MANHATTAN, Kan. -  The Kansas State women’s golf team will start its spring schedule as it travels to Rio Verde, Ariz., to compete in the Duramed Collegiate Invitational, Friday, March 6 through Sunday, March 8, and will be hosted by Western Michigan. The tournament, which will be played at Rio Verde Country Club, will be a 54-hole tournament with 18 holes played each day. It will begin with a shotgun start on Friday at 1 p.m. Second round action will begin 8 a.m. on Saturday and the tournament will conclude with the final round at 8 a.m. on Sunday.

THE FIELD:  The tournament hight of 20 competing are Akron, Arkansas-Little Rock, Ball State, Bowling Green, Bradley, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri State, Northern Arizona, Northwestern, Ohio, Southern Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan, Wisconsin and Xavier.

THE HOST Rio Verde Country Club:  The Western Michigan women’s golf program will host the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational at the Rio Verde Country Club. The Quail Run Golf Course, in its second year of existence, is a par 71 at 6,260 yards.

A FIRST:  This will be K-State’s first appearance in the Duramed Collegiate Invitational. The tournament, in its seventh year, was formerly known as the East/West Rio Verde Invitational.

LAST TIME OUT: While K-State didn’t have a strong finish at the Challenge at Wolfdancer, Abbi Sunner offered a bright spot by finishing tied for seventh. Sunner, who was competed as an individual, recorded the best finish by any Wildcat this season with a 54-hole score of 12-over 228 (80-73-75).

SPRING PREVIEW:  K-State will look to build off a fall schedule in which it placed four different players in the top-20. Juniors Morgan Moon and Abbi Sunner were the most consistent performers through the first half of the season. Morgan Moon tied for 13th at the Jeannie McHaney/Audrey Morehead Invitational and owns a 89.50 stroke average. Fellow junior Abbi Sunner tied for seventh in the Challenge at Wolfdancer to close out the fall and holds a team high 78.53 average.

K-State’s Challenge at Wolfdancer  Lineup            2008-09      Statistics

Name                      Yr-Exp    Hometown                    Rds.     Avg.

Morgan Moon          Jr.-2L       Amarillo, Texas                12         79.50

Ami Storey              Fr.-HS      Woodlands Park, UK        12         82.58

Abbi Sunner            Jr.-2L       Ankeny, Iowa                  15         78.53

Emily Houtz              So.-1L     Manhattan, Kan.               9           82.58

Elise Houtz              So.-1L     Manhattan, Kan.               12         80.17