THIS WEEK: The Minnesota women’s golf team heads to the San Francisco suburb of Patterson, California this weekend for the Diablo Ranch Invitational hosted by Drake University. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Diablo Grande Legends West Course, a 7,112-yard, par-72 test nestled just east of the San Francisco Bay area.

THE FIELD: After playing against a bevvy of ranked teams in their first spring tournament of the year in Puerto Rico on February 26-28, and several midwestern schools at last weekend’s Rio Verde Invitational in Arizona, the Gophers will face another fresh crop of schools this weekend. The Gophers are seeing teams from Boston College, Cal State San Marcos, Mercer, UMKC, Southern Illinois and Wichita State for the first time this spring this weekend in Patterson. Minnesota will encounter Northern Iowa for the third time this spring and face Creighton for the second time this season this weekend.

THE GOPHERS: The Golden Gophers will again be represented this weekend by three freshmen: Teresa Puga, Samantha Sommers and Mary Narzisi. Sophomore Christine Herzog will start for the third consecutive weekend while junior Young Na Lee will see her first team action of the spring, having participated last weekend as an individual.

RIO VERDE INVITATIONAL RECAP: The Gopher women’s Golf team carded a team score of 303 Sunday in the final round of the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz. and finished in third place with a three-day score of 894 (300, 291, 303). The three-day score established by the Gophers is their lowest 54-hole tournament score ever, bettering the score of 902 that the Gophers carded in winning the 1985 Gopher Fall Invitational.

Also, Minnesota’s second round score of 291 is tied for second all-time in the Gophers record book for lowest 18-hole round and is the lowest score posted by the Gophers since they fired a 297 at the Minnesota Invitational in 1997.

Minnesota had a pair of golfers finish in the top-seven individually, led by freshman Mary Narsizi (Omaha, Neb.), who tied for third place after posting a three-day score of 3-over 219. Narsizi’s score of 219 put the freshman in the Gophers’ record book, as she tied former Gopher Amy Schmiesing for the fifth lowest score in a 54-hole tournament.

UP NEXT: Minnesota returns to action March 24-25, as the Gophers head to the West Coast again, this time to the Oregon Duck Invitational hosted by the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.. The 54-hole tournament will unfold at the Eugene Country Club.