The Arizona women's golf team begins the second half of the golf season in Tucson this week, competing in the 1996 Conquistadores Arizona Intercollegiate.

The tournament, which will be played at the Randolf North Golf Course (5954 yards, par 72), begins today at 7:30 a.m. and will continue through Wednesday.

The field of 21 teams includes Texas, San Jose State, and Pacific 10 Conference rivals UCLA, Arizona State, and Stanford. Nine of 10 Pac-10 teams are competing in the tourney, possibly turning the event into preview of the Pac-10 Championships, which, incidentally, will be hosted by Arizona, April 22-24.

Back on Sept. 30, 1995, the Wildcats placed third in the Dick McGuire Invitational at Albuquerque, N.M., their highest finish thus far. However, in the four tournaments played this season, the Wildcats finished no lower than sixth place, and have been ranked in the top 10 all season long.

Leading UA will be freshman Maria Baena and sophomore Heather Graff. Baena, who leads the team with a 73.58 per-round average, placed first in the Dick McGuire.

Graff, a 1995 honorable mention All-American, has the second-lowest average on the team at 74.75.