Cullowhee, N.C. – History continues to be written by the 2022-23 Western Carolina women's golf team as for just the third time in program history, the Catamounts will play in the postseason. Western Carolina this week accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural Golfweek National Golf Invitational (NGI).
 
Featuring an invitation-only field as decided by a committee, the NGI was approved last May and includes a women's and men's championship, both with a maximum of 18 teams playing 54 holes of stroke play. The women's tournament is scheduled for May 11-14, 2023, with the men the following week, May 18-21, at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz., just under an hour south of Phoenix.
 
With the announcement of the NCAA Women's Golf regional field announced earlier this week, organizers including tournament director Lance Ringler of Golfweek are working to finalize the full field for this inaugural tournament which will be unveiled in the coming days.
 
Organizers view the tournament as akin to the NIT of college golf. Invitations were extended to those teams that didn't secure automatic bids or earn at-large bids into the NCAA golf regional field. The NGI committee used a cumulative average of the Golfweek/Sagarin and GolfStat rankings, along with a committee decision on teams that have strong regular season performances and head-to-head records.
 
"I'm grateful to Golfweek and Lance Ringler for having the vision to start the National Golf Invitational. It's something that's been missing in college golf and I'm proud that we're able to participate in the very first one," said WCU head coach Courtney Gunter, who was named the 2022-23 SoCon Coach of the Year by her peers. "Playing in this tournament gives our student-athletes a great opportunity to continue competing against some truly great teams that just missed out on making NCAA Regionals."
 
Western Carolina collected four team championships and a total of eight podium – or top three – team finishes through the 2022-23 season. The Catamounts caught national attention after opening their campaign with three consecutive team titles, winning Cincinnati's Jennifer Duke Invitational, the NC A&T Aggie Invitational, and the FAU-hosted Jupiter Women's Invitational. WCU's women added a fourth team title in the spring at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate.
 
According to Golfweek.com, based on finishing order through its nine stroke-play tournaments, WCU had a seasonal record of 78-15 overall including a 4-5 showing against Top 100 teams. The Catamounts finished the year ranked just outside the Top 100 in both the GolfStat (106) and Golfweek (111) NCAA Division I Women's Golf rankings.
 
A league-best three Catamounts earned All-Southern Conference honors headlined by 2023 SoCon Freshman of the Year Brie Mapanao. She was joined on the postseason all-conference team by fifth-year senior Madison Isaacson and sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer.
 
"This team has worked hard all year and has experienced tremendous success. I'm glad they are being rewarded for that with a chance to compete in a postseason event," Gunter added.
 
This year marks just the third time in program history that Catamount women's golf is in action beyond the conference championship, garnering the program's first at-large berth into a postseason event. WCU has twice claimed the Southern Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA postseason. The 2003 squad played in the East Regional held at the Salem Glen Country Club in Winston-Salem, N.C., with the 2007 squad competing in the East Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
 
The National Golf Invitational is like the National Invitation Tournament (NIT or WNIT) in basketball where the school is responsible for covering the associated team travel costs. Many have previously donated to Catamount Athletics, and that generosity is greatly appreciated. WCU asks all to consider supporting women's golf now to help the team attend this historic tournament.
 
Any donations directly benefit the women's golf program and are tax-deductible. Donations can be made online by clicking HERE, or through the Catamount Club office at 828-227-3047.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).