MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine women's golf team has been named the unanimous favorite to win the 2024 West Coast Conference Championships, and four Waves have been selected to the WCC's preseason team. 
 
Pepperdine received nine points and took all possible first-place votes in the poll.  Santa Clara and San Francisco tied for the second-place spot with six-points apiece and Gonzaga rounded out the four teams in fourth with three-points.
 
Seniors Lion Higo (Gold Coast, Australia) and Kaleiya Romero (San Jose, Calif.), junior Lauren Gomez (Murrieta, Calif.) and sophomore Jeneath Wong (Melbourne, Australia) were selected to the preseason team.  The Waves four golfers picked to the preseason team was more than any other school, leading San Francisco with two, and it is the second-consecutive year four Waves have been tabbed to the squad.
 
Higo and Wong are returning WGCA All-Americans and the pair finished ranked #27 and #33 respectively in the final Golfweek/Sagarin poll last season.  Higo was the West Coast Conference player of the year last season, while she, Wong, Romero and Gomez all tabbed a spot on the All-WCC first team.  Higo is currently ranked sixth in Pepperdine's record books with a 73.62 career scoring average, while Gomez ranks tied for seventh (73.95) and Romero ranks 14^th (74.67).  Higo's 71.35 scoring average last season is the program single-season scoring record, and her 18 below-par rounds and 11 top-20 finishes also lead the single-season records.
 
The Waves return six of seven players that spent time in the lineup last season.  The 2022-23 team also broke the program's single-season low scoring average with a collective 288.20, surpassing the previous record of 292.50 from 2013-14.  Head coach Laurie Gibbs returns after garnering Golfweek national, WGCA west region and West Coast Conference coach of the year honors last season.
 
Pepperdine begins the 2024 spring season at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. from Feb. 4-6.   
 
Preseason Coaches Poll: 1. Pepperdine, 2. Santa Clara, 2. San Francisco, 4. Gonzaga
 
Preseason All-WCC Team: Audrey Brust (Santa Clara), Lauren Gomez (Pepperdine), Lion Higo (Pepperdine), Grace Lee (Gonzaga), Riana Mission (San Francisco), Eva Pett (San Francisco), Kaleiya Romero (Pepperdine) and Jeneath Wong (Pepperdine).
 
Follow the Waves all season on social media @WavesGolf on Facebook and Twitter and @pepperdinewomensgolf on Instagram.  For updated scores, schedules and more, go to www.pepperdinewaves.com.