Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch – 2017-18 | NOTES Westbrook Spring Invitational
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa women’s golf team travels to Peoria, Arizona, for the Westbrook Spring Invitational on Sunday and Monday.
THE SCHEDULE
Sunday, Feb. 25 — First and Second Round — 9:30 a.m. (CT)
Monday, Feb. 26 — Final Round — 9:30 a.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament on BirdieFire.com. Links can be found on the Iowa women’s golf schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
THE COMPETITION
The field includes 15 teams (Golfstat Relative Rankings): Wisconsin (30), Illinois (15), Indiana, Ohio State, Kansas, Oklahoma (17), Kansas State, Washington State, Oregon, Nebraska, Delaware, Oregon State, Notre Dame (39), UC Davis, and Iowa.
LINEUP
The Hawkeye lineup will include seniors Jessica Ip, Elisa Suarez, Morgan Kukla, juniors Shawn Rennegarbe and Kristin Glesne, and sophomore Sophie Liu. Freshman Rachel Fujitani will also be competing and making her Hawkeye debut.
THE COURSE
The Vistas course was designed by Ken Kavanaugh and opened in 1990.
This is a links-style course that has spacious fairways, larger greens, and few trees.
HISTORICALLY AT THE WESTBROOK SPRING INVITE
Iowa has had five top-10 team finishes at this tournament over the past six years.
The Hawkeyes fired a three-round score of 873 (+9) last year to finish fifth, their best team finish at this tournament and the third best 54-hole score in program history.
Last year, Iowa carded a 36-hole score of 586 (+10), the sixth best 36-hole performance in program history.
Sophomore Sophie Liu carded a 54-hole score of 215 (-1). Last year, she finished tied for 10th, the best individual finish at this tournament for Iowa.
Senior Jessica Ip finished with a three-round score of 216 (E) to tie for 16th last year.
LAST TIME OUT
Iowa last competed at the Ladies Fall Collegiate in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 27-29. The Hawkeyes finished tenth with a 36-hole score of 633 (+57).
Senior Jessica Ip finished tied for 22nd with a two-round score of 155 (+11).
Junior Kristin Glesne carded a 36-hole score of 156 (+12), tying for 28th.
COMPETING WITH THE BEST
Through four tournaments, Iowa has competed against 29 top-50 teams, according to Golfstat Relative Rankings.
Six of those 29 opponents are ranked in the top-10, including No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Alabama.
Iowa has faced 15 top-25 opponents this season.
Iowa opened the season at the Branch Law Firm Invitational, finishing tied for 7th with No. 18 ranked Iowa State and New Mexico.
The Hawkeyes have finished ahead of four top-50 ranked teams — Pepperdine, Texas, UNLV, Arizona — at the Branch Law Firm Invitational.
FALL RECAP
The Hakweyes had two top-10 finishes, tying for 7th in the Branch Law Firm Invitational and placing 10th at the Ladies Fall Collegiate.
Iowa has a team total of ten rounds at-or-below par heading into the spring.
The team stroke average for the fall was 75.2, the second best in program history.
Jessica Ip finished tied for fifth — the best individual finish of the fall. She also leads the team with a stroke average of 74.2.
Kristin Glesne leads the team with four rounds at-or-below par.
THREE NAMED BIG TEN PRESEASON HONOREES
Three members of the University of Iowa women’s golf team — seniors Jessica Ip and Morgan Kukla, and sophomore Sophie Liu — were named 2017-18 Big Ten Women’s Golf Preseason Honorees.
Ip competed in all six competitions in the spring, finishing with a 74.2 stroke average — the best on the team.
Liu competed in all six competitions, scoring a 77.0 stroke average — the second best on the team.
Kukla appeared in seven of Iowa’s 10 tournaments last season, carding a career-best 18-hole score of 71 (-1) at the Hawkeye El-Tigre Invitational.
HAWKEYE NEWCOMERS
This season, the Hawkeyes welcome three newcomers — Annalee Dannegger, Rachel Fujitani, and Stephanie Herzog– to the 2017-18 squad. Dannegger is from Wheaton, Illinois, Fujitani is from Phoenix, Arizona, and Herzog is from Red Wing, Minnesota.
ON THE HORIZON
The Iowa women’s golf team travels to Tucson, Arizona, to compete in the Arizona Wildcat Invitational on March 5-6.
