May 16, 2005

The NCAA Golf Championships await the Pepperdine women this week, while the Pepperdine and Saint Mary's men will compete in the NCAA Regionals this week as well. The Pepperdine women will look to claim its first golf championship starting on Tuesday at the Meadows Golf Course in Sunriver, Oregon. The Pepperdine men captured the 1997 NCAA Golf Championship and will look to qualify past regional play for the second straight year. Saint Mary's will make its first-ever trip to the NCAA Regionals. Pepperdine and Saint Mary's are set to tee off on Thursday as both teams will compete in the West Regional on the Stanford Golf Course.

Pepperdine Women Advance to NCAA Golf Championships

For the sixth time in the last seven years, the Pepperdine women's golf team qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing fourth at the 2005 NCAA East Regional Championships on the University of Florida Golf Course in Gainesville, Florida. The Waves' fourth-place finish tied for the second-highest in school history, matching the 2003 team's showing at the NCAA West Regional Championships at the Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona. The program's best-ever finish in regional competition came in 2002 when Pepperdine tied for first at the west regional on the Stanford Golf Course. Pepperdine carded its best round of the tournament on Saturday as it shot a 9-over 289 to finish the 54-hole event with a 34-over par total of 874. Individually, Pepperdine was led by junior All-American Carolina Llano, who tied Duke's Brittany Lang for fifth place with a 3-over par total 213. Llano carded rounds of 70-72-71. The top eight teams qualified for the NCAA Championships scheduled for May 17-20 at the Meadows Course at the Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Oregon. They will be joined by the top eight teams from the central and west regionals.

Pepperdine and Saint Mary's Men Receive NCAA West Regional Berths

The Pepperdine Waves and the Saint Mary's Gaels received NCAA Regional berths and will compete at the the West Regional on the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California, May 19-21. The Waves gained the No. 12 seed, while the Gaels are seeded No. 15. Pepperdine captured the 1997 national championship at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, Illinois. Saint Mary's will participate in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's 34-year history of competing at the NCAA level. The Waves defeated Saint Mary's in the WCC Championships to claim their seventh straight title. The Gaels posted their second straight runner-up showing at the championships. Pepperdine is currently ranked No. 25 by Golfweek.com, while Saint Mary's is listed at No. 41. The Waves' Michael Putnam is the 14th ranked player in the country as listed by Golfweek.com. SMC's Liam Kendregan is listed as the No. 77 player in the nation. Pepperdine has advanced to regional play the last six seasons and recorded a ninth place finish at the West Regional in 2004. Putnam placed second at the 2003 West Regional in Seattle, Washington.

Upcoming Schedule

Women's NCAA championships May 17-20 Pepperdine @ Meadows Golf Course Sunriver, Oregon NCAA Golf Championships

Men's NCAA Regionals May 19-21 Pepperdine @ Stanford Golf Course Saint Mary's @ Stanford Golf Course Stanford, California

June 1-4 NCAA Golf Championships Baltimore, Maryland

NCAA Women's Golf Championship Notes
Pepperdine Waves

Road to the Championships: The Waves recorded a commanding performance to win the WCC Golf Championships and advance into NCAA East Regional play. Pepperdine shot a 54-hole total of 886 to post a 46-shot victory over second-place San Francisco. Carolina Llano claimed individual medalist honors with a 3-over par total of 219. Llano edged out fellow Wave Marina Choi who finished six shots back in second-place. At the NCAA East Regional, Llano paced the Waves with a fifth place finish as Pepperdine tied for fourth place. The Waves shot a 34-over par total of 874.

The Waves' Llano: Carolina Llano captured her third straight WCC title and then continued her strong play with a fifth place finish at the NCAA East Regional. Llano carded rounds of 70-72-71 for a 3-over par total of 213 at the regionals. The junior is ranked as the 19th best player in the nation by Golfweek.com. Llano's teammate Eileen Vargas is ranked as the No. 29 golfer in the country.

Head Coach Laurie Gibbs: Veteran Pepperdine Head Coach Laurie Gibbs is in the midst of her 12th season at the helm of the Waves' program and has guided her team to the NCAA Championships six times in the last seven years. Gibbs collected her sixth WCC Coach of Year award after leading the Waves to their fourth straight WCC crown. Gibbs has coached four All-Americans during her time in Malibu and led her program to a second-place finish at the 2003 NCAA Championships.

Pepperdine at the NCAA Championships: The Waves will enter the NCAA Championships as the No. 4 team in the nation as ranked by Golfweek.com. Pepperdine's most successful run in the NCAA Championships occurred in 2003 with a second place showing. The Waves assembled a streak of five straight appearances in the NCAA Championships that lasted until the 2004 season. Pepperdine posted a fifth place finish at the 1999 NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

NCAA Men's Golf West Regional Notes
Pepperdine Waves

Waves of Success: With a streak of seven straight regional appearances, the Pepperdine Waves know how to play under the pressures of NCAA Tournament golf. The Waves won the 1997 NCAA title during Head Coach John Geiberger's first year in Malibu. Last year, Pepperdine finished in ninth place at the NCAA West Regionals with Michael Putnam carding the top Waves result as he tied for sixth. The Waves qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2004 and claimed a 10th place finish as Putnam posted a fourth place result.

Praise For Putnam: The senior from Tacoma, Washington was recently named as one of five finalists for the Byron Nelson Award and is already a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan award. Putnam has recorded one individual medalist honor this season along with two runner-up results and four top-5 finishes. The two-time All-American is Pepperdine's career leader in stroke average and set to break his single season average of 71.00. Putnam is also a three-time All-WCC performer and the No. 14 golfer in the country as ranked by Golfweek.com.

Pepperdine's Depth: A trio of All-WCC selections round-out the Waves roster in Alex Coe, Brian O'Flaherty and Colin Wilcox. O'Flaherty finished second at the WCC Championships, while Coe and Wilcox claimed fourth and fifth place, respectively.

NCAA Men's Golf West Regional Notes
Saint Mary's Gaels

A Gael Resurgence: Saint Mary's recorded consecutive second place finishes at the WCC Championships for the first time in school history. The Gaels' Joe Lanza won individual metalist honors at the WCC Championships. Lanza bettered Pepperdine's Brian O'Flaherty for a 2-stroke victory. The senior became the first Gael since Erin Meichtry won the title in 1993 to capture the WCC crown. Lanza scored a season tying score of 208 (-8) for the tournament. Gael golfers Liam Kendregan and Chadd Cocco collected top-10 finishes at the WCC Championships with 6th and 8th place results, respectively. Head Coach Scott Hardy was named "WCC Tri-Coach of the Year" to mark his third such honor in five years. The Gaels posted nine top-10 results this season with impressive showings including 4th place at the UCLA Gold Rush Classic and winning both the Countrywide and Lexus Invitationals.

Hardy at the Helm: Fifth year head coach Scott Hardy has raised the Gael program to new heights during his time in Moraga. Hardy directed SMC to consecutive second place finishes at the WCC Championships, which resulted this season in a berth in NCAA West Regionals this season. The NCAA Tournament appearance marks the first in Saint Mary's school history. The Gaels are ranked at No. 41 by Golfweek.com.

Kendregan's Steady Play: The Gaels' senior golfer carded his 8th top-10 finish of the season at the WCC Championships with a 6th place showing. Kendregan's top results this season include a first place finish at the Naples Invitational and a third place finish at the Fidelity National Title.