Sooners Begin Spring Slate in Arizona

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma women's golf team travels to Peoria, Ariz., to begin its 2015 spring slate at the Westbrook Spring Invitational. The two-day, 15-team tournament will be played Sunday and Monday (Feb. 22 and 23) at the par-72, 6,269-yard Vistas Course at the Westbrook Village Golf Club.

The Sooners, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell, will start four freshmen in the spring opener. Drouin-Luttrell said she hopes that three months of offseason practice has prepared her squad for a spring season that will feature stiff competition.

“It's fun to coach young players. They want to learn and they have a lot of questions,” Drouin-Luttrell said. “We are young, but these players are very talented. We had a tough fall, but they've been practicing hard the last three months. I just want everyone to play well individually and then see where we stack up against everyone else. Our main goal is to go out and see if we've improved a little bit since last fall.”

The spring season also brings a new addition to the OU squad. Quebec, Canada, native Valerie Tanguay joined the Sooners in January, and Drouin-Luttrell believes she will have an immediate impact.

“Valerie was a really good addition to our team. It's been an easy transition for her to get going,” Drouin-Luttrell stated. “She's a great player and she is making the team more competitive to see who is going to be in the lineup. It's fun to watch her interact with the other girls and for her to finally be here and be able to practice.”

THE FIELD (GOLFWEEK/SAGARIN RANKING IN PARENTHESES)
Tennessee (12)
Notre Dame (32)
Ohio State (37)
Oregon (41)
Wisconsin (43)
Kansas State (46)
Illinois (63)
Washington State (65)
Oklahoma (70)
College of Charleston (71)
Indiana (77)
Tulsa (89)
Oregon State (92)
Nebraska (95)
Iowa (101)

OU LINEUP
1. Hannah Wood, Freshman: Coming off a tie for 20th place at the Jim West Challenge in the fall … Tied for 16th place at the Schooner Fall Classic … Recorded a season-best 68 (-2) in the final round of the Schooner Fall Classic.

2. Valerie Tanguay, Freshman: Playing in her first collegiate tournament (joined the team in January) … Received the 2013 Golf Canada Sandra Post Award for finishing third at the Junior Girl Order of Merit … Two-time Quebec Junior Girl Athlete of the Year.

3. Ana Ruiz, Freshman: Coming off a tie for 16th place at the Jim West Challenge in the fall … Tied for 25th place at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational … Recorded a season-best 71 (-1) in the first round of the Tar Heel Invitational … Hails from Chihuahua, Mexico.

4. Alexandra Kaui, Sophomore: Coming off a tie for 22nd place at the Jim West Challenge in the fall … Tied for 13th place at the Schooner Fall Classic … Recorded a season-best 67 (-3) in the final round of the Schooner Fall Classic … 2014 Big 12 Freshman of the Year … Tied for team-best 16th place at 2014 NCAA Championships.

5. Rylee Pedigo, Freshman: Coming off a 61st-place finish at the Jim West Challenge in the fall … Tied for 37th place at the Alamo Invitational … Recorded a season-best 72 (E) in the second round of the Alamo Invitational.

THE COURSE
The par-72, 6,269-yard Vistas Course at the Westbrook Village Golf Club will serve as the host site for the 2015 Westbrook Spring Invitational.

FORMAT
Teams will compete in 54 holes of stroke play over two days (36 holes on Sunday and 18 holes on Monday). Play begins each day at 9:30 a.m. CT.

WEATHER FORCAST
Sunday: Mostly sunny and a high of 76 degrees with S winds at 5-10 mph.
Monday: Sunny and a high of 77 degrees with NNW winds at 5-10 mph.

FALL RECAP
The Sooners recorded two top-10 finishes in four tournaments, including a team-best sixth-place showing out of 12 teams at the Jim West Challenge in San Antonio, Texas, to close the season.

Freshman Ana Ruiz was the Sooners' top finisher in three tournaments. Sophomore Alexandra Kaui tied for 12th place at the Schooner Fall Classic, pacing the team in that event.

“We had a rough fall, and as a team we're striving to be better than we were,” Kaui said. “I'm ready to get out there this spring and see how all of our hard work has paid off.”

LIVE STATS
Live scoring and results will be available at GolfStat.com.