Young UNM team tries to defend its MWC crown

It’s an underdog, just like in 2014

It was certainly an unexpected dip — but a very welcome one. For more than one reason. “It didn’t take long to dry off,” University of New Mexico women’s golf coach Jill Trujillo said of a celebratory leap with her team into a pond at the Mission Hills Country Club after the underdog Lobos captured the Mountain West Conference Championship last year in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

“It was really hot out there. It will be again next week.”

Trujillo hopes the Lobos can be just as hot and pull off another upset at the 54-hole champ ionship, which will be on the same Dinah Shore Gol f Course as last year. The event runs Monday through Wednesday.

Like last year, the Lobos are long shots in the event. UNLV, the nation’s 21st ranked team, and 27th-ranked San Diego are the favorites. The young Lobos are rated 118th.

“But you never know in golf,” Trujillo told her five players after showing them a video of the team leaping into the pond last year, just prior to their final practice before flying out of Albuquerque on Friday night. “Every dog has its day.”

The Lobos have just five healthy players who are making the trip west. They have three sophomores — Katerina Jaeger, Manon Molle’, and Eva Saulnier — and two freshmen — Alexandra Moisand and Ingrid Gutierrez.

“We want to jump in that water again,” said Moisand, a 17-year-old from France. “That would be so exciting. It gives us motivation. The girls (who played last year) talk about what a great experience it was.”

The Lobos have struggled much of the season, but have shown improvement.

In 2013-14, Molle’, from Bains sur Oust, France, had one of the best freshman seasons ever at UNM. She had a 75.69 scoring average over 10 events and 29 rounds and was the Lobos’ top finisher at the 2014 MWC Championships, coming in fifth. She went into the final round tied for first.

Molle’ missed all of the fall season with a foot fracture but has come on strong dur- ing the spring. She said last year’s experience will help her next week.

The injury stretched the Lobos’ even thinner, because they have only six players on the entire roster.

“It was something we all had to go through together, so I wouldn’t say it was a negative,” Trujillo said of having only five players in the fall. “It might have seemed that way at the time, but others had to take charge while Manon was out; someone had to take the lead. I think we all came out better for it, including Manon.”

Trujillo, in her eighth season as Lobos head coach, has led the program to four league titles, including three straight from 2008-10.