Aug. 10, 2006

North Plains, Ore. - With a birdie on the final hole, Pepperdine senior Eileen Vargas defeated Mina Harigae of Monterey, California, 1 up, Thursday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2006 U.S. Women's Amateur at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in North Plains, Oregon.

Vargas will play Kimberly Kim of Hilo, Hawaii, Friday at 3 p.m. Kim was a 3 and 2 winner over Australia's Alison Whitaker. The winner of the Vargas-Kim match will advance the semi-finals to play the winner of the Jennie Arseneault, (Grinnell, Iowa)-Lindy Duncan (Plantation, Fla.) match on Saturday beginning at 10:15 a.m.

The 36-hole final is scheduled for Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.

Vargas' win over Harigae was the second of the day for her as she defeated In Kyung Kim of Korea, 3 and 2, earlier in the afternoon.

The Waves' senior opened match play on Wednesday and defeated Lauren Mielbrecht of Gulf Stream, Florida, in 19 holes.

The action can be followed live on the Internet at www.uswamateur.org.