2010 2011 Meet the Coach

JENNIFER MCNEIL GENERAL INFORMATION Head Coach • Eighth Season Name: St. Edward’s University Website: www.stedwards.edu/sports Jennifer McNeil enters her eighth season as head coach of the St. Edward’s Phone: 512-448-8480 University women’s golf team. Address: 3001 In the span of seven seasons, McNeil has led the Hilltoppers from a 4th-place finish , Texas 78704

at the Heartland Conference Championship in 2003–2004 in just its second year Founded: 1885 Quick Facts of existence to four-straight Heartland Conference Championships in 2006–2007, Enrollment: 5,350 2007–2008, 2008–2009 and 2009–2010. She also has led the Hilltoppers to Affiliation: NCAA Division II five-straight appearances in the NCAA West Regional. She has coached 24 all-conference players, five conference freshmen of the year and four conference Conference: Heartland players of the year in her seven-year stint. In the 2007–2008 season, the Hilltoppers Facility: Grey Rock Golf Club were ranked as high as 12th in the nation, and they finished in fourth place at the NCAA West Regional, just Nickname: Hilltoppers missing a trip to the national tournament. McNeil followed that up in 2008–2009 by taking the Hilltoppers Colors: Blue and Gold to number 10 in the nation, the highest ranking in school history for women’s golf. She also led the squad to four victories and coached the school’s first-ever All-American. In the 2009–2010 season, St. Edward’s again President: George E. Martin, PhD reached number 10 in the nation and narrowly missed out on their first appearance in the NCAA National Tournament. McNeil has been named Heartland Conference Coach of the Year five times, which included last season as her squad cruised to a 28-shot victory at the Heartland Conference Tournament. She was named ATHLETICS ADMINISTRATION NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2009, and currently serves as Director of National Golf Athletics Director: Debbie Taylor Coaches Association for NCAA Division II. Associate Athletic Director/Compliance: Melinda Terry McNeil came to St. Edward’s University from Mill Creek Inn and Golf Club, where she worked as an assistant golf professional. She grew up in Austin and attended Anderson High School. After receiving her Assistant Athletic Director/Facilities and undergraduate degree in Exercise and Sports Science from Mary Hardin-Baylor, she attended Baylor University Events: Greg Cooper and earned a Master of Science in Sports Management. As a player, McNeil earned four NAIA All-American Assistant Athletic Director/Student Services: honors at Mary Hardin-Baylor. She was named four-time Most Valuable Player, and she was selected Senior Jennifer White Athlete of the Year. McNeil was also a member of the 2000 NAIA National Championship team. Faculty Athletics Representative: Mike Harris, PhD Administrative Assistant: Monica Baker Head Athletic Trainer: Lisa Lowe Associate Athletic Trainer: Chris Magott Assistant Athletic Trainer: Nicole Wilkins

COACHING STAFF Head Coach: Jennifer McNeil Record at School (Years): 620-202-10 (7) Career Record (Years): Same 2009–2010 Record: 92-31-2 2009–2010 Conference Finish: First Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1 Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/2

SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE Sports Information Director: Logan Lawrence • Phone: 512-464-8810 • Cell: 512-636-2779 • Fax: 512-428-1001

www.stedwards.edu/womensgolf

Jacy Benites Season Preview

IS THIS THE YEAR THE HILLTOPPERS BREAK THROUGH? The St. Edward’s women’s golf team will attempt to do what no previous team has been able to do. It will vie for its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. After just three short years of existence, the program has won four-straight Heartland Conference Championships and has advanced to the NCAA West Regional for five-straight years. Last season, the Hilltoppers dominated the field at the conference tournament, winning by 28 shots.

OUTLOOK This season’s roster is missing a familiar face in Emily Kvinta. The four-year letterwinner ended her collegiate career as the most decorated player in program history and owns nearly every record in the Hilltopper history books. “Every time I graduate a player, I am losing someone valuable and vital,” head coach Jennifer McNeil said. “Emily was a very special player who helped establish a winning tradition here at St. Edward’s.” St. Edward’s will, however, have the luxury of returning four players who saw significant action last season. The group includes junior Kirby Baker and sophomores Jacy Benites, Melisa Gonzalez and Ali Walden. Baker, who was selected as Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year two seasons ago, was named first-team all-conference selection last season. Benites dominated conference opponents on her way to winning both Heartland Conference Freshman and Player of the Year honors in 2009–2010. Gonzalez had a solid freshman campaign, appearing in all 11 events for the Hilltoppers. Walden was huge for St. Edward’s in its push for the postseason as she appeared in the starting lineup for every spring tournament. Senior Kayleigh Giles will also add depth to a very talented lineup. Two freshmen Ryanne Haddow (Lamar Consolidated HS) and Taylor Renfro (Keller HS), along with sophomore-transfer Wallis Spears (Stephen F. Austin), will join the team this season and will look to compete right away. Haddow arrives on the Hilltop after a very successful prep career that saw her garner over 10 career victories and qualify as an individual at the state tournament last season. Renfro also had an outstanding prep career, while Spears had a very successful freshman season for the Division I Lumberjacks. She was the top-finisher for her team in every event during the 2009–2010 season. “I am really looking forward to this year because we’re very young with only one senior on the roster,” McNeil said. “I feel like we can be successful by learning from each other and growing as a team. By the spring semester, we should all be moving together as a cohesive group with a bright future.”

THE SCHEDULE St. Edward’s will again play a very daunting schedule with numerous Melisa Gonzalez tournaments against their West region counterparts. They also take part in two strong tournaments in the Peggy-Kirk Bell Invitational and Sonoma State Invitational. The two tournaments will feature some of FINAL THOUGHTS the best teams in the country, including two-time defending national The Hilltoppers will be looking to get over the hump of regionals and make it to champion Nova Southeastern. the program’s first-ever national tournament. “Our schedule looks to be very challenging,” McNeil said. “We are traveling “We have a tremendous amount of depth this season,” McNeil said. “Having from coast to coast to play against great competition in order to gain more such strong players really pushes everyone, from number one to number national exposure this season. We are going to have to be at the top of our eight. And having such a competitive group of players really prepares them for game every week, but we are excited about the challenge.” tournament situations. This will be important for us in our quest to advance to the national tournament.” Returning Players

Melisa Gonzalez Sophomore Kayleigh Giles Senior • Appeared in all 11 events and finished third on the team with a 79.50 scoring average • Appeared in two events last season • Named first-team All-Heartland Conference and to the Heartland Confer- ence All-Tournament team

Kirby Baker Junior • Career: 78.9 scoring average with 12 top-10 finishes Ali Walden Sophomore • First-team All-Heartland Conference and Heartland Conference All- • Appeared in eight events last season with an 83.22 scoring average Tournament team, 2009 and 2010 • Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year, 2009

Jacy Benites Sophomore • Named Heartland Conference Player of the Year, Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year, first-team All-Heartland Conference and to the Heartland Conference All-Tournament team • Appeared in all 11 events and led the team with a 79.44 scoring average and six top-10 finishes

The Team

(L-R): Emily Kvinta, Melisa Gonzalez, Jacy Benites, Wallis Spears, Kirby Baker, Taylor Renfro, Ali Walden, Ryanne Haddow, Coach Jennifer McNeil, Kayleigh Giles 2010 2011 Wallis Spears Kirby Baker, Coach Jennifer McNeil and Jacy Benites

2010–2011 Roster

NAME YR. HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL Kirby Baker Jr. Baton Rouge, La./St. Joseph’s Academy Jacy Benites So. Austin, Texas/Bowie HS Kayleigh Giles Sr. Stewkley, England/Pfieffer Univ. Melisa Gonzalez So. Saltillo, Mexico/Universidad Valle de Mexico Ryanne Haddow Fr. Sugar Land, Texas/Lamar Consolidated HS Taylor Renfro Fr. Keller, Texas/Keller HS Wallis Spears So. Kerrville, Texas/Stephen F. Austin Ali Walden So. Tompkinsville, Ken./Monroe County HS

Head Coach: Jennifer McNeil (Eighth Season, Mary Hardin Baylor ’00) 2010–2011 Schedule

DATE TOURNAMENT COURSE LOCATION SEPTEMBER 13–14 Drury Fall Shootout Ledgestone CC Springfield, Mo. 19–21 Sonoma State Invitational Santa Rosa CC Santa Rosa, Calif. OCTOBER 4–5 Central Oklahoma Classic Lincoln Park Edmond, Okla. 18–19 Dallas Baptist Classic GC of Dallas Irving, Texas FEBRUARY 21–22 Rattler Invitational TBA San Antonio, Texas 28–1 St. Edward’s Invitational Grey Rock GC Austin, Texas MARCH 7–8 Peggy Kirk-Bell Invitational Tuscawilla CC Winter Springs, Fla. 21–22 Midwestern State Invitational The Champions GC Wichita Falls, Texas APRIL 4–5 Grand Canyon Women’s Invitational Palm Valley GC Goodyear, Ariz. 11–12 Coca Cola Classic Harbor Lakes GC Granbury, Texas 18–19 Heartland Conference Championship Teravista GC Round Rock, Texas MAY 1–3 NCAA Super Regional Tascosa CC Amarillo, Texas 11–14 NCAA National Championship The Meadows GC Allendale, Mich. 2010 2011 Ryanne Haddow View past golf statistics at: 2009–2010 Results and Statistics www.stedwards.edu/womensgolf

DATE EVENT — SITE (COURSE) ROUNDS SCORE PLACE Sept. 21–22 Bubba Watson Invitational – Pace, Fla. (Stonebrook GC) 317-318 635 T2nd/7 Oct. 5–6 Cheddar’s/UCO Classic – Oklahoma City, Okla. (Lincoln Park GC) 297-304 601 2nd/18 Oct. 14–15 Oklahoma Intercollegiate – Duncan, Okla. (The Territory GC) 304-310 614 1st/13 Oct. 19–20 Angelo State Make-up – San Angelo, Texas (San Angelo CC) 319-307 626 3rd/7 Feb. 22 Lady Rattler Roundup – San Antonio, Texas (The Republic GC) 320 320 4th/11 March 1–2 St. Edward’s Invitational – Austin, Texas (Grey Rock GC) 325-323 648 3rd/17 March 8–9 Peggy Kirk-Bell Invitational – Longwood, Fla. (Alaqua GC) 325-320-317 962 7th/13 March 14–15 Claud Jacobs Intercollegiate – Victoria, Texas (Victoria CC) 326-323-317 966 T9th/16 April 5–6 Grand Canyon Women’s Invitational – Goodyear, Ariz. (Palm Valley GC) 324-308 632 5th/17 April 19–20 Heartland Conference Championship – Edmond, Okla. (Rose Creek GC) 297-295 592 1st/9 May 2–4 NCAA DII West Super Regional – Amarillo, Texas (Tascosa CC) 319-323-318 960 5th/9

ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS BUBBA WATSON UCO CLASSIC OKLAHOMA INTER. ANGELO STATE 1 2 3 T PL. 1 2 3 T PL. 1 2 3 T PL 1 2 3 T PL Kirby Baker 80 84 - 164 19 71 80 - 151 T10 73 71 - 144 1 88 77 - 165 T20 Jacy Benites 77 76 - 153 3 78 74 - 152 T14 76 79 - 155 10 78 76 - 154 T6 Kayleigh Giles ------Melisa Gonzalez 79 80 - 159 13 83 76 - 159 T40 78 78 - 156 T11 78 75 - 153 5 Emily Kvinta 81 82 - 163 T17 71 75 - 146 2 81 88 - 169 T52 75 79 - 154 T6 Caitlin Locke ------88 83 - 171 31 Erin Redfield - - - - - 77 79 - 156 T26 77 82 - 159 T19 90 87 - 177 38 Ali Walden ------

LADY RATTLER ST. EDWARD’S PEGGY KIRK-BELL CLAUD JACOBS 1 2 3 T PL. 1 2 3 T PL. 1 2 3 T PL 1 2 3 T PL Kirby Baker 81 - - 81 T21 82 78 - 160 T9 81 81 79 241 T29 85 81 80 246 T53 Jacy Benites 77 - - 77 T7 91 83 - 174 57 80 75 84 239 T22 78 80 80 238 T23 Kayleigh Giles 79 - - 79 T15 94 98 - 192 T83 ------Melisa Gonzalez 84 - - 84 T33 80 82 - 162 T14 82 87 78 247 47 81 81 76 238 T23 Emily Kvinta - - - - - 82 80 - 162 T14 82 78 81 241 T29 82 81 81 244 T48 Caitlin Locke 82 - - 82 T27 87 89 - 176 60 ------Erin Redfield ------Ali Walden 83 - - 83 T30 81 83 - 164 T21 86 86 79 251 T51 88 83 85 256 71

GRAND CANYON HEARTLAND DII REGIONAL 1 2 3 T PL. 1 2 3 T PL. 1 2 3 T PL Learn more Kirby Baker 82 78 - 160 T25 76 71 - 147 2 81 82 80 243 T26 about Jacy Benites 82 74 - 156 T10 76 74 - 150 T4 78 79 80 237 T11 Hilltopper Kayleigh Giles ------Melisa Gonzalez 82 77 - 159 T19 73 76 - 149 3 80 81 78 239 T14 women’s Emily Kvinta 80 82 - 162 T34 72 74 - 146 1 80 81 80 241 T18 golf at: Caitlin Locke ------Erin Redfield ------www.stedwards.edu/ Ali Walden 80 79 - 159 T19 78 81 - 159 T16 87 84 89 260 46 womensgolf View past golf statistics at: www.stedwards.edu/womensgolf 2009–2010 Individual Statistics

TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL STROKE BEST TOP TOP BEST NAME TOURNAMENTS ROUNDS STROKES AVERAGE ROUND 10 20 FINISH Kirby Baker 11 24 1902 79.3 71(3) 4 6 1 Jacy Benites 11 24 1885 78.5 74(3) 6 8 3 Kayleigh Giles 2 3 271 90.3 79 0 1 T15 Melisa Gonzalez 11 24 1905 79.4 73 2 7 3 Emily Kvinta 10 23 1828 79.5 71 3 6 1 Caitlin Locke 3 5 429 85.8 82 0 0 T27 Erin Redfield 3 6 492 82.0 77(2) 0 1 T19 Ali Walden 8 18 1503 83.5 78 0 2 T16

TOTALS 11 24 7556 314.8 295 11 11 1(2)

HEARTLAND CONFERENCE Founded in 1999, the Heartland Conference is an NCAA Division II conference consisting of eight schools from Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. These schools include founding members St. Edward’s University and St. Mary’s University, as well as expansion members Dallas Baptist University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, UT–Permian Basin, Texas A&M–International, Newman University and University of Arkansas–Fort Smith. The Heartland Conference is the newest of the NCAA Division II conferences. At the present time, there are 24 conferences in NCAA Division II, totaling almost 300 institutions in full or provisional status across the nation. Facilities FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT When you arrive at our 160-acre hilltop campus, you’ll find a balance of traditional and modern architecture that speaks to the university’s rich past and exemplifies our bright future. You’ll also discover that campus life extends far beyond the classroom. Whether it’s working out in the fitness center after a swim, grabbing a cappuccino in Jo’s Coffee, or catching up with friends in an outdoor courtyard, you’ll find a rich and active community at St. Edward’s.

RECREATION AND CONVOCATION CENTER Located in the heart of campus, the Recreation and Convocation Center is a full-featured modern facility equipped with a fitness center, a six-lane pool, four racquetball/handball courts, two full-size basketball floors and space to display all the Hilltopper trophies.

GREY ROCK GOLF COURSE Originally opened in 1992 as the Golf Club at Circle C, it is known as Grey Rock Golf Club and the home to the men's and women's golf programs of St. Edward's. Located just 15 minutes from campus on 160 acres of flowing hill country, offering a classic style layout in championship condition. For more information, visit www.greyrockgolfclub.com.

ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS St. Edward’s University competes as a member of NCAA Division II in 11 sports, including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and volleyball. After enjoying many successful seasons in the NAIA, St. Edward’s Athletics made the move to Division II in 1999. As a charter member of the Heartland Conference, the Hilltoppers have won 36 conference championships in the past 10 years. In fact, 25 of those titles have happened since the beginning of the 2006–2007 academic year. Since joining the NCAA ranks, a total of 44 Hilltoppers have earned All-America honors, and St. Edward’s has sent 45 teams to the NCAA National Tournament. Hilltopper Athletics is coming off perhaps the most impressive four-year stint in program history. Twenty-four teams have advanced to the NCAA National Tournament: the softball team finished tied for third in the nation in 2008; the men’s golf lost in a sudden-death playoff to finish second in the nation in 2008; and the women’s soccer team, along www.stedwards.edu/ with the men’s and women’s tennis teams, made a deep run in the national tournament. The women’s golf team quali- womensgolf fied for the regional tournament four years in a row, and the baseball team won back-to-back Heartland Conference Championships in 2007 and 2008. Hilltopper athletes have enjoyed unprecedented success in the classroom too, earning a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for the past 15 semesters. This past spring, 82 student-athletes were named to the Heartland Conference All- Academic Team and 22 individuals earned a 4.0 GPA. About St. Edward’s University

A nationally recognized university, St. Edward’s offers a close-knit academic community with small classes and personalized attention. For more than a century, the university has provided higher education opportunities to students of all ages and of varied cultural, religious, educational and economic backgrounds. 6 25 St. Edward’s won St. Edward’s has been named St. Edward’s is celebrated for anticipating and responding to our changing world with innovation. Working alongside our dedicated faculty, students build a foundation for lifelong learning, six out of 11 among the top 25 master’s- achievement, and personal satisfaction in career and community life. Heartland Conference granting institutions in the championships western region by U.S. News for the 2009–2010 & World Report for five CONGREGATION OF HOLY CROSS athletics season. consecutive years. Think critically, act ethically, appreciate diversity, strive for social justice and serve the community: These are the values of the Congregation of Holy Cross, which founded St. Edward’s more than a century ago. The tenets continue to drive the university’s mission today and transform our students into globally conscious citizens ready for the challenges of our complex world. 14 100% With a growing campus of St. Edward’s puts a priority ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY AT A GLANCE over 5,300 students, on buildings and technology St. Edward’s maintains a that enhance learning. In fact, • Tuition: $28,300 low student-to-faculty ratio 100% of our classrooms • Housing and food (estimated): $9,257 of 14:1 in the traditional have advanced computer and • Undergraduate Students: 3,535 undergraduate college. multimedia technology. • 60% Female, 40% Male • Diversity: 30% Hispanic, 4% African-American, 3% Asian/Pacific Islander and 3% International; 46 states and 29 countries represented

Life in Austin

Austin is the Economic growth and endless opportunity. Diverse and eclectic cultures. A laid-back lifestyle and hip music scene. It all comes together in Austin, the heart of Central Texas, to create one of America’s most vibrant cities — one that continually tops lists of “Live Music Capital “best,” “most wired” and “coolest” cities. of the World” Austinites enjoy great year-round weather — with an average of 300 days of sunshine. You can hike the Greenbelt, and home to the take in an outdoor concert on the shores of or relax in 351-acre . And that’s just the beginning. Austin South by also boasts: Southwest and • About 200 parks • More than 60 theater companies music festivals. • More than 200 live music venues