RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside has been selected as one of ten schools to compete in the inaugural National Golf Invitational (NGI), a 54-hole stroke-play tournament to be held May 11-14 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona. 

The Highlanders will join Penn State, Mercer, Western Carolina, Iowa, Texas State, Santa Clara, Middle Tennessee, Grand Canyon and Seattle on the same course where Tiffany Le and Nicole Le each finished in the top 20 at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic while UCR finished fifth out of 20 teams. 

"We are super excited to be invited to the inaugural Golfweek National Golf Invitational and have an opportunity to play in May," UCR Director of Golf Mary Ritchie said. "Our team has had a very good spring season and overcome some unexpected challenges. The girls have really stepped up, and this event will allow us to extend the momentum on a course we love." 

The NCAA announced in May 2022 that it would allow schools to play in one season-ending event, and by July of 2022, the NGI was created in a partnership between Golfweek at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes. 

UC Riverside captured its second consecutive top-three finish at the Big West Championship in Las Vegas last month before learning that Big West Women's Golfer of the Year Tiffany Le would be the third Highlander in program history selected to compete individually in NCAA Regionals.