SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Lewis-Clark State College women’s golf team is looking to improve on its seventh place finish from a year ago when the four-day NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship Tournament opens Tuesday at Lake San Marcos Country Club. 

The 72-hole tournament will feature 18 holes each day on the par-72 course, which features tree-lined fairways and some water hazards. Twenty three teams and seven individuals qualified for the tournament in regional play. 

Five individuals comprise a team, but only the top four scores each day will be used for the overall team score.  

LCSC finished third in the Region I tournament and is ranked 10th in the final NAIA poll. The team took part in a practice round on Monday and later attended the tournament banquet. 

“I think we are peaking at the right time,” says LCSC women’s coach Steve Tilden. “We need to be consistent in all four rounds to have a good tournament.” 

The Warriors are led by sophomore Juanita Villa, who finished third at the Region I tournament for the second straight year. Junior Samara Kluever will be participating in her third straight national tournament as will Kara Player, who is the only senior on LCSC’s roster this year. The other two players participating at nationals are junior Chantelle Beveridge and freshman Cortney Shrout, who had a strong regional tournament and placed in the top 10. 

“All of the girls have confidence in one another, which mentally is very helpful,” Tilden says. “Last year we placed seventh at the national tournament and the girls have set a goal to finish better this year.” 

This is the third time in four years the women’s team has participated at the national tournament.