Ruben R. Ramirez

Women’s Golf Set to Start New Season in Missouri

9/10/2022 11:14:00 AM

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP women's golf will take to the course for the first time in the 2022-23 season at the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial hosted by Missouri State University on Monday and Tuesday.

Rivercut Golf Course (par 72, 6,159 yards) in Springfield, Mo. will play host to the two-day tournament that will feature an 8 a.m. CT shotgun start for 36 holes on Monday and an 8:30 a.m. CT start for the 18 holes on Tuesday. Live results will be available on BirdieFire.

A total of 14 schools will compete in the event, including Missouri State, Arkansas State, Creighton, Drury, Lindenwood, Murray State, Oklahoma City, Omaha, South Dakota, Southern Illinois, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Western Illinois, Wichita State and UTEP.

Oral Roberts won the title last year by eight strokes over Cal Baptist, which finished as the runner-up.

The tournament will mark the first for the Miners under new head coach Steve Sims, who joined the program after experiencing success as an assistant at UCF over the past nine years. Sims comes to El Paso after helping lead the Knights to six team and two individual NCAA Regional appearances, two American Athletic Conference titles and one NCAA Championship appearance.

"When you are looking to move into a head coaching position, you are looking for a place where you can be successful, and UTEP checked all the boxes for me. The year-round weather, the ability to recruit international athletes, an international airport down the road and the facility access is incredible," Sims said. "We have an opportunity to go to lots of country clubs, and they are very hospitable to have us out there. A lot of it too is just the people. I wanted an administration that had the same viewpoints and expectations that I do, and after meeting everyone here, everything seemed to really click and check all the boxes for me."

Five golfers will make the trip to Missouri for the Miners, including returners Andrea Ostos, Marta Romeu Chen, Sophie Delfosse and Daniela Chipchase. Freshman Nawel Ben Letaief will round out the UTEP participants.

Delfosse led the Miners last season with a 74.8 scoring average while serving as the top UTEP finisher in seven events, highlighted by three top-10 finishes. Ostos had a 77.1 scoring average and Romeu Chen a 77.8 clip. Chipchase missed last season due to injury and is expected to be a key piece of the roster upon her return.

Ben Letaief, the third member of the team from France, won the 2021 Grand Prix de Palmola with a three-round total of 222 and will add depth to the lineup.

For the first competition of the new campaign, the focus is on building towards results down the road.

"I want them to focus on the process that it takes to play good golf and not really the results," Sims said. "We talk a lot about controlling what you can control, so I think as long as they go out there and control what they can control and focus on the process, the results will kind of speak for themselves."

Following the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial, the Miners travel to Huntsville, Texas to take part in the Bearkat Invitational hosted by Sam Houston on Sept. 26-27.

Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club.

Visit givingto.utep.edu/mac today!

For complete coverage of UTEP women's golf, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPwgolf (Twitter), @UTEPwgolf (Facebook) or @utepwomensgolf (Instagram). Fans can also visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.

Print Friendly Version