Wildcats Gear Up for MountainView Collegiate

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Kansas State women's golf team is set to compete in the MountainView Collegiate, an event the Wildcats co-host with Missouri, at the par-72, 6,352-yard MountainView Golf Club, Friday through Sunday, in Tucson, Arizona.

The spring is in full swing as this is now the third event of the championship season for K-State. The Wildcats are coming off a performance at the Clover Cup that included an impressive final stretch that has instilled some confidence moving into this weekend.

"The team is looking forward to being back out competing at MountainView after playing solid golf on the final 27 holes last week," head coach Kristi Knight said. "MountainView is a fun course to play in that it provides many challenges and scoring opportunities."

Knight is very familiar with this event as K-State has participated in every installment of its 23-year history. The Cats last captured a team title there in 2002, and K-State legend Christine Boucher was the last to win a MountainView Collegiate individual championship when she did so in 2003.

Manon Donche-Gay, Napua Glossner, Haley Vargas, Remington Isaac and Heather Fortushniak represent the five in the scoring lineup this week in Tucson.

Donche-Gay was crucial to the Wildcats' turnaround down the stretch last week as she carded a career-low round of 5-under par 67 in her third round at the Clover Cup en route to a tie for 25th place. The performance pushed her into the top spot in team stroke average at 74.13. The junior college transfer has been a staple in the scoring five since arriving to Manhattan last fall and has now received the nod in the top spot of the scoring lineup.

Glossner, a sophomore from San Diego, California, will look to continue her solid start to the spring as she has already put together two positive performances with a career-best finish in a tie for 23rd place at the Westbrook Invitational and a tie for 32nd place at the Clover Cup. Glossner was also key to the Wildcats' impressive finish last week as she tallied a 5-under par 67 final round, a score that tied her career low.

Vargas and Isaac are the two Wildcats who have been members of the scoring lineup in each event throughout the 2021-22 campaign. Both will be looking for bounce-back performances as Vargas tied for 49th and Isaac tied for 76th at the Clover Cup.

Fortushniak, the lone senior competing this weekend for K-State, returns to the lineup after tying for 61st place at 9-over par 225 in the Westbrook Invitational at the end of February.

Gabriela McNelly will also make the trip to Arizona to compete as an individual. This will be her fifth appearance of the season and second of her spring. A sophomore from Mico, Texas, her career is highlighted by a top-20 finish in the fall at the Sunflower Invitational.

Joining the Wildcats and fellow host-school Missouri to create a 16-team field is Arkansas, Florida, Houston, Iowa State, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, San Jose State, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech, Tulsa and UNLV.

"The key will be for us to stay in the present with a strong sense of belief and just go play," Knight said.

The event will last three days with an 8 a.m. (MT) start to each round. The first round on Friday morning and the second round on Saturday morning both begin with set tee times before the final round starts with a shotgun start on Sunday morning.

Fans can follow live scoring throughout all 54-holes on BirdieFire.com.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Manon Donche-Gay

Heather Fortushniak

Napua Glossner

Remington Isaac

Gabriela McNelly

Haley Vargas

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