Monday, May 6
Norman, Okla.
All Day
Pepperdine University
at
NCAA Norman Regional
Photo by: Ricky Davis
Women's Golf Ready for NCAA Regional
5/3/2019 11:38:00 AM | Women's Golf
MALIBU, California — After winning the West Coast Conference Championships for the 18th time, the #25 Pepperdine women's golf team will head to Oklahoma for NCAA Regional play. The Waves, the seventh seed, are seeking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the 13th time in program history.
EVENT INFO — The NCAA Norman Regional will be held at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma. The tournament will be held Monday through Wednesday (May 6-8) with a single round each day. On Monday, the Waves are paired with Purdue and Ole Miss and they'll tee off #1 beginning at 8:20 a.m. CT. Live scoring will be available through Golfstat.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS — In order to advance to the NCAA Championships (May 17-22 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas), the Waves must finish in the top six. The top three individuals from non-qualifying teams will also move on.
FIELD — In order of seeding (and with Golfstat ranking shown), the 18-team field includes #2 Texas, #7 Wake Forest, #10 Florida, #15 Arizona State, #18 Oklahoma, #24 TCU, #25 Pepperdine, #30 Purdue, #34 Ole Miss, #37 Texas Tech, #44 Mississippi State, #48 Virginia Tech, #50 North Carolina State, #54 Texas A&M, #59 UTSA, #94 UNC Wilmington, Sam Houston State and Fairleigh Dickinson.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of senior Hira Naveed (Perth, Australia), junior Momoka Kobori (Rangiora, New Zealand), senior Hannah Haythorne (Honolulu, Hawai'i), senior Patricia Wong (Walnut, Calif.) and freshman Kathrine Chan (Richmond, B.C., Canada).
Four of the Waves in the lineup have previous NCAA Regional experience: Naveed T-6th in 2018, T-43rd in 2017, T-42nd in 2016; Kobori T-56th in 2018, T-14th in 2017; Haythorne T-33rd in 2018, T-70th in 2016; Wong T-18th in 2017, T-30th in 2016. Three of the Waves were in lineup in 2017 (Kobori, Naveed, Wong) the last time Pepperdine qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Their season scoring averages are as follows: Naveed 71.92 (on pace to be #2 in Pepperdine single-season history), Kobori 74.04, Haythorne 74.96, Wong 75.56, Chan 76.18.
RANKINGS — The Waves are #25 by Golfstat and #31 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Hira Naveed is #15 by Golfstat and #30 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Momoka Kobori is #112 by Golfstat and #122 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Hannah Haythorne is #190 by Golfstat and #202 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
NCAA HISTORY — Pepperdine is competing in NCAA Regional play for the 21st consecutive year. They've advanced to the NCAA Championships 12 times, last making it in 2017. Pepperdine has recorded four top-five and eight top-10 finishes at nationals.
The Waves' best-ever finish at a regional was a tie for first place at the 2002 NCAA West Regional at Stanford. The top individual result was a tie for second place by Katherine Hull that year and by Tatiana Wijaya in 2017.
WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS — Pepperdine rallied to beat BYU by three shots at the WCC Championships at Manito Country Club and claim its 18th league title, but first since 2015. Hira Naveed was the medalist, winning by four shots. This was the first WCC title for Pepperdine's senior class.Â
WCC AWARDS — Hira Naveed was named WCC Player of the Year and became the 12th player in program history to earn All-WCC first team honors all four years. Momoka Kobori and Patricia Wong each made the All-WCC first team for the second time, while Hannah Haythorne collected the award for the first time. It's the first time since 2014 that the Waves have put four players on the 10-person first team. Laurie Gibbs earned WCC Coach of the Year honors for the 13th time. Haythorne also made the WCC All-Academic first team.
NAVEED — Hira Naveed is having a senior year to remember. The WCC Player of the Year is the first Wave ever to win two fall tournaments, and she's only the second Wave to win at least three times in a full season. She captured the season-opening Dick McGuire Invitational for her first career victory, and then was co-medalist at the final fall tournament, the Stanford Intercollegiate, before winning the WCC title.
She will play in the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup as a member of the international team. She's been named to the ANNIKA Award Watch List, and she was the WCC Player of the Month for September, October and March. In February, she returned home briefly after receiving an exemption to play in the LPGA's Women's Australian Open.Â
Naveed is averaging 71.92 strokes this season, on pace to finish second on the Waves' single-season scoring list. She's tied the school single-season record with 14 below-par rounds this season. On the career charts, she ranks fifth all-time in scoring average (73.63), fourth in below-par rounds (30), tied for ninth in top 10 finishes (15) and tied for ninth in top 20 finishes (22).
GIBBS — Under the direction of Laurie Gibbs, who is now in her 26th season as head coach, Pepperdine has earned a place as one of the nation's top golf programs. Gibbs has been honored 13 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. Gibbs was inducted into the WGCA Coaches Hall of Fame in December 2015. The Waves have won 51 tournaments in her career.
GOLF HISTORY — The Waves have appeared in the NCAA Championships 12 times in the last 20 years, and have recorded 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 18 of the last 23 years, including a streak of 14 titles that ran from 2002 to 2015. Twelve different players have earned All-American honors a total of 27 times. LPGA Tour players have included Katherine (Hull) Kirk, Lindsey Wright, Tamie Durdin, Nadina (Taylor) Light, Misun Cho, Carolina Llano, Danielle Kang, Taylore Karle and Grace Na. Hull was the 2003 National Player of the Year and was inducted into the WGCA Hall of Fame in 2012. Kang won back-to-back U.S. Amateur Championships in 2010 and 2011.Â
ONLINE — Follow the Pepperdine women's golf team on Twitter (@WavesGolf), Facebook (/WavesGolf) and Instagram (pepperdinewomensgolf).
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
Â
EVENT INFO — The NCAA Norman Regional will be held at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma. The tournament will be held Monday through Wednesday (May 6-8) with a single round each day. On Monday, the Waves are paired with Purdue and Ole Miss and they'll tee off #1 beginning at 8:20 a.m. CT. Live scoring will be available through Golfstat.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS — In order to advance to the NCAA Championships (May 17-22 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas), the Waves must finish in the top six. The top three individuals from non-qualifying teams will also move on.
FIELD — In order of seeding (and with Golfstat ranking shown), the 18-team field includes #2 Texas, #7 Wake Forest, #10 Florida, #15 Arizona State, #18 Oklahoma, #24 TCU, #25 Pepperdine, #30 Purdue, #34 Ole Miss, #37 Texas Tech, #44 Mississippi State, #48 Virginia Tech, #50 North Carolina State, #54 Texas A&M, #59 UTSA, #94 UNC Wilmington, Sam Houston State and Fairleigh Dickinson.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of senior Hira Naveed (Perth, Australia), junior Momoka Kobori (Rangiora, New Zealand), senior Hannah Haythorne (Honolulu, Hawai'i), senior Patricia Wong (Walnut, Calif.) and freshman Kathrine Chan (Richmond, B.C., Canada).
Four of the Waves in the lineup have previous NCAA Regional experience: Naveed T-6th in 2018, T-43rd in 2017, T-42nd in 2016; Kobori T-56th in 2018, T-14th in 2017; Haythorne T-33rd in 2018, T-70th in 2016; Wong T-18th in 2017, T-30th in 2016. Three of the Waves were in lineup in 2017 (Kobori, Naveed, Wong) the last time Pepperdine qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Their season scoring averages are as follows: Naveed 71.92 (on pace to be #2 in Pepperdine single-season history), Kobori 74.04, Haythorne 74.96, Wong 75.56, Chan 76.18.
RANKINGS — The Waves are #25 by Golfstat and #31 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Hira Naveed is #15 by Golfstat and #30 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Momoka Kobori is #112 by Golfstat and #122 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Hannah Haythorne is #190 by Golfstat and #202 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
NCAA HISTORY — Pepperdine is competing in NCAA Regional play for the 21st consecutive year. They've advanced to the NCAA Championships 12 times, last making it in 2017. Pepperdine has recorded four top-five and eight top-10 finishes at nationals.
The Waves' best-ever finish at a regional was a tie for first place at the 2002 NCAA West Regional at Stanford. The top individual result was a tie for second place by Katherine Hull that year and by Tatiana Wijaya in 2017.
WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS — Pepperdine rallied to beat BYU by three shots at the WCC Championships at Manito Country Club and claim its 18th league title, but first since 2015. Hira Naveed was the medalist, winning by four shots. This was the first WCC title for Pepperdine's senior class.Â
WCC AWARDS — Hira Naveed was named WCC Player of the Year and became the 12th player in program history to earn All-WCC first team honors all four years. Momoka Kobori and Patricia Wong each made the All-WCC first team for the second time, while Hannah Haythorne collected the award for the first time. It's the first time since 2014 that the Waves have put four players on the 10-person first team. Laurie Gibbs earned WCC Coach of the Year honors for the 13th time. Haythorne also made the WCC All-Academic first team.
NAVEED — Hira Naveed is having a senior year to remember. The WCC Player of the Year is the first Wave ever to win two fall tournaments, and she's only the second Wave to win at least three times in a full season. She captured the season-opening Dick McGuire Invitational for her first career victory, and then was co-medalist at the final fall tournament, the Stanford Intercollegiate, before winning the WCC title.
She will play in the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup as a member of the international team. She's been named to the ANNIKA Award Watch List, and she was the WCC Player of the Month for September, October and March. In February, she returned home briefly after receiving an exemption to play in the LPGA's Women's Australian Open.Â
Naveed is averaging 71.92 strokes this season, on pace to finish second on the Waves' single-season scoring list. She's tied the school single-season record with 14 below-par rounds this season. On the career charts, she ranks fifth all-time in scoring average (73.63), fourth in below-par rounds (30), tied for ninth in top 10 finishes (15) and tied for ninth in top 20 finishes (22).
GIBBS — Under the direction of Laurie Gibbs, who is now in her 26th season as head coach, Pepperdine has earned a place as one of the nation's top golf programs. Gibbs has been honored 13 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. Gibbs was inducted into the WGCA Coaches Hall of Fame in December 2015. The Waves have won 51 tournaments in her career.
GOLF HISTORY — The Waves have appeared in the NCAA Championships 12 times in the last 20 years, and have recorded 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 18 of the last 23 years, including a streak of 14 titles that ran from 2002 to 2015. Twelve different players have earned All-American honors a total of 27 times. LPGA Tour players have included Katherine (Hull) Kirk, Lindsey Wright, Tamie Durdin, Nadina (Taylor) Light, Misun Cho, Carolina Llano, Danielle Kang, Taylore Karle and Grace Na. Hull was the 2003 National Player of the Year and was inducted into the WGCA Hall of Fame in 2012. Kang won back-to-back U.S. Amateur Championships in 2010 and 2011.Â
ONLINE — Follow the Pepperdine women's golf team on Twitter (@WavesGolf), Facebook (/WavesGolf) and Instagram (pepperdinewomensgolf).
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 18 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, California, the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
