Women's Golf Heads to UNLV Spring Invitational Next Week
3/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
March 4, 2011
MALIBU, Calif. -- The Pepperdine women's golf team goes quickly from one tournament to the next, as after a third-place finish at its own Bruin Wave Invitational earlier this week, the squad heads to the UNLV Spring Invitational next week. The last time the Waves played at the Boulder Creek Golf Club, they set an NCAA record with a winning score of 41-under at the 2008 Las Vegas Collegiate Shootout.
COURSE/SCHEDULE -- Boulder Creek Golf Club, located in Boulder City, Nev., is a par-72, 6,271-yard course. Eighteen holes will be played each day between Monday and Wednesday (March 7-9).
FIELD -- The 15-team field consists of Pepperdine, Ball State, Baylor, BYU, Colorado State, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico State, North Texas, Oregon State, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, Tulsa, Wyoming and UNLV.
RANKINGS -- Pepperdine is currently #24 in the Golfweek/Sagarin index and is rated #25 by Golfstat. Individually, Danielle Kang is ranked #22 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #30 by Golfstat.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP -- All seven Waves will take part in the UNLV Spring Invitational.The lineup for this event consists of senior Taylore Karle (Scottsdale, Ariz.), junior Kaitlin Drolson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), sophomore Danielle Kang (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and freshmen Liv Cheng (Auckland, New Zealand) and Grace Na (Alameda, Calif.). Additionally, senior Martine de Gannes (Diego Martin, Trinidad) and freshman Danielle Gillaspy (Santa Maria, Calif.) will compete as individuals.
STATISTICS -- Season scoring averages for the players taking part in the tournament are as follows: Kang 72.58 (four tournaments), Na 74.50 (two), Karle 75.33 (five), Drolson 75.87 (five), Cheng 76.60 (five), Gillaspy 77.67 (three) and de Gannes 79.00 (four).
RESULTS -- Live scoring will be provided at www.golfstat.com.
2010-11 HONORS -- Danielle Kang was #2 on Golfweek's preseason list of the nation's top individuals and #6 on Golf World's top 50 players to watch list ... Kang was named the WCC Player of the Month for September (her second time winning the award).
2010-11 HIGHLIGHTS -- Danielle Kang's tie for 19th place led the Waves in their season-opening showing at the NCAA Fall Preview ... Taylore Karle and Martine de Gannes tied for 16th place at the Golfweek Conference Challenge ... Kang missed the Golfweek event, then rejoined the Waves immediately after taking part in the Japan Open and tied for sixth place at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational ... In the first spring tournament, Kang tied for third place at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge ... Kang led the Waves with a seventh-place showing at the Bruin Wave Invitational.
2010-11 ROSTER -- A roster of four returning players was bolstered by three new freshmen to give the Waves a total of seven student-athletes. There are two seniors, one junior and one sophomore. For the second straight year, one of the Waves' freshmen (Grace Na) graduated from high school early in order to start at Pepperdine in the spring semester.
KANG -- Ever since Danielle Kang (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake HS) completed high school early in order to enroll at Pepperdine in January 2010, it's been one notable achievement after another, highlighted by a victory at the U.S. Women's Amateur last summer. As a freshman, Kang won her second event (the Bruin Wave Invitational) and earned All-American second team honors from Golfweek after tying for 15th place at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Also last summer, she qualified for the U.S. Open for the second time and was one of only six amateurs to make the cut, had a second-place showing at the Canadian Women's Amateur and was the medalist of the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Junior Golf Championship before falling in the quarterfinals. Last fall, she also competed at the Japan Open (tying for 19th place) and the World Amateur Team Championship (helping the U.S. finish second). She has been the Waves' top finisher at all four of the tournaments she's competed at in 2010-11, with three top-10 results and all four in the top 20.
KARLE -- Senior Taylore Karle (Scottsdale, Ariz./Laurel Springs Academy) ranks seventh on Pepperdine's all-time scoring list with an average of 74.53 strokes. She has two career wins, 13 top 10s and 19 top 20s.
GIBBS -- Recognized by her peers as one of the top collegiate women's golf coaches in the country, Laurie Gibbs is in her 18th season as head coach of the Pepperdine women's golf team. Under Gibbs, the Waves have appeared in the NCAA Championships 10 times, with eight top 10 finishes and four top five showings, including a program-best second-place result in 2003. Her players have earned All-American honors 20 times. Gibbs has led Pepperdine to West Coast Conference championships in 12 of the last 13 years, including a current streak of nine titles that began in 2002. Gibbs has been honored 10 times as the WCC's Coach of the Year, was tabbed the West Region Coach of the Year on two occasions and was selected the 2004-05 National Coach of the Year by Golfweek magazine.
2009-10 RECAP -- Another successful season went into the books as the Waves finished with a #9 ranking by Golfweek/Sagarin, tied for 14th place at the NCAA Championships and won their ninth straight WCC title. Pepperdine won three tournaments in all and had medalists at three events.
PEPPERDINE GOLF HISTORY -- The last decade-plus has established Pepperdine as one of the nation's top golf programs. The Waves have appeared in the NCAA Championships 10 times in 12 years, with eight top 10 finishes and four top five showings, including a program-best second-place result in 2003. The Waves have won West Coast Conference championships in 12 of the last 13 years, including a current streak of nine titles that began in 2002. LPGA Tour players have included Katherine Hull, Lindsey Wright, Tamie Durdin, Misun Cho and Carolina Llano.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE -- Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won a total of nine NCAA championships in five different men's sports -- one of just 14 schools to have accomplished this feat. Of the 14, Pepperdine is the only non-BCS school and has by far the smallest enrollment. The majority of Pepperdine's teams are ranked nationally year after year and compete for conference and national titles.
Players Mentioned
