MANHATTAN, Kan. - Three days off of the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Hawaii, the Wildcats linger in the west as they make their way to Arizona for the Mountain View Collegiate. Fresh off of a seventh-place finish, K-State looks to better its lowest rounds of the spring (303-313-302918). The two-day tournament will take place at the Mountain View Golf Course located in Tucson, Ariz. Play tees off at 9 a.m. CST on Saturday, March 25, with the first 36 holes. The concluding 18 holes will be played on Sunday with a shot gun start at 9 a.m. CST.

THE FIELD:  In a 15 team field with a mix of squads from each of the three regions (Central, East and West), the Cats look to face six unfamiliar teams. Coming in as the top-ranked school is Arizona, ranking No. 17 on the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index. K-State has previously faced the remaining three squads that are ranked in the top 50 of the nation Missouri, Nebraska, and Northwestern and have come up winless with a 0-10-0 record. The only remaining familiar schools are Charleston and Iowa State, whom K-State has a 2-1-1 record against. The Cats will have first-time matchups with Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, Florida International, and Northern Arizona.

LAST TIME OUT:  The Wildcats saw some of their best rounds at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational that took place this past week in Kaneohe, Hawaii. K-State had their fifth and sixth lowest rounds of the year in route to a seventh-place showing. The team started off strong with firing a first-round 303, but slipped a little with a second-round 313. The team came out strong in the final round, bettering their opening round by one stroke, leaving the Cats with a 918, 66-over score. Individually, K-State returned a student-athlete to the top-20 board, with sophomore Michelle Regan tying for 15th. Regan fired rounds of 76-77-73226 to finish 13-over par. Kali Quick tied for 26th with rounds of 76-78-76230, while Hailey Mireles finished one shot behind in 32nd place, carding scores of 77-79-75231. Helene Robert tied for 38th shooting 74-83-78235, and Katy Heffel shot 78-79-82239 to tie for 48th. Krista Nelson once again participated as an individual and finished 61st with rounds of 85-82-89256.

MOUNTAIN VIEW COLLEGIATE HISTORY: The Mountain View Collegiate a familiar tournament to Kristi Knight and her Wildcats. For the past seven spring seasons, K-State has made an appearance. Beginning in spring 2001, the team has made an impressive run at competing for a medal. Then the team had rounds of 305-301606 to finish in fourth, just out of medal earnings. The Cats came back the following year eyeing a medal and earning the top spot after shooting 298-299597, which remains in the K-State record book as the team-best 36-hole tournament. The next year K-State finished third, shooting the second-lowest round in the history of the tournament (290) and posting a three-round total of 894. Two individual Wildcats have taken the tourney title as well, starting with Elise Carpentier in 2001 with a 36-hole score of 145. Former Wildcat Christine Boucher took the top honor in 2003 with rounds of 76-71-70217.

THE TRIP HOME: Junior Katy Heffel will be making the journey home for the Mountain View Collegiate. The Mesa, Ariz., native, who graduated from Mountain View High School, will look to compete at the level she did in last year’s Mountain View. In her first showing in the Arizona-tournament, Heffel made her mark with personal bests and the ninth-lowest 54-hole score in Kansas State history. The tie for 15th remained Heffel’s best finish until this past fall when she tied for 13th. Her 18-hole (71) and 54-hole (220) scores remain her career bests to this day.

K-State’s Mountain View Collegiate Lineup

Name                                      Yr.     Hometown             Rnds               Avg.

Katy Heffel                               Jr.     Mesa, Ariz.                 24                  79.79

Hailey Mireles                          So.     Garden City, Kan.       24                  79.38

Kali Quick                                So.     Nampa, Idaho              24                  77.58

Helene Robert                           Jr.     Lac Brome, Quebec   24                  77.21

Michelle Regan                        So.     Prairie Village, Kan.    21                  78.14

Krista Nelson (ind.)                  Fr.     Overland Park, Kan.    9                   86.22