CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Southern Utah University Women’s Golf team is heading south to Las Vegas for the 2016 Big Sky Women’s Golf Championship. Southern Utah is one of 12 teams that will be featured in the tournament.
Southern Utah head coach Richard Church is excited about the potential his team boasts.
“We have a great, cohesive unit. Taylor (Viquelia) is playing at a very high level, and we’ve had some good finishes from Nicole (Thomas),” said Coach Church. “One thing that is really fun about this team is that they work well as a unit. Even when they don’t always have their best individual games, they seem to shoot a high enough score as a team to do well in tournaments.”
To get a win this weekend, the Thunderbirds will need a strong performance from team leader Taylor Viquelia. Viquelia has been one of the top players in the Big Sky this season, and finished as runner-up the last two conference championships.
Coach Church had high praise for his leader, saying, “(Taylor) is very focused and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. She keeps the ball in play and has a great attitude.” Church also added, “I think she is hungry to get another win.”
Taylor Viquelia and Nicole Thomas both feel that the team’s closeness has played a major role in their success this season.
“We don’t just practice together, we hangout together,” said Thomas.
“We hangout outside of practice and since everybody gets along, we work really well as a team,” Viquelia commented. “If we play consistent, we can keep up with anyone.”
This tournament marks the 23nd Big Sky Championship, and the first to be held in the Las Vegas area at Boulder Creek. The University of Idaho Vandals are the highest-ranked program in the league, and were also selected first in the league’s preseason poll.
The first round of the tournament will be held on Monday, April 18 at 6:30 a.m. The following two rounds will be on Tuesday, April 19 and Wednesday, April, respectively, at 6:30 a.m.
Live Stats will be available on BigSkyConf.com. Updates can be followed on Twitter @SUUGameday.
Hayden Coombs 