PALO ALTO, California – After coming in as the #13 seed, a young Pepperdine women's golf team posted a strong eighth-place finish at the NCAA Stanford Regional on Wednesday.
Unfortunately the Waves won't be moving on to the NCAA finals, as only the top six teams advanced, but a lineup that featured three freshmen, one sophomore and one senior – all of whom were making their NCAA Division I postseason debuts – had a solid showing that shows off a promising future.
The Waves had a three-day total of 872 (304-278-290) at the par-71 Stanford Golf Course. Tuesday's 278 was the lowest-scoring round by any team other than host and regional champion Stanford. That moved the Waves from 16th place up to a tie for eighth. But Pepperdine couldn't move up any further on Wednesday.
The top six seeds at the event all advanced – the Waves finished 12 shots back of the cut line – but Pepperdine was able to beat five top-50 teams in Northwestern, Iowa State, Denver, TCU and San Diego State.
Pepperdine was playing in its 22nd consecutive regional.
PLAYER SCORES
- Freshman Caroline Hwang (Orlando, Fla.) tied for 24th place at 216 (77-68-71). Her even-par final round included three birdies.
- Freshman Kaleiya Romero (San Jose, Calif.) also tied for 24th at 216 (74-67-75). She had two birdies on Wednesday. She had a team-high 12 birdies for the tournament.
- Freshman Lion Higo (Gold Coast, Australia) had the Waves' best round of the day, a 2-under 69 that moved up her to a tie for 43rd at 220 (78-73-69). She had four birdies today, two on the front nine and two on the back nine.
- Sophomore Reese Guzman (Kahului, Hawai'i) tied for 50th at 222 (75-70-77). She had one birdie in the final round.
- Senior Megan Dennis (Bedfordshire, United Kingdom) tied for 82nd at 233 (79-79-75). She had four birdies, two on the front nine and two on the back nine.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Laurie Gibbs said: "Through the COVID-19 pandemic and all the protocols for competition, our players represented Pepperdine with class. They made the sacrifices and never had a positive test. We will miss Megan next year and wish her great success. The returning team is young and we will add three more freshmen in the fall. The future is very bright for the Waves!"
THE NUMBERS
Team Standings: 1. Stanford 824; 2. Wake Forest 854; 3. Oklahoma State 855; 4. Virginia Tech 856; 5. Arizona 857; 6. USC 860; 7. Florida 861;
8. Pepperdine 872; 9. San Jose State 875; T10. Denver 878; T10. New Mexico State 878; 12. Northwestern 882; 13. Sacramento State 883; 14. Iowa State 888; T15. TCU 893; T15. San Diego State 893; 17. Cal Poly 897; 18. Navy 925.
Individual Leaders: 1. Rachel Heck (Stanford) 202; 2. Angelina Ye (Stanford) 203; 3. Maja Stark (Oklahoma State) 206; 4. YuSang Hou (Arizona) 207; 5. Kajsa Arwefjall (San Jose State) 210.
