University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Women's Golf Signs Three for 2021-22 Season
11/13/2020 11:43:00 AM | Women's Golf
HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- Southern Miss head women's golf coach Lucy Burke has announced three new signees for the 2021-22 season in Momoka Ando (Saitama City, Japan), Jacee Fields (Fort Worth, Texas) and Elena Melich (Guadalajara, Spain).Â
"If last year's class was small but mighty, this year's class is packing a BIG punch," Burke said. "This group brings an abundance of passion, golf knowledge, and eagerness to help us continue to Rise and Soar."
Momoka Ando
Ando's hometown is approximately 10-20 miles from Tokyo. She holds a 75-stroke scoring average and this past year finished ninth in the Japan Junior Golf Association Championship. The previous year, her Saitama Sakae HS team won the Japan Kanto Cup title, and Ando also finished tied for sixth at the Golf Digest Cup.
"Momoka has been able to do a lot with a little. When opportunity knocks, she's ready to kick down the door so we are extremely excited to see how she grows after taking advantage of our facilities, and being able to play with and compete against the best every week."
Jacee Fields
The four-time class valedictorian at Northwest HS is currently No. 1 in the Texas Junior Golf Tour rankings, as well as No. 277 on the Junior Golf Scoreboard and 336 in the Rolex AJGS rankings. She boasts three high-school wins and averaged a 73.4-stroke average. Fields also was a district champion, regional and state qualifier, All-State honoree and two-time All-District and All-Region member.
"Jacee is going to bring a powerful game to Hattiesburg. She is hyper-driven to better herself on the golf course and is going to push even harder to excel in the classroom. She's covering all bases for us, and we can't wait to help her reach new heights in both areas!"
Elena Melich
Melich's signing marks the second-straight year the Golden Eagles have welcomed someone from Spain, and freshman Merche Corbacho has been the team's top performer through the fall season. Melich brings a strong resume to Hattiesburg, ranking 1,123 in the world, including in Spain's top-10 for U16 and the top-4 for the Madrid Federation's U18, as well as finishing third in the U18 Spanish Championship.
This past year, she was fifth in the Madrid Amateur Championship, No. 22 in the Spanish Amateur and No. 37 in the Spanish International Ladies, among her many achievements while completing her studies at IES Brianda de Mendoza.
"Elena has a wealth of tournament experience in Spain and gets better every time she tees it up. With her recent experience competing against the pros, she has a solid blueprint on how to take her game to the next level even before she joins us in the Fall."
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"If last year's class was small but mighty, this year's class is packing a BIG punch," Burke said. "This group brings an abundance of passion, golf knowledge, and eagerness to help us continue to Rise and Soar."
Momoka Ando
Ando's hometown is approximately 10-20 miles from Tokyo. She holds a 75-stroke scoring average and this past year finished ninth in the Japan Junior Golf Association Championship. The previous year, her Saitama Sakae HS team won the Japan Kanto Cup title, and Ando also finished tied for sixth at the Golf Digest Cup.
"Momoka has been able to do a lot with a little. When opportunity knocks, she's ready to kick down the door so we are extremely excited to see how she grows after taking advantage of our facilities, and being able to play with and compete against the best every week."
Our third and final member of the signing class is crossing the Pacific! 🇯🇵
— Southern Miss W Golf (@SouthernMissWG) November 13, 2020
Welcome to America, Momoka! đź‘Ź #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/viYIbM8rao
Jacee Fields
The four-time class valedictorian at Northwest HS is currently No. 1 in the Texas Junior Golf Tour rankings, as well as No. 277 on the Junior Golf Scoreboard and 336 in the Rolex AJGS rankings. She boasts three high-school wins and averaged a 73.4-stroke average. Fields also was a district champion, regional and state qualifier, All-State honoree and two-time All-District and All-Region member.
"Jacee is going to bring a powerful game to Hattiesburg. She is hyper-driven to better herself on the golf course and is going to push even harder to excel in the classroom. She's covering all bases for us, and we can't wait to help her reach new heights in both areas!"
Jacee Fields is making her journey from the Lone Star State! Welcome aboard! 🎉 #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/orzCEhCXrj
— Southern Miss W Golf (@SouthernMissWG) November 13, 2020
Elena Melich
Melich's signing marks the second-straight year the Golden Eagles have welcomed someone from Spain, and freshman Merche Corbacho has been the team's top performer through the fall season. Melich brings a strong resume to Hattiesburg, ranking 1,123 in the world, including in Spain's top-10 for U16 and the top-4 for the Madrid Federation's U18, as well as finishing third in the U18 Spanish Championship.
This past year, she was fifth in the Madrid Amateur Championship, No. 22 in the Spanish Amateur and No. 37 in the Spanish International Ladies, among her many achievements while completing her studies at IES Brianda de Mendoza.
"Elena has a wealth of tournament experience in Spain and gets better every time she tees it up. With her recent experience competing against the pros, she has a solid blueprint on how to take her game to the next level even before she joins us in the Fall."
Jacee Fields is making her journey from the Lone Star State! Welcome aboard! 🎉 #SMTTT pic.twitter.com/orzCEhCXrj
— Southern Miss W Golf (@SouthernMissWG) November 13, 2020
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Players Mentioned
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