Women's Golf | 3/6/2024 9:38:00 AM

Utah Tech returns to competition this Thursday-through-Saturday as the Trailblazers tee it up at the Southern Utah/Pizza Hut Lady Thunderbird Invitational. 

The three-day, 54-hole event will be played at a very familiar course for the Trailblazers, the par-72, 5,914-yard Sunbrook Golf Club in St. George. Thursday's first round will begin with a shotgun start at 11:30 a.m., while rounds two and three on Friday and Saturday will begin at 9 a.m., utilizing The Pointe and Blackrock nine-hole courses.

The 13-team field includes fellow WAC members SUU and Utah Valley, along with Weber State, Boise State, CSUN, CSU Bakersfield, Idaho State, Montana, Oral Roberts, Portland State Stetson and Wyoming. 

The five player lineup for the Trailblazers will feature senior Grace Williams sophomores Brooke Gelinas, Jane Olson and Jenna Anderson, and freshman Samantha Phelan. In addition, sophomore Corinne Lillywhite and freshman Mia Cesarek will play as individuals. 
 
HEAD COACH LINDSEY STUCKI: Lindsey Stucki (Utah Tech, 2007) is in her eighth season as head coach of the Trailblazer women's golf program. Last season, Stucki led the Trailblazers to six top-10 team finishes, highlighted by a third-place showing at their own UT Invitational along with a seventh-place showing in their WAC Championships team debut.  
        During her tenure as Utah Tech head coach, Stucki has guided the Blazers to a runner-up Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team finish in 2019, and to consecutive fifth-place finishes at the Pacific West Conference Championships in 2017 and 2018. 
        Prior to her arrival at Utah Tech, she served as assistant golf professional at the Sand Hollow Golf Resort, and as an LPGA assistant teaching professional for the City of St. George. Stucki also spent two seasons on the coaching staff of the Hurricane High School girl's golf program, including a one-year stint as the Tigers' head coach in the 2010-11 season. 
        Stucki, who is an apprentice member of the LPGA T&CP, played collegiately at the University of Central Arkansas, where she helped lead the Bears to six-consecutive team tournament wins and a Gulf South Conference championship.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech came away with a 13^th-place finish at the Western Michigan-hosted Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational, which was played this past February 23-25, at Rio Verde Country Club in Rio Verde, Ariz. 
        The Trailblazers played lights out during their opening round and had left the course with a two-stroke lead on the 21-team field after combining to fire a 1-under 287. 
        However a rules infraction was called on Utah Tech following the round that caused the Blazers to disqualify one of their first round scores, which dropped the team from first to t-seventh overall (299; +11). 
        Utah Tech then followed that up with a second round 12-over 300, and a final round 8-over par 296 to finish with a team total of plus-31 895, which was the lowest 54-hole score in program history.
        In addition, the Trailblazers' 36-hole score of 595 tied a program record, while their final round 296 tied for the second-lowest 18 hole score in program history.
        Two Trailblazers finished in the top-20 on the player leaderboard, led by Gelinas, who placed solo 11^th at even par 216, which was one stroke off of her school record 54-hole score of 215 she set last spring at the Northern Arizona Red Rocks Inv'l (3/18-19/23). 
        Gelinas was tied for fourth after an opening 2-under 70, and was alone in fifth following an ever par 72. Though the sophomore closed with a 2-over 74, she did wind up with her second-consecutive 11^th-place individual showing overall.
        Olson was tied for second after opening with a 3-under 69, which tied for the second-lowest individual 18-hole round in school history. Olson followed that up with rounds of 5-over 77 and 1-over 73, that moved her into a tie for 19^th at plus-3 219. 
        Meanwhile Anderson (78-76-77) was in a pack of four golfers tied for 67^th at plus-15 231, Lillywhite (82-75-79) finished t-87^th at plus-20 236.
Williams was on the unfortunate end of the first round ruling, which disqualified her opening 70 and wiped out her second round. However she did rebound to fire a 72 on her final loop. 
 
TRAILBLAZERS AT A GLANCE: Through six events this season, Williams leads the team with a 73.38 stroke average through 13 rounds with a team-best seven par or better rounds, while Gelinas (18 rounds) is second at 76.22 with two par or better rounds. Olson is third at 76.28 through 18 rounds with two par or better round, followed by Phelan in fourth (76.33; 2 par/better rounds), Anderson in fifth (77.17; 1 par/better round), Cesarek in sixth (77.33; 1 par/better round), and Lillywhite in seventh (79.44). 

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech will enjoy a two-week break before heading east to play at the Georgia State Invitational on March 25-26.