The Grand Canyon women's golf team embarks on a "new" season Tuesday, competing in the BGSU Women's Intercollegiate.
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It's the first event of the spring slate, the Lopes will play for the first time since Oct. 29. They were scheduled to compete in the Beach Invitational last week in Seal Beach, California, but heavy rain canceled the tournament.
GCU's travel commute this week will be short, with the Bowling Green-hosted tournament being held at Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Arizona.
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GCU enters the spring season ranked No. 82 in the Scoreboard rankings, a new system introduced in the fall by the NCAA. The No. 82 ranking is the best among the 14 BGSY Women's Intercollegiate competitors this week.
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The tournament field includes Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Idaho, CSU Bakersfield, Abilene Christian, Toledo, Butler, Montana, Akron, Ball State, Creighton, Dayton and Western Illinois.
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The Lopes starting five will be the same as the fall slate, with seniors
Constanza Guerrero,
Carly Strole and
Becca Tschetter teaming up with junior
Leighton Shosted and sophomore
Ryan Flynn. GCU will also see sophomore
Amelia Curtis and freshmen
Lena Tremouille and
Brenna Preap compete as individuals.
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GCU is coming off a fantastic fall campaign, when it went 53-6 and finished with the best ranking in program history (No. 82). It took first place in two of four events and finished in the top five in the other two tourneys. GCU has been a mainstay in events' top five since fall 2022 fall, finishing 12 times in the top five with nine top-three placements.
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Tuesday's tournament is the first of six during the regular season before the WAC Championship begins April 19. GCU will stay close to home for the majority of its spring season, playing in Litchfield Park, Sedona and Goodyear and its home course in Phoenix before traveling a couple hours north to Payson for the conference tournament.
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