USA Wrestling Coaching Announcement
IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa head women’s golf coach Megan Menzel announced the 2016-17 schedule Wednesday. The Hawkeyes are slated to play nine regular season events — highlighted by the first annual Hawkeye-El Tigre Invitational in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from April 2-4 — before entering the championship portion of their schedule.
“We are very excited about our schedule this year,” said Menzel. “I think it offers us great competitive opportunities at really good golf courses. We will see different parts of the country that we have not traveled to in a long time, and the spacing of our tournaments this fall provides a really great balance for our student-athletes.”
Iowa’s fall season features a pair of tournaments hosted by 2017 NCAA Regional hosts, including the Red Raider Invitational (Texas Tech), Sept. 12-13, and the Greenville Regional Preview (East Carolina), Oct. 17-18. Senior Jessie Sindlinger fired a career-best, 54-hole score of 216 (E) at last year’s Red Raider Invitational.
The fall schedule also includes the GolfWeek Conference Challenge in Vail, Colorado, Sept. 26-28, and the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina, Oct. 28-30.
The Hawkeyes open their spring slate at the Central District Challenge in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Feb. 20-21, before traveling to Peoria, Arizona, for the Westbrook Spring Invitational the following week, Feb. 26-27. The Entrada Classic, hosted by BYU in St. George, Utah, follows March 13-14. The Hawkeyes finished second in the two-day event last year behind three top-20 finishes (Amy Ihm, Jessie Sindlinger, and Elisa Suarez).
One week later, the Hawkeyes head to the state of California for the first time since 2011, traveling to San Diego State’s March Mayhem, March 20-22.
Iowa concludes the regular season April 2-4, hosting the first annual Hawkeye-El Tigre Invitational in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
“We are looking forward to hosting the first annual Hawkeye-El Tigre Invitational in Puerto Vallarta,” said Menzel.” It is a world-class facility, and the people at El Tigre have been amazing to work with. We are all really looking forward to hosting a premier collegiate event.”
The Hawkeyes open postseason play at the 2017 Big Ten Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 21-23. The 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Regionals will be played at four different host sites May 8-10, while the 2017 National Championship will take place at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois from May 19-24.
Iowa returns seven letterwinners from last year’s record-breaking squad. The Hawkeyes claimed their first tournament title since 2012 at the 2015 Diane Thomason Invitational (Sept. 12-13, 2015), and broke the program’s 54-hole team score record (879; 2012) with an even-par 864 at the Johnie Imes Invitational on Sept. 29, 2015.
To view the complete women’s golf schedule, visit the Iowa women’s golf schedule page on hawkeyesports.com.