Mustangs To Compete In Jim West Challenge

Jim West Challenge
Kissing Tree Golf Club | San Marcos, Texas
Par 72 | 6,163 Yards
October 23-24
LIVE RESULTS
ESPN+ STREAM SUNDAY
ESPN+ STREAM MONDAY

Fresh off its second top-two finish of the young season, SMU women's golf travels to San Marcos to compete in the Jim West Challenge October 23-24.

EVENT INFO

The par 72, 6,163 yard Kissing Tree Golf Club is set to host the Mustangs for a two-day, 54 hole tournament. The event is slated for two rounds on Sunday and a concluding round on Monday. The field is set for 8:30 a.m. shotgun start both days. ESPN+ will broadcast the event starting at noon on Sunday and 9 a.m. on Monday.

THE FIELD
SMU joins a 15-team field featuring seven of the teams ranked in the top 50 and 14 top-100 teams. Alongside the Mustangs and host Texas State, the field includes Colorado, Houston, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, Tulane, Tulsa, UNLV and UTSA.

MUSTANG LINEUP
Ashley Chow
Mackenzie Lee
Lauren Miller
Ellie Szeryk
Yunxaun (Michelle) Zhang

MUSTANG NOTABLES

The Mustangs climbed to No. 21 in the Golfstat Relative Ranking after their latest second-place showing at The Ally. The Mustangs have finished second in two of their three tournaments on the 2022-23 season.

The Mustangs have sported a starting lineup of five newcomers (three freshman and two transfers) in each of the season's first two events. At the Ally, the Mustang lineup featured four newcomers along with Junior Ashley Chow.

Freshman Mackenzie Lee was the Mustang leader in the first two events of the season. Lee leads the team with a 71.78 scoring average, good for 0.22 below par on average. She started her career with a T13 performance at the Dick McGuire Invite, shooting a 68 (-4) in the final round of competition. She followed that up with a T7 showing at The "Mo"Morial, finishing the tournament four under par. She shot below par in the first two rounds at The Ally and finished the event in eighth place. Her performances have earned her a top-50 placement in the GolfStat Ranking.

Freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang has three top-25 finishes in as many events on the young season. Zhang started her Mustang career with a three-over 219 at the Dick McGuire, good for a share of 23^rd place. At the "Mo"Morial, Zhang started with a two-under round and ended the tournament in a tie for 14^th place. Her best finish came at The Ally, where she shot even par the first two rounds and one-over the final round to finish the tournament in a tie for fifth place. The Shen Zhen, China native leads the team in birdies with 30.

Junior transfer Ellie Szeryk finished in second place in her latest showing at The Ally. Szeryk shot an opening round 69 to jump out to an early second place. She maintained that spot with rounds of 72 and 74 for her best collegiate finish. Szeryk also finished tied for 17^th at the Dick McGuire Invite. Szeryk sat tied for second after the first two rounds thanks to scores of 68 and 70. Her score of 68 at the Dick McGuire is tied for the best round by a Mustang this season.

In her first season on the Hilltop after transferring from Mississippi State, Lauren Miller has put together a scoring average of 75.44. The senior finished 35^th at the Dick McGuire Invite, shooting 72 and 73 in the first and third rounds respectively. She finished tied for 46^th at the "Mo"Morial moving up 11 spots after a final round 74. At The Ally, Miller shot an opening round 71 and went on to finish in a tie for 33^rd place.

Junior Ashley Chow finished tied for 16^th at The Ally in her first event on the season. Chow shot even par on her final round to move up on the last day of the event. Chow has a scoring average of 74.00 on the season.

Freshman Sophie Biediger has shot one-over par or better in half of her rounds in her very early career. In her first tournament as a Mustang, Biediger finished in 34^th after carding par in her middle round and one-over par in the final round. She shot even par in her first round at the "Mo"Morial and finished in a tie for 67^th.

LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs placed in second at The Ally hosted by Mississippi State Oct. 17-18. Ellie Szeryk led the way for the Mustangs with a second-place finish. The junior carded an opening round 69, good for three under, to set the pace for a stellar one-under finish. Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang registered her best finish as a Mustang, ending the tournament in a share of fifth place. Mackenzie Lee (8^th) and Ashley Chow (16^th) both recorded top-20 showings.

MUSTANGS IN THE RANKINGS
SMU came in at No. 21 in the Golfstat Relative Ranking and No. 16 in the latest Golfweek ranking.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ashley Chow

Mackenzie Lee

Lauren Miller

Ellie Szeryk

Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang

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