Sunday, January 15
Scottsdale, Ariz.
SMU
vs
Cactus Classic
Mustangs Open 2023 With Cactus Match Play
Jan 14 | Women's Golf
The Cactus Classic Match Play
Westin Kierland Golf Club | Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jan. 15 | All Day
SMU women's golf begins its 2023 season on Sunday with a trip to Arizona to compete in the Cactus Classic Match Play event alongside Texas A&M, Tulsa and Texas Tech.
EVENT INFO
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The Westin Kierland Golf Club plays host to the Mustangs for the special one day, 27 hole tournament. The event is slated for an 18-hole first round followed by a nine-hole second round. The Mustangs are set for a 7:57 a.m. MT / 8:57 a.m. CT start on Sunday.
MUSTANG LINEUP
Ashley Chow
Mackenzie Lee
Lauren Miller
Yunxaun (Michelle) Zhang
Nicole VivierÂ
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MUSTANG NOTABLES
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The Mustangs climbed to No. 16 in the Golfstat Relative Ranking after their first tournament title of the 2022-23 season and their fourth top-two finish in five events on the season.
The Mustangs have sported a lineup containing four newcomers in each of the last two events. This week the lineup features three newcomers, freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang, freshman Mackenzie Lee and junior transfer Lauren Miller, alongside Ashley Chow and Nicole Vivier.
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Freshman Mackenzie Lee was the Mustang leader in the three of four events on the season. Lee leads the team with a 71.13 scoring average, good for 0.87 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. Most recently, Lee finished in fourth at the Jim West Challenge. She posted a middle round 67 to highlight another impressive showing for the freshman. At the Hurricane Invitational, Lee posted her best performance of the season. The freshman finished in second place at six-under par. Her performances have earned her a 23rd place ranking in the latest edition of the GolfStat Rankings.
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Freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang has five top-25 finishes in as many events in the fall season. She is second on the team with a 72.00 scoring average and has nine rounds of par or better. Zhang started her Mustang career with a three-over 219 at the Dick McGuire, good for a share of 23rd place. At the "Mo"Morial, Zhang started with a two-under round and ended the tournament in a tie for 14th 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. At the Jim West Challenge, Zhang improved across every round to finish in a tie for 17th.. Her final round 69 helped her finish one-under for the tournament. At the Hurricane Invitational, Zhang posted a top-six finish thanks to a team-best 65 (seven-under) in the final round. Zhang earned a placement of 85th in the Golfstat rankings.
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Junior Ellie Szeryk registered her second top-10 finish of the season last time out at the Hurricane Invite as the Mustangs won their first tournament title of the season. .At the Jim West Challenge, Szeryk finished in a tie for 11th. The previous week, she finished in second place at The Ally, tied for the highest placement by a Mustang this season. Szeryk shot an opening round 69 to jump out to an early second-place showing. She maintained that spot with rounds of 72 and 74 for her best collegiate finish. Szeryk also finished tied for 17th at the Dick McGuire Invite. Szeryk sat tied for second after the first two rounds thanks to scores of 68 and 70.
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In her first season on the Hilltop after transferring from Mississippi State, Lauren Miller has put together a scoring average of 74.33. Miller has represented the Mustang in each of the five events this season. The senior finished 35th at the Dick McGuire Invite, shooting 72 and 73 in the first and third rounds respectively. She finished tied for 46th 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 33rd place. Miller finished in the top third of the field at the Jim West Challenge, carding even par in each of the final two rounds. Last time out, Miller had her strongest finish of the year with a 24th place showing at the Hurricane Invite.
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Junior Ashley Chow finished tied for 16th 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. In her second appearance, Chow finished in the top half of the field at the Jim West Challenge. She registered a 44th place showing at the Hurricane Invite with two low rounds of 73. Chow has a scoring average of 74.00 on the season shooting a 222 (+6) at each event this season. Â
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Nicole Vivier participated in her first event of the season at the Hurricane Invitational. Competing as an Individual, Vivier finished in 69th with a low round of 77. Vivier has two top-20 finishes in her career on the Hilltop.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs came out with their strongest showing of the season with a victory at the Hurricane Invitational back in October/November. SMU came into the final day tied for third, seven strokes out of first place. Strong play throughout the day saw the Mustangs shoot up the leaderboard. They finished the tournament up four strokes on second-place Miami (FL). It was the Mustangs fourth top-two finish in five events on the season and their first victory since the Badger Invite back in 2021-22. Mackenzie Lee led the team with a second-place finish. Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang shot a team season-best 65 on the final day to move up 30 spots and into sixth place. Ellie Szeryk also registered a top-10 finish by completing the tournament in eighth place.
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Westin Kierland Golf Club | Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jan. 15 | All Day
SMU women's golf begins its 2023 season on Sunday with a trip to Arizona to compete in the Cactus Classic Match Play event alongside Texas A&M, Tulsa and Texas Tech.
EVENT INFO
Â
The Westin Kierland Golf Club plays host to the Mustangs for the special one day, 27 hole tournament. The event is slated for an 18-hole first round followed by a nine-hole second round. The Mustangs are set for a 7:57 a.m. MT / 8:57 a.m. CT start on Sunday.
MUSTANG LINEUP
Ashley Chow
Mackenzie Lee
Lauren Miller
Yunxaun (Michelle) Zhang
Nicole VivierÂ
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MUSTANG NOTABLES
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The Mustangs climbed to No. 16 in the Golfstat Relative Ranking after their first tournament title of the 2022-23 season and their fourth top-two finish in five events on the season.
The Mustangs have sported a lineup containing four newcomers in each of the last two events. This week the lineup features three newcomers, freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang, freshman Mackenzie Lee and junior transfer Lauren Miller, alongside Ashley Chow and Nicole Vivier.
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Freshman Mackenzie Lee was the Mustang leader in the three of four events on the season. Lee leads the team with a 71.13 scoring average, good for 0.87 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. Most recently, Lee finished in fourth at the Jim West Challenge. She posted a middle round 67 to highlight another impressive showing for the freshman. At the Hurricane Invitational, Lee posted her best performance of the season. The freshman finished in second place at six-under par. Her performances have earned her a 23rd place ranking in the latest edition of the GolfStat Rankings.
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Freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang has five top-25 finishes in as many events in the fall season. She is second on the team with a 72.00 scoring average and has nine rounds of par or better. Zhang started her Mustang career with a three-over 219 at the Dick McGuire, good for a share of 23rd place. At the "Mo"Morial, Zhang started with a two-under round and ended the tournament in a tie for 14th 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. At the Jim West Challenge, Zhang improved across every round to finish in a tie for 17th.. Her final round 69 helped her finish one-under for the tournament. At the Hurricane Invitational, Zhang posted a top-six finish thanks to a team-best 65 (seven-under) in the final round. Zhang earned a placement of 85th in the Golfstat rankings.
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Junior Ellie Szeryk registered her second top-10 finish of the season last time out at the Hurricane Invite as the Mustangs won their first tournament title of the season. .At the Jim West Challenge, Szeryk finished in a tie for 11th. The previous week, she finished in second place at The Ally, tied for the highest placement by a Mustang this season. Szeryk shot an opening round 69 to jump out to an early second-place showing. She maintained that spot with rounds of 72 and 74 for her best collegiate finish. Szeryk also finished tied for 17th at the Dick McGuire Invite. Szeryk sat tied for second after the first two rounds thanks to scores of 68 and 70.
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In her first season on the Hilltop after transferring from Mississippi State, Lauren Miller has put together a scoring average of 74.33. Miller has represented the Mustang in each of the five events this season. The senior finished 35th at the Dick McGuire Invite, shooting 72 and 73 in the first and third rounds respectively. She finished tied for 46th 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 33rd place. Miller finished in the top third of the field at the Jim West Challenge, carding even par in each of the final two rounds. Last time out, Miller had her strongest finish of the year with a 24th place showing at the Hurricane Invite.
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Junior Ashley Chow finished tied for 16th 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. In her second appearance, Chow finished in the top half of the field at the Jim West Challenge. She registered a 44th place showing at the Hurricane Invite with two low rounds of 73. Chow has a scoring average of 74.00 on the season shooting a 222 (+6) at each event this season. Â
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Nicole Vivier participated in her first event of the season at the Hurricane Invitational. Competing as an Individual, Vivier finished in 69th with a low round of 77. Vivier has two top-20 finishes in her career on the Hilltop.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs came out with their strongest showing of the season with a victory at the Hurricane Invitational back in October/November. SMU came into the final day tied for third, seven strokes out of first place. Strong play throughout the day saw the Mustangs shoot up the leaderboard. They finished the tournament up four strokes on second-place Miami (FL). It was the Mustangs fourth top-two finish in five events on the season and their first victory since the Badger Invite back in 2021-22. Mackenzie Lee led the team with a second-place finish. Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang shot a team season-best 65 on the final day to move up 30 spots and into sixth place. Ellie Szeryk also registered a top-10 finish by completing the tournament in eighth place.
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Players Mentioned
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