Feb. 20, 2004
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The Pepperdine women's golf team continues its spring schedule next week when it travels to Tucson, Arizona, to compete in the 14-team Wildcat Invitational at the par-71, 2,638-yard Arizona National Golf Course.
The tournament showcases several of the nation's elite women's golf teams, including seven schools that are ranked in the latest Golfweek Top 25 poll, plus UNLV, which is ranked No. 26.
Play begins at 7 a.m. on Monday, February 23 and continues with 18 holes on Tuesday and the final round slated for Wednesday.
The Waves, who are currently ranked as high as No. 16 nationally in the latest Golf World poll, captured last year's event with a 54-hole score of 876 that was the second in a stretch of five consecutive tournament titles and helped catapult them to a No. 1 national ranking.
Pepperdine enters this year's tournament led by sophomore All-American Carolina Llano, who is currently the sixth-ranked player in the country according to the latest Golfweek ratings. In 12 rounds of competition so far this season, Llano has a 72.91 stroke average.
Llano was the Waves' top individual in all three tournaments during the fall. She fired a career-best 6-under par 66 in the final round to capture individual medalist honors with a three-round score of 5-under par 221 at the NCAA Fall Preview Tournament and followed that performance with a third place finish at the Dick McGuire Invitational.
Llano tied for ninth at the Pepsi Stanford Intercollegiate after shooting a 2-under par score of 214.
The Waves opened their spring schedule at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in nearby Rancho Palos Verdes, California, two weeks ago and tied Tulsa for seventh place. Junior Rachel Kyono and freshman Eileen Vargas each tied for seventh place to lead Pepperdine.
Following next week's tournament, Pepperdine travels to Monterey, California, to compete in the two-day, 54-hole San Jose State Spartan Invitational beginning on March 2.
THE PROGRAM: The Pepperdine women's golf program is beginning its 19th 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 15 nationally each of the last five 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 11th 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.
