May 3, 2005
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For the fourth consecutive year, the Pepperdine University men's and women's golf teams claimed the West Coast Conference Golf Championships. The Wave women led from the opening round to capture their fourth consecutive West Coast Conference championship at Saddle Creek Golf Course in Copperopolis, CA. The Pepperdine men, who have now won seven straight WCC titles, used a spectacular second round score of 275 to post a three-round total of 846, the lowest three-round total in WCC history.
In addition to the Waves' capturing the women's team title, Pepperdine claimed the top five spots as junior Carolina Llano took home individual medalist honors, shooting a three-over par 219. Pepperdine's Marina Choi, who finished second, was named the WCC Freshman of the Year, while Pepperdine Head Coach Laurie Gibbs was named the WCC Coach of the Year.
On the men's side, Saint Mary's Joe Lanza became the first Gaels' golfer to take home individual medalist honors, shooting an eight-under par 208 to guide SMC to a second place finish. Loyola Marymount's Jason D'Amore was named the WCC Freshman of the Year. For the second time in WCC history, three coaches shared the Coach of the Year honors, as Pepperdine's John Geiberger, Saint Mary's Scott Hardy and San Diego's Tim Mickelson were all recognized by their peers. The only other time this occured was in 2002.
Earning all-conference on the women's side was Pepperdine's Leanne Bowditch, Choi, Rachel Kyono, Llano, and Eileen Vargas, USF's Mariko Shimozaki, and Santa Clara's Samantha Trask. Earning all-conference on the men's side was Loyola Marymount's Jason D'Amore, Pepperdine's Alex Coe, Brian O'Flaherty, Michael Putnam and Colin Wilcox, and Saint Mary's Chad Cocco, Liam Kendregan, and Joe Lanza.
The Pepperdine and San Francisco women received berths into the NCAA Regionals as the Waves will travel east to Gainseville, Florida, while the Dons will head to Las Cruses, New Mexico. Play is scheduled for May 5-7 with the top eight teams from each regional advancing to the NCAA Championship Finals at Sunriver Resort on the Meadows Course in Sunriver, Oregon. Pepperdine gained a No. 2 seed in the East Regional, while the Dons are seeded No. 12 in the West Regional.
NCAA Regionals
Women
May 5-7
Pepperdine @ University of Florida Golf Course
Gainesville, Florida
NCAA East Regional Championships
San Francisco @ New Mexico State Golf Course
Las Cruses, New Mexico
NCAA West Regional Championships
NCAA Regionals
Men
May 19-21
NCAA Regional Championships
Site TBA
June 1-4
NCAA Championships
Baltimore, Maryland
NCAA Women's Regional Notes
Pepperdine: The Pepperdine Waves received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA East Regional in Gainesville, Florida with play starting on May 5. The Waves will play at the University of Florida Golf Course and seek its sixth NCAA Championship appearance in the last seven years. Pepperdine's best-ever showing at the regional occurred in 2002 with a tie for first place at the West Regionals. The Waves will head into the regionals after completing a commanding performance at the West Coast Conference Championships. Pepperdine dominated the leader board as Waves' golfers captured the top 5 spots. Carolina Llano won individual medalist honors for the third straight year. Head coach Laurie Gibbs was selected as WCC Coach of the Year for the sixth time.
San Francisco: The San Francisco Dons gained a No. 12 seed in the NCAA West Regional in Las Cruses, New Mexico with the regional opening on May 5. The Dons will play at the New Mexico State Golf Course after receiving its fifth straight berth into the regionals. USF will enter NCAA play off a second place showing at the WCC Championship. The Dons' Mariko Shimozaki garnered all-conference honors after posting a sixth place finish at the WCC Golf Championships. Two USF golfers gained honorable mention honors in Nikki Jacoby (80-75-76-231) and Jessica Potter (79-77-75-231). Jacoby and Potter tied for seventh place at the WCC Golf Championships.
WCC Team Notes
Gonzaga Bulldogs -- Men's and Women's Golf Notes:
The Bulldog men placed in seventh at the WCC Golf Championships ... Trevor Loe (77-77-75) tied for 20th place with a score of 229 ... Jimmy Hayes (81-74-77) took home a 25th place finish with a score of 232 ... On the women's side, Gonzaga finished in fifth place ... Mary Kate Morgan posted a top-10 result with a ninth place finish ... Morgan shot rounds of 79-80-78 for a score of 237 ... Lacey Jo Manwaring ended in 20th place.
Loyola Marymount Lions -- Men's Golf Notes:
The LMU men placed in eighth at the WCC Golf Championships ... The Lions' top finisher was Brendan von Doehren who shot rounds of 79-77-78 for a score of 234 ... Jason D'Amore won WCC Freshman of the Year honors and was also an all-conference selection ... D'Amore tied for 32nd at the championships with a score of 237 ... LMU posted a fifth place finish last season ... The Lions posted top-5 finishes at the last three golf championships.
Pepperdine Waves -- Men's and Women's Golf Notes:
For the seventh straight year, the Pepperdine men won the WCC Golf Championships ... The Waves recorded rounds of 284-275-287 for a score of 846, which bettered their previous low score of 855 in 1992 ... Pepperdine had four players finish in the top-5 as Brian O'Flaherty, Michael Putnam, Alex Coe and Colin Wilcox claimed spots 2-through-5 in the final standings to earn all-WCC honors ... The Pepperdine women won the WCC Golf Championships for the fourth straight time and dominiated the leader board by capturing the first five spots ... This marks the fourth time that Pepperdine has won both the men's and women's title ... The Waves' Carolina Llano won individual medalits honors for the third straight year ... Marina Choi claimed WCC Freshman of the Year honors ... All-conference selections included, Leanne Bowditch, Choi, Rachel Kyono, Llano and Eileen Vargas on the women's side.
Portland Pilots -- Men's and Women's Golf Notes:
The Portland men placed fourth at the WCC Golf Championships ... The Pilots' Mike McCabe tied for ninth with rounds of 72-75-75 for a score of 222 ... Jake Easterly tied for 20th place as he shot a 229 ... For the women, Melanie Lee recorded the team's highest finish as she tied for 11th ... Portland captured fourth place at the WCC Golf Championships with a score of 984 ... The Pilots fourth place finish is their second such result in four years ... Portland finished in seventh place last season.
Saint Mary's Gaels -- Men's Golf Notes:
SMC's Joe Lanza became the first Gael to win individual medalist honors at the WCC Golf Championships ... Lanza shot rounds 68-70-70 for a 4-under 208 ... Saint Mary's recorded a second place finish for the second consecutive year ... Liam Kendregan and Chadd Cocco placed in sixth and eighth place,respectively, while Michael McRae tied for ninth place ... Kendregan shot rounds of 71-71-72 for a 2-under score of 214 ... A trio of Gaels gained all-conference honors in Cocco, Kedregan and Lanza ... All three Gaels garnered all-conference honors last season as well ... Head coach Scott Hardy was one of three coaches to share WCC Coach of the Year honors.
San Diego Toreros -- Men's Golf Notes:
The Toreros recorded a six place finish at the WCC Golf Championships ... Jimmy Harris posted the best result for USD with a 15th place finish ... Harris shot rounds of 75-73-77 for a score of 225 ... Head coach Tim Mickelson was one of three coaches to share WCC Coach of the Year honors ... Other results for the Toreros included a tie for 22nd place by Luke Antonelli and a 24th place finish by Bucky Coe ... San Diego had a fourth place finish in last year's championships, the first under the guidence of coach Mickelson.
San Francisco Dons -- Men's and Women's Golf Notes:
The USF women posted a second place result with rounds of 308-305-309 for a score of 922 ... Mariko Shimozaki recorded a sixth place finish at the tournament with a score of 228 ... Shimozaki also gained all-conference honors ... Nikki Jacoby and Jessica Potter tied for seventh place, while Kristin Nichols tied for 11th and Chaneng Joe gained a 13th place finish ... The Don men placed in fifth at the tournament with a score of 920 ... Taylor Hobin recorded a seventh place finish with rounds of 70-72-73 for a 1-under score of 215 ... Moses Kahalekulu tied for 17th place with a score of 228 ... Hobin tied for 29th in last year's tournament as a freshman ... The USF women kept its streak alive of finishing in either first or second place during the eight-year history of the women's tournament.
Santa Clara Broncos -- Men's and Women's Golf Notes:
The Bronco men and women each claimed a third place finish at the WCC Golf Championships ... The men recorded a score of 891, while the women posted a score of 977 ... Michael Nicoletti and Eric Lillibridge each tied for 11th with a score of 223 ... Samantha Trask posted a 10th place finish on the women's side as well as picking up all-conference honors ... Trask gained all-conference honors last season as well ... Candice Palmer had a 14th place result with a score of 244 ... Nicoletti has posted the best men's score for SCU the last three years ... The men's last third place finish occurred in 2003 ... The Bronco women have now recorded consecutive third place finishes at the tournament ... Trask was the women's best finisher for the second straight year.
