HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i women's golf team will head to the Arizona desert for the 2022 Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, April 4-5 at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.
 
The tournament is UH's final tune-up for the Big West Conference Championship which will be held next week in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The 54-hole Cowgirl Classic will be played at the 6,191-yard, par-72 course with a 7:30 a.m. MT shotgun start both days.
 
Along with UH and host Wyoming, the 22-team field includes Boise State, Cal Baptist, Cal State Fullerton, Eastern Washington, Grand Canyon, Idaho, Long Beach State, Montana, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Santa Clara, Seattle, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, UC Riverside, and UTEP.
 
UH is coming off its third team victory of the season at the Fresno State Classic last week, where the Rainbow Wahine ran away with the title by 16 strokes. Hawai'i is currently ranked No. 76 nationally, its highest ranking since 2008.
 
"We are looking forward to heading back to Arizona to compete in the Cowgirl Classic," head coach Stephen Bidne said. "We have great memories from last year, where Hana (Mirnik) shot a program best final round 66. Southern Dunes is a fantastic layout with numerous lurking bunkers and desert areas making ball control vital off the tee. The ball typically rolls out quite a bit down there, so we have been continuing to practice and hone in our short irons and wedges in preparation for the event."
 
Mirnik's record round was a career-low and helped her finish in a tie for third place at last year's Classic. UH took seventh place with a line-up that included current team members Mirnik and Monica Johnson.
 
Competing for the Rainbow Wahine at this year's Cowgirl Classic are Momo Sugiyama, Mayumi Umezu, Hyeonji Kang, Mirnik, and Johnson while Ting-Yu Liu will be competing as an individual.
 
Sugiyama posted her sixth Top 5 finish of the season at the Fresno State Classic, where she placed runner-up, one stroke behind the medalist. The Gold Coast, Australia native leads the team with a 73.8 scoring average and seven rounds under par.
 
"I'm anxious to get back on the road and keep our wonderful momentum that we have had this spring moving in the right direction," Bidne said. "The team is focused and ready to play smart confident golf down in the desert! Go 'Bows!"

Tournament Facts
Date: April 4-5, 2022
Format: 54 Holes (36-18); 5-count-4
Time: 7:30 a.m. PT shotgun start both days
Course: Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
Location: Maricopa, Ariz.
Yardage (Par): 6,191yards (72)
Live Scoring: golfstat.com
Field (15): Boise State, Cal Baptist, Cal State Fullerton, Eastern Washington, Grand Canyon, Hawai'i, Idaho, Long Beach State, Montana, Montana State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Santa Clara, Seattle, South Dakota State, Southern Utah, UC Riverside, UTEP, Wyoming