The ASU women's golf team is heading into its fourth tournament of the season Monday. The Anuenue Spring Break Classic is set to be played from March 25 to March 27 at Kapalua Resort’s Bay Course in Maui, Hawaii.
The contest will be played over a three-day span at the par-72 course, stretching longer than 5,000 yards.
No. 14 ASU is one of 18 teams participating in the tournament, including No. 5 Stanford, No. 10 UCLA, No. 12 Washington and No. 18 UC Davis.
"We're very excited to play in this tournament," coach Melissa Luellen said. "It's a great field to be in."
Representing ASU will be sophomore Noemi Jimenez, junior Daniela Ordonez, junior Laura Blanco, sophomore Emilie Alonso and junior Justine Lee while junior Nicole Jones will participate as an individual entrant.
On the heels of back-to-back victories in her last two contests, a feat that hadn't been done at ASU since Louise Stahle in 2005, Jimenez is looking to keep her hot streak alive.
Winner of the Cal Classic and Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, Jimenez is now the No. 6 player in Golfweek.com's individual collegiate women's rankings.
"She's played great and stay in her own bubble," Luellen said. "Her scores have been better than anybody else's."
The team will have junior Justine Lee back for the first time this spring after suffering a wrist injury in the fall. With more practice and tournaments under her belt, Luellen expects Lee to regain pre-injury form.
"Justine played her first 18 holes last Sunday," Luellen said. "She's going to be rusty and have some holes in her game, but she has to work past that. She's very appreciative of playing golf again, and she's a good, good player."
For ASU, having Lee back in the lineup only helps make the team better.
"It's a great opportunity to get her back in the lineup," Luellen said. "It's a step closer to where we want to be."
Prior to hurting her wrist, Lee was posting her team's lowest scores by averaging 74.84 strokes per round.
Luellen is looking to see more out of her entire team in order to place at the top of the standings.
"We'll be happy with finishing in the top three," she said. "For us to finish high everybody needs to step up."
Live scoring for the Anuenue Spring break Classic will be available at www.golfstat.com
Reach the reporter at adrian.martinez.1@asu.edu
