Women's Golf | 3/6/2025 4:23:00 PM

Utah Tech continues its 2025 spring season close to home this Friday-through-Sunday 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 the par-72, 5,905-yard Sunbrook Golf Club in St. George. All three rounds will begin with a shotgun start each day at 9 a.m., utilizing The Pointe and Blackrock nine-hole courses.

The 12-team field includes fellow WAC members SUU and Utah Valley, along with Weber State, CSU Bakersfield, Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Stetson, UC Riverside and Wyoming.
 
The five player lineup for the Trailblazers will feature juniors Jenna Anderson and Jane Olson, sophomores Mia Cesarek and Samantha Phelan, and freshman Maria Purroy Galan. In addition, junior Samira Salinas and freshmen Riley Doherty and Gabrielle Roznicki will all be making their 2024-25 Trailblazer season debuts playing as individuals.

HEAD COACH LINDSEY ORTH: Lindsey Orth (Utah Tech, 2007) is in her ninth season as head coach of the Trailblazer women's golf program. 
        Last season, Coach Orth led the Trailblazers to eight top-10 showings in 10 team events, highlighted by a fifth-place finish as hosts of its Utah Tech Trailblazer Invitational, and a seventh-place showing at the 2024 Western Athletic Conference Championships.
        In addition, all seven of her players went on to earn 2023-24 Academic All-WAC, and WGCA Academic All-America Scholars honors, while three others were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.  
        During her tenure as Utah Tech head coach, Orth 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. Orth 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. 
        Coach Orth, 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 finished in the middle of pack in ninth place at the 2025 Western Michigan Rio Verde Invitational, which was played on Feb. 21-23 at the Rio Verde Country Club in Rio Verde, Ariz. 
        The Trailblazers opened the event with an 11-over 299 to stand tied for seventh, then managed to move up on spot into a tied for sixth after a second round 12-over 300. Utah Tech came back with a 13-over 301 on its final loop, but that dropped the Blazers three spots to ninth in the 21-team field with a three-day total of plus-36 900.
        Two Trailblazers finished in the top-30 overall on the player leaderboard, led by Phelan, who opened with a 1-over 73 and a team-tourney best even par 72 to stand tied for eighth after 36 holes. The sophomore then came out and carded a final round 6-over 78 to finish in a seven-way tie for 21^st at plus-7 223.
        Purroy Gallan wound up one shot back of Phelan in a pack of six golfers tied for 28^th at plus-8 224. Gallan rebounded from an opening 4-over 76 with rounds of 73 and plus-3 75 over her final two rounds.  
        Meanwhile, Olson (76-75-78) finished in a seven-way tie for 52^nd at plus-13 229, followed by Cesarek (74-84-74) tied with two others for 69^th at plus-16 232, and Anderson (82-80-74-236; +20) placed 82^nd-overall. 

TRAILBLAZERS AT A GLANCE: Through six events this season, Phelan leads the team with a 74.24 stroke average through 17 rounds with a team-best par or better rounds, while Cesarek is tied for second 75.88 with two par or better rounds. 
        Purroy Galan joins Cesarek at 75.88 through her first 17 collegiate rounds with three par or better rounds, followed by Anderson (three par/better rounds) in fourth at 77.12, and Olson (three par/better rounds) in fifth at 77.88 after six tourneys.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech will close out the 2024-25 regular season with an appearance at the Montana State Bobcat Desert Classic, which will be played on April 7-9, at The Golf Club of Estrella in Goodyear, Ariz.