May. 2, 2005

Malibu, Calif. -

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The Pepperdine women's golf team, ranked No. 5 in the latest Golfstat rankings, earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA East Regional and will travel to Gainesville, Florida, this week to compete on the University of Florida Golf Course beginning Thursday, May 5.

The tournament format calls for 18 holes to be played Thursday through Saturday at the par-70, 6,023-yard University of Florida Golf Course.

The East Regional also includes top-seed and No. 1-ranked Duke along with third seed and No. 6 Washington. The Waves will be paired with the Blue Devils and Huskies in Thursday's opening round and are scheduled to begin play at 5:30 a.m. (PDT).

Three regional tournaments will be conducted May 5-7 to determine the championships field. The two other regionals are being contested in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the New Mexico State Golf Course (West Regional) and in Lubbock, Texas, at the Jerry S. Rawls Course (Central Regional).

A total of 324 participants have been selected for the regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals May 17-20. Eight teams and two individuals will advance from each region.

Led by head coach Laurie Gibbs and junior Carolina Llano, Pepperdine enters regional play seeking its sixth NCAA Championships appearance in the last seven years.

The Waves had their streak of five consecutive NCAA Championships appearances snapped last year after finishing 12th at the NCAA West Regional Championship in Stanford, California.

Pepperdine's best-ever showing at the regionals came in 2002 when it tied for first place at the NCAA West Regionals. In 2003, the Waves placed fourth at the Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona, and went on to the nationals where they finished second.

The championships finals will be held at Sunriver Resort on the Meadows Course in Sunriver, Oregon as Oregon State and Sunriver Resort will serve as hosts.

The Waves captured their fourth straight West Coast Conference (WCC) Championship and seventh in the last eight years after posting a 46-shot victory over second place San Francisco at the Saddle Creek Golf Course in Copperopolis, California, on April 12.

Llano won individual medalist honors for the third straight year after registering a six-shot victory over freshman teammate Marina Choi. Llano was named the WCC's "Golfer of the Year" while Choi was selected "Freshman of the Year" and Gibbs was tabbed "Coach of the Year."

Llano, Choi, senior Rachel Kyono, freshman Leanne Bowditch and sophomore Eileen Vargas all finished in the Top 5 and were selected All-WCC.

Lllano currently tops Pepperdine with a 74.17 stroke average and ranked No. 25 nationally by Golfweek and No. 27 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

THE PROGRAM: The Pepperdine women's golf program is beginning its 20th season of intercollegiate play. Women's golf was added as an intercollegiate sport at Pepperdine prior to the start of the 1985-86 school year. The Waves burst on to the national scene during the 1998-99 campaign, advancing to the NCAA Championships for the first time where the team earned an impressive fifth place finish. Pepperdine kept the positive momentum going in 2000, finishing eighth at the NCAA Championships. Tamie Durdin earned All-American honors from the National Golf Coaches Association in 2000, becoming the first Pepperdine player to earn such distinction. Lindsey Wright was an honorable mention All-American pick. The Waves placed 14th at the NCAA Championships in 2001, and sophomores Katherine Hull and Lindsey Wright were both second team All-Americans. Pepperdine put together another solid season in 2002 tying for ninth place at the NCAA Championships. Hull and Wright were again tabbed All-Americans and Wright tied for second in the individual standings. The duo led Pepperdine to unprecedented heights in 2003, leading the Waves to a second place finish at the NCAA Championships. They were both tabbed All-Americans and Hull was chosen as the "National Golfer of the Year" by the NGCA. The Waves have been consistently ranked in the Top 20 nationally each of the last six seasons. The West Coast Conference (WCC) began sponsoring a women's golf championship for the first time in 1997, and Pepperdine finished second at the inaugural event behind San Francisco. The Waves have won five of the last six league titles, including 2003. Candida Kim was the first Pepperdine golfer to compete at the NCAA West Regional Championships, as she earned an at-large berth to the 1995 event. In 1998, Jenny Glasgow became just the second Pepperdine golfer to earn such distinction, competing in the NCAA West Regional Championships at the Stanford Golf Course.

Laurie Gibbs: Laurie Gibbs, a former teaching professional at the Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, begins her 12th season as Pepperdine's head women's golf coach. Gibbs played collegiate golf at Long Beach State, and previously worked for three years as a PGA teaching professional at the Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles. Gibbs has directed the Waves to five consecutive Top 15 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including a best-ever second place finish at last year's NCAA Championships. Pepperdine won three consecutive West Coast Conference championships from 1998-2000 and captured the title again in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Gibbs was tabbed the league's "Coach of the Year" in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003. Additionally, Gibbs was selected the 1999 Far West Region "Coach of the Year" by the National Golf Coaches Association and received "Co-Coach of the Year" honors by the organization in 2003. She has twice been selected the University's "Coach of the Year", garnering the award in 1998-99 and 2002-03.

SPORTS INFORMATION HOTLINE: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics, including results and a schedule of upcoming events, please contact the Pepperdine Sports Information Hotline at 310-506-7373. The hotline will be updated on a regular basis throughout the course of the 2003-04 school year.

ON THE WEB: For updated information concerning Pepperdine athletics on the Internet, including results and a schedule of upcoming events, please bookmark the following address: http://www.PepperdineSports.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For additional information on the women's golf program, or to arrange interviews with players and the coaching staff, please contact Al Barba at the Pepperdine Sports Information Office by calling (310) 506-4455.