Women's Golf to Host 2018 Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship

ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL INTERCOLLEGIATE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
When:	Sunday, Feb. 18 - Tuesday, Feb. 20
Where:	New Orleans, La. \| English Turn Golf & Country Club (Par 72, 6,239 yards)
Host:	Tulane
Field:	UCF, Clemson, Denver, Florida, Houston, Kansas, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, South Alabama, Southern California, SMU
Live Stats:	Golfstat
Tee Times:	First Round \| Second Round \| Third Round
Championship Central:	Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship Central
Social Media:	Twitter: @GreenWaveWGolf Facebook: /GreenWaveWGolf Instagram: @GreenWaveWGolf

NEW ORLEANS – Home sweet home.

Tulane women's golf plays host to 16 of the nation's top teams Sunday, welcoming competitors to its home course, English Turn Golf & Country Club, for the 2018 Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship.

The 54-hole tournament, which is in its eighth year, begins with the first round 9 a.m., Sunday. Monday's second round also begins at 9 a.m. while Tuesday's final round starts at 8 a.m.

"We're honored to be working with an organization like the Allstate Sugar Bowl and their commitment to not only Tulane Athletics but also amateur athletics in the greater New Orleans and Louisiana area," Head Coach Lorne Don said. "We're lucky to be associated with them, and for the past eight years, they've supported our tournament and women's collegiate golf. We have a great field coming into New Orleans and English Turn, and the golf course is in great shape, so we're looking forward to a good week."

The field for the 2018 Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Golf Championship once again features many of the top teams in the country, headlined by six of the Top 25 and 10 of the Top 50 teams in the nation, according to the most recent Golfstat.com Rankings (11/21/17). Oklahoma State leads this year's field, ranking No. 8 in the nation, followed by USC (No. 11), Michigan State (No. 13), Florida (No. 18), Denver (No. 20) and Houston (No. 21).

Eight different conferences are represented among this year's slate of competitors, including each Power 6 conference, The Summit League and the Sun Belt. The 17 teams have combined to win six national championships. USC (2003, 2008, 2013) has three titles and Florida (1985, 1986) has two titles while Miami (Fla.) (1984) has one.

Among the individuals, eight of the nation's top 50 golfers are set to participate with two of last year's top 10 finishers returning. Mami's Dewi Weber (No. 24), who shared third-place honors at last year's Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship, and Clemson's Alice Hewson (No. 37), who finished in a tie for fifth, will vie for this year's top individual honor. Oklahoma State's Maddie McCray comes into the event as the highest ranked individual, ranking No. 11 in the nation after recording a scoring average of 70.38 and winning the Windy City Collegiate Classic in the fall. McCray paces an impressive field of golfers, which also includes Houston's Leonie Harm (No. 19), Michigan State's Sarah Burnham (No. 20) and Paz Marfa Sans (No. 26), Oklahoma State's Kenzie Neisen (No. 31) and SMU's Brigitte Dunne (No. 47).

"It's a great competitive environment and that's what we're trying to accomplish here with this tournament," Don said. "We get such a high quality of teams and individual players. We've had a lot of former champions here, and I would guess this year that we'll have someone here who's very deserving of winning that title. The golf course is a fair test, but it's one that typically the best players do rise to the top."

The Green Wave lineup for the tournament includes junior Sofia Goicoechea at No. 1, junior Laura Munoz at No. 2, freshman Jennifer Rosenberg at No. 3, sophomore Haydyn Gibson at No. 4 and sophomore Ebba Bjornberg at No. 5, with junior Abbie Cantwell, redshirt sophomore Elise Genoux and sophomore Gabrielle Correia competing as an individual. Rosenberg leads Tulane with a 74.00 stroke average and paces the team with six rounds of par or better.

Last time out, the Green Wave earned a 16th-place finish in their spring season opener at the UCF Challenge. Tulane posted a 916 (+52), firing their best round of the tournament Sunday with a nine-over 297. Goicoechea, competing as an individual, led the way for the Green Wave, finishing tied for 44th among the 90-player field with a 225 (+9).

Don said the team's familiarity with English Turn is advantageous for his young Green Wave squad, and he expects the ladies to build off what was learned at last weekend's UCF Challenge and continue playing at a high level.

"We saw some really great things the first day at UCF," Don said. "We fought hard, which is something we talk about a lot. I think this week, being that we're at our home course and knowing the hole locations, we really focused in on our short game and worked on our chipping and putting. The ladies feel very comfortable out there, so now it's a matter of getting the ball in the hole. It's a privilege to tee it up on your home course against so many great players, so we, as coaches, really look forward to it, and I know our athletes do, too."

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Women's Golf to Host 2018 Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship

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Players Mentioned

Abbie Cantwell

Gabrielle Correia

Haydyn Gibson

Sofia Goicoechea

Laura Munoz

Jennifer Rosenberg

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