Completed Event: Women's Golf versus Stanford Intercollegiate on October 17, 2025 , , 9th/19
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Women's Golf
Stanford Intercollegiate
9th/19
Iowa State University Athletics
No. 17 Iowa State Ready For Big 12 Championships
04.19.2016 | Women's Golf
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women's golf team has established itself as a Midwestern power and the team continues its success with another fantastic season in 2015-16. Head coach Christie Martens and the Cyclones will now prepare for the 2016 Big 12 Championship, a tournament where ISU has recorded upper-half finishes in the last six seasons.
The Cyclones are currently ranked 17th nationally by Golfweek while competing against one of the nation's toughest schedules. The Big 12 Championship will be held for the second year in a row at the Dominion Country Club in San Antonio, Texas on April 22-24. The par-72 course will play at 6,246 yards.
Baylor is the defending champion and Oklahoma State sophomore Kenzie Neisen returns to defend her individual title.
“We have probably the best chance to win since I have been here,” Martens said. “Our team has been working really hard. It will be exciting to watch because everyone is trying to bring their best for the Big 12.”
It has been a season to remember for the Cyclones. Three Cyclones are currently ranked in the nation's top-125 and the team has placed in the top-five in six out of its nine tournaments. The squad tied the school record for low 54-hole score at 857 at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate in the fall, and then shattered that mark by posting a school-record 849 at the Hurricane Invitational in the spring. Martens' deep roster has had four Cyclones place in the top-10 a total of 11 times.
ISU is a lock to make its seventh-straight NCAA Regional appearance.
“As a team, we have been very consistent this year,” Martens said. “We have been ranked in the top-20 the entire season. There isn't a panic on this team. If we do have a bad day, they know they can, and usually will, come back the following the day. We also have a really supportive team. I've seen different players take a leading role at different times. We are not always just dependent on one person. All of our players at this point have had enough success that they know that they can win any tournament.”
Senior Cajsa Persson will play in her final Big 12 Championships this week. Persson is a two-time all-tournament selection (2013, 2015), placing in the top-10 at the Big 12 Championships twice in her career. She has a career 75.21 stroke average to rank in ISU's all-time top-10.
Celia Barquin has shown zero signs of a sophomore slump after her record-setting rookie campaign a year ago. Barquin is second on the team in stroke average (73.19) and has three top-10 finishes this season. Barquin, who is ranked No. 85 in the latest Golfweek individual poll, has placed in the top-20 in seven of nine tournaments this year.
The play from Iowa State's two freshmen (Chayanit Wangmahaporn; Parinda Phokan) have been instrumental in the Cyclones not missing a beat in 2015-16. Wangmahaporn has a team-best 72.78, which is on pace to break ISU's single-season school mark.
Wangmahaporn's play in the spring has been phenomenal, registering a 72.33 scoring average with three top-10 finishes in five events. Wangmahaporn, who is currently ranked No. 62 nationally by Golfweek, posted a career-low 210 to finish runner-up at the MountainView Collegiate. Her 210 tally tied for the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history.
Phokan, ranked 125th nationally, is third on the team in stroke average (73.74) and has three top-10 performances this year.
“Our freshmen have had a great year,” Martens said. “It has helped us have a little more depth than we have had in the past. They are playing free and have expectations that they are going to play well every round. Chayanit has really surpassed our expectations. She is very coachable and a fun kid to be around. She embraces everything you tell her to work on and grown so much as a player. Bad shots don't get her down, which is very refreshing.”
This year's Big 12 Championship will feature five teams ranked in the nation's top-40 according to Golfweek. At No. 17, Iowa State is the second-highest-rated team in the field behind No. 9 Oklahoma State. Texas Tech (#26), Texas (#31) and TCU (#35) will also contend for the title.
“Oklahoma State is really strong,” Martens added. “We are going to have to play well. We've played the course before, which is nice for our team. We understand the greens and the different dynamics of the course.”
To follow the live stats at the 2016 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship, visit golfstat.com.
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