UNM women's golf opens Mountain West Championship with goal being a dip in 'Poppie's Pond'
Apr. 14—It isn't officially that time of year until Jill Trujillo sends her team a YouTube video or two.
"Of when we've won in the past, and when we jump in the pond — the interviews with people that may have been their teammate, or people they don't know but hear me talk about all the time," New Mexico women's golf's head coach said Friday. "And just the success we've had as a squad at this particular golf course for the last (12 years)."
But as UNM opens play Tuesday at the Mountain West Women's Golf Championship, Trujillo doesn't have to do much more to motivate her team. For one, the stakes are clear: The 98th-ranked Lobos have to win the 54-hole tournament outright to secure a bid in the NCAA Division I Championship field.
And, in the simplest terms, it's conference at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. It's playing on the Dinah Shore Course, the longtime home of the LPGA's Chevron Championship, where the tradition of jumping in "Poppie's Pond" after a win was first born.
If it feels different, well, that's because it is.
"It's a special thing," said Trujillo, a six-time league champion and the Lobos' head coach since 2007. "Their attitudes, the way their insides feel, it's just a different feeling. And, yeah, as a coach you would want them to have that feeling for every tournament.
"But this competition, you get the big trophy, you get to jump in the pond, go into (the) postseason. It's all-inclusive."
The fourth-ranked team in the league behind UNLV, San Jose State and Colorado State, UNM is rolling out a lineup consisting of freshman Maria Garcia, junior Maria Caparrós Levin, sophomore Rebecca Galasso, freshman Chelsea Truong and senior Annie Saechueng. Senior Lisa-Marie Pagliano will serve as the Lobos' alternate this week, with the three-round tournament concluding Thursday.
Saechung and Caparrós Levin were both part of the Lobos' last title team in 2023, and are well-accustomed to the 6,286-yard par-72 Desmond Muirhead design. Both lauded the course for its pro-level conditions and traditions — especially jumping in the pond.
"Definitely, like, the highlight of my (freshman) year … I think that it's a course that's really nice off the tee … around the fairway, it's kind of on the easier side," Caparrós Levin said Friday of the tournament's host for the last 12 years. "But you (can't) take it for granted — like, it can be harder. I think you need to be committed on every shot."
Some of the underclassmen? Not so much. Coming off her third Mountain West Freshman of the Week honor, Garcia said she's studied the course online.
But even as she prepares for a setup Trujillo said could be intimidating to first-timers, UNM's highest-ranked golfer said she's more focused on keeping her confidence as the Lobos try to pull off a win from behind.
"I think we're on the right track," the Queretaro, Mexico native said Friday. "We have like, five players, six players that can all shoot really low. I think, definitely, we can be there. And it's all about fighting (and) committing — we're working hard for it."
And maybe set up a moment worthy of a YouTube video — or two.
"This wouldn't be the first time we're not the top team going in and winning," Trujillo said. "In fact, I don't think anytime that we've won (the league) championship we've ben the top team. So we don't think about that.
"We just think about it as a tournament, and a tournament that we want to win."
CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIPS: In St. Augustine, Florida, New Mexico State women's golf is in third place after shooting a two-over 290 as a team in the first round of the Conference USA Women's Golf Championship.
Playing at World Golf Village, Emma Bunch and Angela Garvin are tied for first with Jacksonville State's Lara El Chaib atop the individual leaderboard after each carded a three-under 69. Fellow Aggies Camille Pazouki (+3) and Alexandria Armendariz (+5) are tied for 22nd and 31st place, respectively, while Kaylee Chen is in 36th following a seven-over 79.
NMSU trails first-place Jacksonville State (-1) and Florida International University (even) entering Tuesday's second round. The tournament concludes Wednesday; the final round will be broadcast on ESPN+.
