GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Following a spring schedule warm-up of 18 holes at last week's The Match in the Desert at Superstition Mountain, Arizona Women's Golf will formally begin its new year with the College Invitational at Guadalajara Country Club. The 54-hole event tees off on Sunday with the Wildcats as part of a loaded 12-team field that includes eight opponents ranked in the top 40 of the final GolfStat rankings of the fall.

"After last week's tune up at Superstition Mountain, I am eager to see us return to full competition with a quality field," said head coach Laura Ianello. "Our lineup has a lot of high-level experience that played very well in the fall, and we have had really strong qualifying since the semester break. I am eager to see our young ladies showcase their development and post quality scores this week in Mexico."

Arizona's lineup features three returners and a pair of freshmen who competed in every tournament in the fall. Senior Gile Bite Starkute leads off the five-woman lineup as the most experienced golfer that includes a career-best finish at the Nanea Pac-12 Preview in November. She is joined by the sophomore tandem of Carolina Melgrati and Lilas Pinthier who were fixtures in the lineup as freshmen a year ago. Freshmen Julia Misemer and Nena Wongthanavimok round out the Cats competing in Mexico this week as Misemer posted a top-10 finish last week.

Designed by John Bredemus in 1942, the lush parkland layout at the prestigious Guadalajara Country Club makes up part of an extensive private estate near the city centre. It was the home course of former Arizona All-American and LPGA standout Lorena Ochoa,  whose family's home overlooked the club house. From 2008 to 2013 Guadalajara Country Club hosted the LPGA's Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

California is the other Pac-12 program competing in the event that also includes Baylor, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Virginia. The field features plenty of new opponents for the Wildcats who hold a combined record of 2-2-1 against the 11 other teams this season.

Originally titled the IJGA Collegiate Invitational, Virginia won the inaugural and only other playing of the event that was held in February of 2020. It was one of the final collegiate golf events held that year before spring sports where shutdown due to the impact of the international pandemic. The Cavaliers used a final-round rally to win the 54-hole tournament at 8-under 856, two shots ahead of LSU. UVA shot 8-under 280 during the final round. Amanda Doherty of Florida State was the medalist at 10-under 206. She had back-to-back rounds of 68 over her final 36 holes.