Fall season continues this weekend

The Montana women's golf team will play its third of four fall tournaments this weekend when the Grizzlies travel to Southern California for the two-day Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate.

The 54-hole tournament will be played Saturday and Sunday at The Classic Club in Palm Desert, with the 12 competing teams playing 36 holes the first day, 18 the second.

The field includes Montana and Southern Utah of the Big Sky Conference, plus Santa Clara, which won the tournament in both 2016 and '17.

The Grizzlies will compete with a lineup of senior Baylee Barckley at No. 1, freshman Allison Sobol at No. 2, freshman Kylie Esh at No. 3, freshman Brooklyn Van Bebber at No. 4 and junior Teigan Avery at No. 5.

Because the team's qualifying -- using both the results from its last tournament at Coeur d'Alene and subsequent practice rounds -- was so tight, sophomore Faith D'Ortenzio also will be making the trip and competing as an individual.

"There is some competitiveness now within the team to get your spot and travel. That's a good thing and something we didn't really have last year," said coach Kris Nord.

"There is a push to compete at a high level in practice. We wanted that, and we're getting that."

Montana is coming off its best round of the fall, a 301 it posted on the final day of the Challenge at Coeur d'Alene Resort.

The Grizzlies had four scores of 76 or better in that round, with Sobol carding a 74, Esh a 75 and Barckley and D'Ortenzio a 76.

Sobol and Esh both finished in the top 10 at the four-team tournament, with Sobol tying for fifth, Esh for ninth.

It will be the third consecutive fall that Montana has competed at the Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate. The Grizzlies finished 11th out of 12 teams in 2016 and improved to seventh out of 12 teams last fall in tough conditions.

"The key to this tournament is, do the winds pick up, and what is the heat like?" said Nord. "Last year there was heat. It was an interesting 36-hole day with it being 104.

"And it's a big field, so play is slow. We got there before the sun came up and left when the sun went down, so it's a long day."

Kari Opatz (74-77-75) scored well on the 6,097-yard course two years ago to finish in 19th place. Last year Hailey Hoagland (74-77-79) came in 12th.

Barckley and Avery will both be playing in the tournament for the third consecutive year.

"There is a lot of trouble on the course. There is a lot of water. But it's a score-able course for our kids, distance-wise, if we hit the ball well," said Nord.

Through five rounds of the fall's first two tournaments, Montana's top three scorers are all freshmen: Esh (77.20), Sobol (78.80) and Van Bebber (79.00). Everyone else has a stroke average in the 80s.

Montana will wrap up its fall season at the Pat Lesser-Harbottle Invitational, which will be held at the Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash., Oct. 15-16.

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Players Mentioned

Teigan Avery

Baylee Barckley

Faith D'Ortenzio

Kylie Esh

Hailey Hoagland

Kari Opatz

Allison Sobol

Brooklyn Van Bebber

University of Montana Athletics