Freshman Bronte Law of UCLA claimed the individual title, but national champion USC rallied in the final round to claim its seventh consecutive victory by one stroke over the crosstown rival Bruins in the Pac-12 Preview at Nanea Golf Club in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
The Trojans, who won their fourth consecutive tournament of the Fall season, finally had intact the lineup that took them to the NCAA Championship last Spring.
“I am so proud of our team,” said Coach Andrea Gaston, whose team has won 11 of its last 12 outings. “To win four events this year with four different lineups is a testament to the depth and talent of our team.
“As their coach, I appreciate how hard they work, and how they just keep fighting on! This is truly a special group of young ladies.”
USC, which entered the tournament at No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Women’s College Rankings behind UCLA, posted a score of 284-288-289–861, 15-under-par, while the Bruins wound up at 283-287-292–862.
Washington was third at 282-286-301–869, followed by Arizona State at 288-294-292–874, Oregon at 282-303-296–881, Stanford at 292-289-302–883, Arizona at 287-293-304–884, and California at 292-298-312–902.
Law, from Stockport, England, claimed the first victory of her college career by shooting 70-65-76–211, 8-under-par, to beat Annie Park of USC, the reigning national champion, who wound up at 69-72-71–212.
Sophia Popov of USC totaled 70-72-71–213 and tied for third with Cassy Issagawa of Oregon, who finished at 67-73-73–213, and Monica Vaughn of Arizona State, who came in at 70-74-69.
Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State was sixth at 73-69-72–214, followed by Mariah Stackhouse of Stanford, who finished at 71-71-74–216.
