018-19 season, as each competed in the fall at the Johnie Imes Invitational, where Perez had a career-best T-32 showing with a 225 total (75-76-74), while Bower made her collegiate debut and tied for 38th with a 227 total (77-75-75).
"Mac has always been such a great team player for us and we look forward to her competing in this event – she's put in the work and now just needs to relax and have fun. Julia will benefit from the experience, as this is only her second event, so we're excited to see her progress in tournament golf," said Priesmeyer.
For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Golf, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MUWomensGolf) and on Facebook at MizzouWomensGolf.