Sunday, April 2
Chattanooga, Tenn.
SMU
vs
Chattanooga Classic
Photo by: George Walker/DFWsportsonline
Mustangs Set For The Chattanooga Classic
Apr 1 | Women's Golf
Chattanooga Classic
Council Fire Golf Course| Chattanooga, Tenn.
April 2 – April 4 | All Day
Par 72 | 6,234 Yards
With two consecutive tournament titles under its belt, SMU women's golf heads to Tennessee for the Chattanooga Classic hosted by Chattanooga April 2 – 4.
EVENT INFO
Council Fire Golf Course hosts the three-day, 54 hole tournament. The field includes 11 of 18 teams ranked in the top 100 in the country. Alongside the Mustangs and hosts Chattanooga, the field includes Augusta, Campbell, Central Arkansas, Colorado State, ETSU, Grand Canyon, Indiana, Jacksonville, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, South Florida, UTSA, Xavier and Yale.
MUSTANG LINEUP
Ashley Chow
Mackenzie Lee
Lauren Miller
Ellie Szeryk
Yunxaun (Michelle) Zhang
MUSTANG NOTABLES
-The Mustangs sit at No. 28 in the Golfstat Relative Ranking with top two finishes in seven of ten events during the 2022-23 season including two victories. In the first WGCA Coaches poll of the season, the Mustangs came in at No. 24.
-SMU tied a program record with its third victory of the season at the Briars Creek Invitational. The Mustangs also won three tournament titles in 2000-01, 2003-04 and 2012-13.
-For the first time since 1986, SMU has won back-to-back tournament titles with wins at the Trinity Forest Invite and the Briars Creek. SMU has won back-to-back tournaments twice before winning the Lady Eagle Invite (1st of 9) and the Southwest Conference Championship (1st of 5) in 1986 and winning the AIAW State Championship followed by the AIAW National Championship back in 1979.
-SMU broke the program single-round record on Monday Feb. 27 at the Icon Invitational. The Mustangs shot 12-under in round two of the tournament, breaking the previous record of -11 set back at the GCU Invitational in 2021-22 and the Hurricane Invite earlier this season. SMU tied the new program record with another round of 12-under in the final round of the Trinity Forest Invitational.
-The Mustangs also broke the single season record for most rounds at par or better. SMU has 16 rounds of par or better so far in the season, doubling the previous mark of eight rounds set back in 2016-17.
-SMU is on pace to break its program record for single-season scoring. The Mustangs are averaging 287.37 this season, almost six strokes better than the next best mark recorded in the 2016-17 season (293.35).
Freshman Mackenzie Lee was the Mustang leader in the six of nine formal tournaments on the season. Lee leads the team with a 70.93 scoring average, good for 0.88 below par on average. She currently holds the record for the lowest scoring average in a season (previous best 72.18 by Lindsey McCurdy in 2016-17). 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, finishing in second place. Lee broke the program record for single round scoring with a round of nine-under par at the Icon Invitational. She went on to finish the tournament in fourth place. Lee recorded her sixth top-10 finish on the season with a fifth-place showing at the Trinity Forest Invitational. The freshman finished in second place at six-under par. At the Briars Creek, Lee recorded her fifth top five finish of the season with a third place showing. Her performances have earned her a 30th place ranking in the latest edition of the GolfStat Rankings.
Freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang has seven top-25 finishes in nine events on the season. She is tied for second on the team with a 72.15 scoring average and has 16 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 at the time 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. At the Icon Invite, Zhang finished in the top half of the field with two rounds of par or better. The freshman finished in 20th at the Trinity Forest Invitational. Zhang won the Briar's Creek Invite with three consecutive rounds of 70 (two-under). It was her first tournament title and the first Mustangs victory of the season.
Junior Ellie Szeryk is tied for second on the team with a 72.15 scoring average. Szeryk recorded her fourth top-10 finish of the season with a seventh-place showing at the Briars Creek Invite. Szeryk finished in third place at the Trinity Forest Invitational, shooting to rounds of 70 and a stellar 65 in her final round. Szeryk finished in 30th at the Icon Invite highlighted by a round of -5 on day one, round two. Szeryk led the Mustangs at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge with a 27th place finish among the 87-player field. Szeryk registered her second top-10 finish of the season 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.
In her first season on the Hilltop after transferring from Mississippi State, Lauren Miller has put together a scoring average of 74.74. Miller has represented the Mustang in each of the nine 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. Miller had her strongest finish of the year with a 24th place showing at the Hurricane Invite. At the Cactus Classic, Miller led the Mustangs in scoring. Miller had her best finish of the season at the Trinity Forest Invitational finishing in a tie for 20th. She followed that up with a 36th place finish at the Briar's Creek shooting a 71 in her final round.
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. At the Trinity Forest Invitational, Chow had her best showing with a top-10 finish. She shot 67 in the middle round in Dallas. Chow has a scoring average of 74.05 on the season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs won the Briar's Creek Invitational for their third title of the season, tying a program record. Freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang captured a share of the individual title with a final score of six-under par. SMU came into the final day trailing UCF by three strokes before narrowing the gap and eventually taking the lead. The Mustangs would go on to win by three strokes. Ellie Szeryk and Mackenzie Lee both recorded top-10 finishes in the performance.
Council Fire Golf Course| Chattanooga, Tenn.
April 2 – April 4 | All Day
Par 72 | 6,234 Yards
With two consecutive tournament titles under its belt, SMU women's golf heads to Tennessee for the Chattanooga Classic hosted by Chattanooga April 2 – 4.
EVENT INFO
Council Fire Golf Course hosts the three-day, 54 hole tournament. The field includes 11 of 18 teams ranked in the top 100 in the country. Alongside the Mustangs and hosts Chattanooga, the field includes Augusta, Campbell, Central Arkansas, Colorado State, ETSU, Grand Canyon, Indiana, Jacksonville, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, South Florida, UTSA, Xavier and Yale.
MUSTANG LINEUP
Ashley Chow
Mackenzie Lee
Lauren Miller
Ellie Szeryk
Yunxaun (Michelle) Zhang
MUSTANG NOTABLES
-The Mustangs sit at No. 28 in the Golfstat Relative Ranking with top two finishes in seven of ten events during the 2022-23 season including two victories. In the first WGCA Coaches poll of the season, the Mustangs came in at No. 24.
-SMU tied a program record with its third victory of the season at the Briars Creek Invitational. The Mustangs also won three tournament titles in 2000-01, 2003-04 and 2012-13.
-For the first time since 1986, SMU has won back-to-back tournament titles with wins at the Trinity Forest Invite and the Briars Creek. SMU has won back-to-back tournaments twice before winning the Lady Eagle Invite (1st of 9) and the Southwest Conference Championship (1st of 5) in 1986 and winning the AIAW State Championship followed by the AIAW National Championship back in 1979.
-SMU broke the program single-round record on Monday Feb. 27 at the Icon Invitational. The Mustangs shot 12-under in round two of the tournament, breaking the previous record of -11 set back at the GCU Invitational in 2021-22 and the Hurricane Invite earlier this season. SMU tied the new program record with another round of 12-under in the final round of the Trinity Forest Invitational.
-The Mustangs also broke the single season record for most rounds at par or better. SMU has 16 rounds of par or better so far in the season, doubling the previous mark of eight rounds set back in 2016-17.
-SMU is on pace to break its program record for single-season scoring. The Mustangs are averaging 287.37 this season, almost six strokes better than the next best mark recorded in the 2016-17 season (293.35).
Freshman Mackenzie Lee was the Mustang leader in the six of nine formal tournaments on the season. Lee leads the team with a 70.93 scoring average, good for 0.88 below par on average. She currently holds the record for the lowest scoring average in a season (previous best 72.18 by Lindsey McCurdy in 2016-17). 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, finishing in second place. Lee broke the program record for single round scoring with a round of nine-under par at the Icon Invitational. She went on to finish the tournament in fourth place. Lee recorded her sixth top-10 finish on the season with a fifth-place showing at the Trinity Forest Invitational. The freshman finished in second place at six-under par. At the Briars Creek, Lee recorded her fifth top five finish of the season with a third place showing. Her performances have earned her a 30th place ranking in the latest edition of the GolfStat Rankings.
Freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang has seven top-25 finishes in nine events on the season. She is tied for second on the team with a 72.15 scoring average and has 16 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 at the time 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. At the Icon Invite, Zhang finished in the top half of the field with two rounds of par or better. The freshman finished in 20th at the Trinity Forest Invitational. Zhang won the Briar's Creek Invite with three consecutive rounds of 70 (two-under). It was her first tournament title and the first Mustangs victory of the season.
Junior Ellie Szeryk is tied for second on the team with a 72.15 scoring average. Szeryk recorded her fourth top-10 finish of the season with a seventh-place showing at the Briars Creek Invite. Szeryk finished in third place at the Trinity Forest Invitational, shooting to rounds of 70 and a stellar 65 in her final round. Szeryk finished in 30th at the Icon Invite highlighted by a round of -5 on day one, round two. Szeryk led the Mustangs at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge with a 27th place finish among the 87-player field. Szeryk registered her second top-10 finish of the season 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.
In her first season on the Hilltop after transferring from Mississippi State, Lauren Miller has put together a scoring average of 74.74. Miller has represented the Mustang in each of the nine 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. Miller had her strongest finish of the year with a 24th place showing at the Hurricane Invite. At the Cactus Classic, Miller led the Mustangs in scoring. Miller had her best finish of the season at the Trinity Forest Invitational finishing in a tie for 20th. She followed that up with a 36th place finish at the Briar's Creek shooting a 71 in her final round.
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. At the Trinity Forest Invitational, Chow had her best showing with a top-10 finish. She shot 67 in the middle round in Dallas. Chow has a scoring average of 74.05 on the season.
LAST TIME OUT
The Mustangs won the Briar's Creek Invitational for their third title of the season, tying a program record. Freshman Yunxuan (Michelle) Zhang captured a share of the individual title with a final score of six-under par. SMU came into the final day trailing UCF by three strokes before narrowing the gap and eventually taking the lead. The Mustangs would go on to win by three strokes. Ellie Szeryk and Mackenzie Lee both recorded top-10 finishes in the performance.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
Tuesday, October 06
Tuesday, October 06
Tuesday, October 06
Tuesday, October 06
