Women's Golf Opens Spring Season at UCF Challenge

UCF CHALLENGE
When:	Sunday, Feb. 4 - Tuesday, Feb. 6
Where:	Orlando, Fla. \| Eagle Creek Golf Club (Par 72, 6,350 yards)
Host:	UCF
Field:	Auburn, UCF, College of Charleston, East Carolina, Iowa State, Memphis, Miami, Mississippi State, UNCW, Old Dominion, Penn State, SMU, Texas Tech, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin
Live Stats:	Golfstat
Social Media:	Twitter: @GreenWaveWGolf \| Facebook: /GreenWaveWGolf \| Instagram: @GreenWaveWGolf

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane women's golf begins its 2018 spring schedule this weekend, heading to Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., to compete in the UCF Challenge.

The Green Wave are once again competing in an impressive field that includes seven teams ranked in the top 50 of the most recent Golfweek Women's Team Collegiate Rankings. No. 26 ranked Iowa State headlines the 16-team field along with No. 27 Wisconsin, No. 29 Vanderbilt, No. 34 Auburn, No. 38 ECU, No. 41 Miami and No. 44 Texas Tech. Tulane, College of Charleston, Memphis, Mississippi State, UNCW, Old Dominion, Penn State, SMU and host UCF round out the field for the three-day, 54-hole tournament.

Head Coach Lorne Don said his Tulane squad had a successful offseason of learning and training, and he's excited to see how the hard work will translate on the course.

"Coming out of the fall, each of our players had some concrete things that they needed to work on," Don said. "They've focused on those things over the winter break, and we've had just over two weeks back here to continue working. I think we have a good mindset heading into UCF, and we're just really excited to get out there and compete. Everyone was hungry to keep competing and get better after the fall season, so this is our chance to go down that road and start the spring off on a positive note."

The Green Wave lineup for the UCF Challenge includes freshman Jennifer Rosenberg at No. 1, junior Laura Munoz at No. 2, sophomore Haydyn Gibson at No. 3, junior Abbie Cantwell at No. 4 and sophomore Gabrielle Correia at No. 5, with junior Sofia Goicoechea will competing as an individual. Rosenberg leads Tulane with a 73.75 stroke average and paces the team with five rounds of par or better.

Don said the team's familiarity with the course is advantageous for his young Green Wave squad, and he expects Rosenberg, who will see the golf course for the first time in her career, to continue playing at a high level.

"Five of our six players who are competing in the tournament have played there before and feel comfortable on the course," Don said. "We happy with [Jennifer's] progress this fall and how she handled playing in high-level competition, and she'll continue that. She's an exciting player, a great ball striker and a great competitor, and she's just excited to get back on the course and compete again."

This weekend also marks the first tournament with Assistant Coach Lisa McCloskey on staff. Don said her knowledge of the game and leadership abilities are an asset for Tulane, who is looking to make waves in the first competition of the spring season.

"I think the players and myself are excited to have someone with Lisa's experience here," Don said. "She's someone who was an All-American in college for four years, and she had four years on the LPGA tour. Her experience is really going to help our team on the course and in the tournament rounds."

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Women's Golf Opens Spring Season at UCF Challenge

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Players Mentioned

Abbie Cantwell

Gabrielle Correia

Haydyn Gibson

Sofia Goicoechea

Laura Munoz

Jennifer Rosenberg

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