April 18, 2012
Photo Gallery 
Final Results 
HOLLISTER, Calif. - Freshman
Somin Lee's hole-in-one helped propel the Pepperdine women's golf team to its 11th consecutive West Coast Conference title on Wednesday, as the Waves defeated San Francisco by six strokes.
This one was quite different than the previous victories. The Waves dominated the last 10 conference tourneys, winning all of them by double-figures and by an average of 27.5 strokes. This year, the six-stroke final margin at the par-72 San Juan Oaks Golf Club was the second-closest finish in tournament history.
Pepperdine finished with a score of 911 (313-296-302), six better than San Francisco (917) and eight ahead of Gonzaga (919). The Waves got off to a rough start, opening the tournament in fourth place and trailing by eight strokes after the first round. But their second-round score was the best one of the tournament, and it allowed the Waves to build a two-shot lead over Gonzaga. Pepperdine then led by a decent margin throughout the third round today.
The Waves, who have won 14 of the 16 WCC women's golf championships ever contested, claimed the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. NCAA Regional play will be held May 10-12 and the field will be announced on April 30.
While one streak continued, another came to an end, as the Waves didn't produce the individual medalist for the first time since 2001. Gonzaga's Victoria Fallgren and Seattle's Caitlin McCleary tied with an 8-over 224, with Fallgren prevailing in a playoff.
Pepperdine freshman Alina Ching (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) began the day with a two-shot lead, and the hole-in-one by Lee (Denver, Colo./Overland HS) on the par-3 16th hole put her into first place for a portion of the round (the women began on the 10th tee). Lee wound up in a tie for third place, one shot behind the winners, at 225 (77-73-75) and Ching ended up in a tie for sixth place at 227 (76-72-79).
It was Lee's second-ever hole-in-one, and she said: "I didn't know it went in right away. I walked from the tee box down to the green, and I didn't know it until I got there. There were two people clapping, so I just thought it was a good shot. It was really exciting when I saw the ball in the hole."
On the team championship, Lee added: "We struggled in the beginning, but I'm glad we got back together and played our game. It's exciting to bring the trophy back to Pepperdine again."
It was a season-best finish for Lee, a freshman. Her previous best was a tie for 23rd place at this spring's Bruin Wave Invitational. Ching had 10 birdies over three rounds, more than any other player.
Sophomore Liv Cheng (Auckland, New Zealand) improved each day and wound up in eighth place at 228 (80-75-73). She went from a tie for 18th to a tie for 13th to her top-10 result (her second of the season).
Two of the Waves' top players, sophomore Grace Na (Alameda, Calif./Alameda HS) and senior Kaitlin Drolson (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Torrey Pines HS), weren't able to practice much the last few weeks while recovering from injuries, and that showed in the final standings.
Na, the defending individual champion, tied for 12th place at 231 (80-76-75), and Drolson, who had three top-five finishes at previous WCC Championships, took 21st at 240 (82-76-82).
This is the third WCC title won by a Pepperdine women's team this school year, following soccer and volleyball in the fall.
Team Scores: 1. Pepperdine 313-296-302=911; 2. San Francisco 304-314-299=917; 3. Gonzaga 309-302-308=919; 4. Seattle 308-316-313=937; 5. Santa Clara 318-305-316=939; 6. Brigham Young 319-319-327=965.
Top Individuals: T1. Victoria Fallgren (Gonzaga) 76-77-71=224; T1. Caitlin McCleary (Seattle) 75-75-74=224; T3. Somin Lee (Pepperdine) 77-73-75=225; T3. Maggie Yuan (BYU) 74-76-75=225; 5. Eyglo Oskarsdottir (San Francisco) 75-76-75=226.
Other Pepperdine Scores: T6. Alina Ching 76-72-79=227; 8. Liv Cheng 80-75-73=228; T12. Grace Na 80-76-75=231; 21. Kaitlin Drolson 82-76-82=240.
