Orito, a native of Fresno, Calif. (Clovis West HS) finished in a three-way tie for first place at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in Maricopa, Ariz. Her 1-under-par 215 three-round score led NM State to its first tournament team title since October of 2010. Orito shot a career-best 1-under 71 in the first round and immediately broke her personal-best round after a 2-under-par 70 in the second round. The 1-under 215 is a career-best total score for Orito, who was playing in only her sixth tournament for NM State. Orito’s finish is the best Aggie finish since former Aggie golfer Demi Mak won the BYU at Entrada Classic in March of 2011.
“Cami's performance was outstanding at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic,” Aggie head coach Jackie Booth said. “It was great to watch her manage herself so well at the collegiate level as a freshman. She was doing everything we coach our players to do under the pressure of tournament play. The team, (assistant) coach (Danny) Bowen and I were so proud that she could put together three solid rounds and tie for first place individually.”
After not receiving a golfer of the week honor in three years, NM State has two in less than a month’s time. Ironically, in 2011, the last time the team picked up a player of the week award, the Aggies also won two in a three-week span, and at around the same time of the season, as former NM State golfers Demi Mak (March 21-27) and Suteera Chanachai (April 4-10) were selected as the conference’s golfer of the week.
Orito and the rest of the Aggie squad are playing their best golf at the right time of the year, as NM State will participate at the WAC Championships in just over a week. The three-round conference tournament will be played in Mesa, Ariz., from Friday, April 25, through Sunday, April 27.
“It has been three years since a member of the women's team has finished in first place,” Booth said. “This is the perfect springboard for Cami going into our WAC tournament next week.”