By Lindsey Besecker
Assistant Sports Editor
Records are falling and hopes are high for the Pepperdine women’s golf team.
Junior All-American Katherine Hull won the individual title at the Pioneer Electronics Bruins Classic Tuesday with a two-day total of 207, beating the school record by one stroke. Hull, ranked No. 3 in the country, shot a 64 in the third round, a Pepperdine record and the lowest score in college golf in the last two years.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Hull said. “I can’t get the smile off of my face. It’s finally all come together. I’m ecstatic.”
The Waves hold a No. 20 ranking from Golfweek and now prepare to head to the WCC championships.
“Everyone’s been working hard,” assistant coach Chris Gibbs said. “Everyone’s really positive right now and the teams are working together. The results are showing.”
The Waves will travel to Riverbend Golf Club in Fresno for the WCC championships April 15-16. Before WCC play, The Waves first had to focus on their regular season tournaments, which ended on Tuesday at the Bruin Classic at the Menifee Lakes Country Club in Temecula, Calif.
Junior All-American Lindsey Wright placed second, shooting 214 total. Wright has shot under par in her last six rounds, and she can pass Hull, the record-holder with seven rounds under par, in the WCC Championships in mid-April.
Freshman Rachel Kyono shot a 71, her career low, in the third round of the Bruin Classic to help the team to victory.
The Waves clinched a 25-stroke team victory at the Bruin Classic, shooting a two-day total of 876, the fourth best score in college golf this season. The victory marks the third consecutive year that the Waves have claimed victory at the Bruin Classic, which had five teams ranked in the top-25 this time around.
“I didn’t know that we won by 25 until I looked on the Internet,” Hull said. “When you have three players shoot under par, it helps a lot. It’s a great confidence builder. All of our hard work has paid off. It’s nice to get a win under the belt.”
The Waves outplayed Cal, who won the Spartan Invitational, by 40 strokes.
“We played really solid,” head coach Laurie Gibbs said. “It was a total team effort. It was a great way to end the regular season.”
At the Spartan Invitational, held March 4-6 at the Corral de Tierra Country Club in Salinas, Calif., the Waves finished in a tie for second out of 16 teams.
California finished first with a three-day total of 896. Pepperdine and Washington finished one stroke behind. No. 9 Oklahoma State finished fourth with 892. No. 23 New Mexico State, No. 13 USC and No. 8 Texas followed.
Pepperdine placed second at the tournament last year, also behind the leader by one stroke.
In the individual contest, Wright finished third with an overall score of 215, one under par. Hull finished in a tie for fourth with 217.
The Waves also participated in the Arizona Wildcat Invitational Feb. 25-26 at the Raven Golf Club. Pepperdine finished in 16th place at the 18-team tournament.
No. 3 Duke finished first with a two-day total of 876. No. 6 Arizona and No. 1 Auburn shared the second place spot.
Hull finished fifth in the individual game, tied with four other golfers at 219. Arizona’s Lorena Ochoa won the individual title 207.
In the WCC tournament, the Waves hope to do well and advance to the NCAA tournament.
“The (WCC) tournament is definitely a big deal,” Laurie Gibbs said. “When you play in the conference championships, you take a lot of pride in it. We have to play consistently and not think that we can walk in and win hands down.”
The Waves hope to then participate in the NCAA Regional tournament, held May 9-11.
“The team has gone to NCAA for the last three years,” Chris Gibbs said. “This team is ready to do the same.”
March 14, 2002