WILMINGTON, N.C. – Sophomore golfer Carmen Perez-Narbon, the reining CAA Player-of-the-Year, will forgo UNC Wilmington’s scheduled appearance in the LSU-Cleveland Classic this weekend to play in the LPGA MasterCard Classic Friday through Sunday in Mexico City.

            Perez-Narbon was invited to compete in the professional event with a sponsor exemption after winning the Mexican Women’s National Amateur Championship in early January with a three-round total of 75-66-77. She becomes the first Seahawk player to compete in an LPGA event while still in school.

            “We’re very excited for Carmen,” said Cindy Ho, UNCW’s sixth-year coach. “Anytime an amateur is invited to compete in an LPGA event, it’s not only an incredible opportunity but the chance of a lifetime. She’s had a very successful season so far, and we will be cheering her on from Baton Rouge.”

            The second-year player from Valencia, Spain, is one of only six players gaining an exemption in the field of 132 players. The three-day event begins Friday on the steep terrain of BosqueReal Country Club, featuring a purse of $1.3 million.

            Perez-Narbon will be joined in Mexico City by Lee Ann Walker-Cooper, a former UNCW player now on the LPGA Tour. Walker-Cooper is making her 2008 debut after playing in 20 events last year and making the cut seven times.

            The diminutive Perez-Narbon has played in five events in 2007-08 for the Seahawks, carding a 73.4 average. She fired a 3-under-par 69 in the third round of Furman’s Lady Paladin Invitational back on Oct. 20 in Greenville, S.C., en route to medalist honors in the event.

            In two seasons with the Seahawks, Perez-Narbon has competed in 15 tournaments and averaged 74.6 strokes. In addition to the finish at Furman, she wound up tied for third in the season-opening Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate in Highlands Ranch, Colo.