Coming off a highly successful fall season, the UTEP women's golf team will be back in action on Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 12-13) at the Texas State Invitational in Kyle, Texas.
The Miners landed in the top-three at four of five fall tournaments. They took second at the NM State Aggie Invitational, and third at the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial, FAU Fall Invitational and Little Rock Classic.
Now comes the tough part, picking up where you left off when you haven't faced tournament competition since Halloween.
"Since the Christmas break, the girls have been working really hard, trying to take off the winter rust, so to speak," UTEP coach Jere Pelletier said. "We practiced really hard the last couple of weeks since school started, and we hope that shows in the tournament."
The Miners will play in five tournaments this spring – and more if they win the Conference USA Championship, which is set for April 16-18 in Fort Myers, Fla.
"We have little tougher schedule this spring," Pelletier said. "We'll have to play a little better to stay where we've been."
The Texas State tournament will present its own set of challenges.
"Texas State usually has a good field," Pelletier said. "Their coach [Lisa Strom] brings in some pretty strong players. It's going to be tough, but if we play like we did in the fall, we should be able to maintain top-five finishes."
Thirty-six holes are scheduled for Monday, with 18 to follow on Tuesday.
