USC, the top-ranked women’s team, starts Spring impressively;
By Tom LaMarre
Top-ranked USC started the Spring season like it plans to stay on top.
Robynn Ree, who carded three late birdies, Amy Lee and Tiffany Chan finished 1-2-3 to lead the Trojans to an 18-stroke victory over Fresno State in the Gold Rush at Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach.
USC, coached by Andrea Gaston, posted a score of 286-285-292–863, 1-under-par, to claim its third victory of the season.
“It was nice to come out to this tournament and just drive down the road,” said Gaston, who has guided the Trojans to three NCAA Championships in her 20 seasons. “I’m happy with the way we played and obviously it was nice to have a big lead heading to the final round.
“We were just trying to get back to competing and it was exciting to see some of the girls battling it out for the lead. Robynn has a tendency to get a little quick when she gets in the moment and she lost some momentum (in the middle of the final round).
“I just told her to slow down and it was nice to see her make those three putts at the end.”
Fresno State was second at 292-295-294–881, followed by Long Beach State at 308-286-296–890.
Ree, a freshman from Redondo Beach who is No. 7 in the Golfweek national rankings, claimed the first victory of her college career with a score of 70-71-71–212, 4-under, followed by Lee, a sophomore from Brea, at 74-70-69–213, and Chan, a junior from Hong Kong, at 75-68-71–214.
After making three consecutive birdies through No. 17, Ree tapped in for a winning par on the final hole.
“I’m happy with the way I finished,” said Ree, who tied for the Southern Section title as a senior at Redondo High. “There are some things that I can work on but overall it was a good day.”
Louise Ridderstrom, a UCLA senior from Sweden, claimed her first college victory by beating teammate Bronte Law with a par on the second playoff hole as the fifth-ranked Bruins won the Bruin Wave Invitational by 14 strokes over Arizona State at San Luis Obispo Country Club in San Luis Obispo.
Ridderstrom closed with a 5-under-par to get into the playoff with Law, who is No. 3 in the nation, and after each player made par on the first extra hole, they both hit into a greenside bunker on the second, but only Ridderstrom was able to get up-and-down.
After Ridderstrom sank her seven-foot putt, Law missed from four feet.
UCLA, coached by Carrie Forsyth, claimed its second victory of the season with a score of 289-287-292–868, 4-under, followed by Arizona State at 293-293-296–882 and California at 295-298-295–888.
Defending national champion Stanford, ranked No. 4, hit the road and finished a disappointing 10th with a score of 296-293-289–888 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate in the rain at English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans.
Lauren Kim, a Cardinal senior from Los Altos ranked No. 4, posted her third consecutive top-10 finish when she wound up two strokes back in solo sixth at 68-70-76–213, while Mariah Stackhouse, another senior ranked No. 20, was another shot back at 69-72-73–214 in a tie for seventh.
That came after the host Cardinal finished second, three strokes behind Washington, with a score of 287-287–574 in the 21st annual Peg Barnard Invitational at Stanford Golf Course, as junior Casey Danielson tied for second at 70-69–139, Kim tied for fourth at 71-71–142 and Stackhouse tied for eighth at 72-72–144.
Cal, ranked No. 15, finished third in the Peg Barnard Invitational with a score of 289-288–577, as Hannah Suh and Marte Wold of the Golden Bears came in at 71-72–143 and tied for sixth .
No. 17 Senior Emma Henrikson of Sweden carded a score of 69-73-69–211 and shared medalist honors, her third college title, as No. 18 San Diego State wound up eighth with a total of 286-296-287–869 in the Westbrook Spring Invitational at Westbrook Village Golf Club in Peoria, Ariz.
MEN’S ROUND UP
On the men’s side, Andrew Levitt and Jonah Texeira of USC finished 1-2 and led the sixth-ranked Trojans to a 20-stroke victory over host Pepperdine in the Southwestern Jones Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in Thousand Oaks.
USC claimed its second victory of the season, finishing at 280-272-286–838, 26-under-par, while Pepperdine wound up at 285-280-293–858, and No. 23 San Diego State was third 288-292-283–863.
Levitt, a senior from Ladera Ranch, posted a score of 72-68-68–208, 8-under, to claim his first college victory and led four Trojans in the top 10. Texeira was next at a tie for second at 69-67-73–209, while Sean Crocker tied for fifth at 69-68-74–211, and 10th- ranked Rico Hoey tied for 10th at 70-74-71–215.
Nahum Mendoza III of San Diego State tied for third at 70-69-70–209, while Ryann Ree, his Aztec teammate, was fourth at 72-73-65–210, Frederick Wedel of Pepperdine tied for fifth at 72-69-70–211, Alex Chiarella of the University of San Diego tied for eighth at 67-70-77–214 and Sahith Theegala of Pepperdine tied for 10th at 70-68-77–215.
Earlier, Aaron Wise of Oregon, a sophomore from Lake Elsinore, claimed his second victory of the season, closing with an 8-under-par 64 to beat Hoey of team champion USC by two strokes in the Amer Ari Invitational on the Kings Course at Waikoloa Golf Resort in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii.
Wise, who won for the fourth time in his Oregon career, posted a score of 69-67-64–200, 16 under par. Hoey, a junior from Rancho Cucamonga, finished at 68-68-66–202, followed by fourth-ranked Maverick McNealy of Stanford, a junior from Portola Valley, at 68-68-67–203.
Jonathan Garrick of UCLA shot 69-66-72-207 to tie for fifth, while Texeira of USC was eighth at 70-67-71–208 and Corey Shaun of UCLA tied for 10th at 70-70-70–210.
USC, coached by Chris Zambri, recorded its fifth straight top-10 finish with a score of 278-275-282–835, 29-under, followed by UCLA at 279-272-286–837.
Cal freshman Collin Morikawa of La Canada-Flintridge posted the best finish of his college career, a tie for second, as the Golden Bears tied for fourth in the Querencia Cabo Collegiate at Querencia Golf Club in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Georgia, ranked No. 15, took home the team title with a score of 281-268-285–834, 18-under, while Cal totaled 281-285-283–849 and tied for fourth with Stanford, which wound up at 286-278-285–849.
Aksel Olsen of South Florida claimed the individual title at 68-67-69–204, 9-under, while Morikawa tied for second at 70-68-67–205, McNealy tied for eighth at 75-65-70–210 and Cameron Shaw of Cal tied for 10th at 70-70-71–211.
Top-ranked Beau Hossler of Texas, a junior from Mission Viejo, captured the Arizona Intercollegiate and tied for first in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.
