30 CALIFORNIA GOLF NEWS • JUNE 2010 WOMEN’S REGIONALS California schools vie for a trip to the NCAAs Women’s Central Regional, Otter Creek Golf Club, May 6-8 The Trojans headed out to Columbus Indiana and made a statement to last year’s champion Arizona State with an eight-shot victory over the defending Sun Devils. Led by junior Lizette Salas, who finished in second place individu- ally, two shots back from medalist Martina Gavier from Kent State, the Trojans shot the team low round on the final two days to capture the title. Coach Gaston should be pleased at the team effort in preparation for the upcoming NCAA Championships with all five Trojan players finishing in the top 20. San Diego State was the only other California school travel- ing to the Central Regional finishing in 13th place as a team and led by Malin Enarsson, who finished in a tie for 12th individually. Unfortunately, that left the Aztec junior one shot off an individual berth in the NCAA field behind University of Denver’s Kimberly Kim. Women’s East Regional, Ironwood Country Club, May 6-8 The Pepperdine Waves were the only Californian school represented at the Greenville, North Carolina, location and they made the most of their draw. Led by freshman Danielle Kang, who shared the lead after day two before finishing in sixth place, the Waves used a terrific first-round team score to finish in seventh place and qualify for the finals. After day one, the Waves were just one shot out of lead, behind the Auburn Tigers, with an impres- sive 5-under 67 from both Kang and sophomore Jessica Wallace. In the end, the Waves would need that low- round first day to survive as they dropped into third position after day two and then had a dismal final day that dropped the team into seventh place. The windy conditions provided a real headache for the Waves, but a persistent “just qualify” attitude help the Waves stay in the top eight. Women’s West Regional, Ironwood Country Club, May 6-8 The bulk of the California schools headed to the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, with sophomore Madeleine Ziegert from San Jose State providing the story of the tournament. Shooting a career best 4-under 67, that included four birdies and one eagle, Ziegert led the field by one shot and never looked back. A second-day 3-over 74 that was tough for the entire field kept her in a tie for first before her final-round 2-over 73 provided shared medalist honors with Virginia’s Calle Nielson. More importantly, the effort lifted the San Jose Spartans to the NCAA finals with a team-qualifying position of sev- enth. It is the Spartans first trip to the finals since 2001. Stanford used the comforts of their home course to finish in sixth place as a team led by Sally Watson and Rebecca Durham. This is the 19th trip to the finals for the Cardinal. The Bruins of UCLA have to feel good about their second-place team finish at the West Regional, led by Stephanie Kono and Glory Yang. Although they never gave first-place Arizona much of scare, the Bruins had three solid team rounds and fin- ished five shots ahead of Alabama and Texas. Several schools finished outside of the top-eight qualifying position, with the most notable being the Cal Bears, who despite a first- round effort that had them 1 shot off the lead, finished in 11th place with By Jim Dover HOW THEY FARED The California colleges get busy Junior Lizette Salas led the Trojans to the Central Regional win. PHOTO BY USC SPORTS INFORMATION USC was all smiles after the Lady Trojans played their way to the Regional win. PHOTO BY USC SPORTS INFORMATION Pepperdine freshman Danielle Kang led the Waves to seventh place and a spot in the finals PHOTO BY JEFF GOLDEN
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