USC LEADS WIRE-TO-WIRE TO WIN NCAA WEST REGIONAL; PLAYOFF DECIDES FINAL TEAM TO ADVANCE
5/10/2008
LINCOLN, Calif. — The USC women’s golf team lived up to its reputation by running away with the team title at the NCAA Div. I Women’s Golf West Regional at Lincoln Hills Golf Club on Saturday. The Trojans, who were the top seeded team in the 21-team field, led following each of the three rounds and finished with a team score of 855.
USC had four of its five golfers finish in the top nine. Stefanie Endstrasser was the top finisher with a total of 211 which tied for third. Dewi Claire Schreefel (214) tied for fourth and Belen Mozo (216) and Paola Moreno (216) tied for ninth.
Arizona State finished second in the 21-team field at 870 and was followed in the top seven by UNLV (879), Arizona (880), Oklahoma State (882), Arkansas (882) and Tulsa (884).
While the favorites dominated the top of the leaderboard, UC Davis upset some of the powers to claim the eighth and final spot which advances to the NCAA Championships in Albuquerque. The Aggies finished regulation tied with Ohio State and Stanford at 892 but defeated both teams in a playoff. The five players from each of the three teams were paired to play holes 1-5. Alice Kim’s birdie on #5 proved to be the difference as UC Davis combined for a team total of 1-under. Both Ohio State and Stanford finished at 1-over. The Aggies’ victory marks their first NCAA Championship appearance while the Cardinal had its streak snapped after advancing the last 19 years.
Individually, Therese Koelbaek of UNLV and Alison Walshe of Arizona tied for medalist honors. Koelbaek, who had shot 69-68 during the first two rounds, carded 73 on Saturday. Walshe bounced back from a second-round 73 with a 69 in the final round. Both players finished with a 54-hole total of 210.
Stanford’s Angela King and San Jose State’s Erica Moston will also advance to the NCAA Championships after recording the top two individual totals from players not among the top eight teams. King shot 73-73-71-217 while Moston fired 73-74-71-218.
The tournament was co-hosted by Sacramento State and Placer Valley Tourism.
TEAM TOTALS
1. USC 283-288-284-855
2. Arizona State 296-285-289-870
3. UNLV 288-290-301-879
4. Arizona 299-289-292-880
T5. Oklahoma State 293-293-296-882
T5. Arkansas 291-297-294-882
7. Tulsa 287-308-289-884
T8. UC Davis 300-296-296-892
T8. Ohio State 299-298-295-892
T8. Stanford 295-298-299-892
11. Michigan State 295-304 -294-893
12. California 295-301-301-897
13. Oregon 303-297-301-901
14. UC Irvine 302-301-301-904
15. Oklahoma 299-303-303-905
16. San Jose State 300-302-304-906
17. BYU 295-303-309-907
18. Fresno State 306-306-296-908
19. North Carolina 297-311-306-914
20. Portland State308 308-312-928
21. Oral Roberts 310-312-309-931
