While the competition eased up on the undefeated Pepperdine women’s golf team Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 the Waves proved their consistency and brought their top game. The team dominated the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque N.M. winning by seven strokes and averaging the third best team tournament score in school history. They are now 2-for-2.
Head Coach Laurie Gibbs couldn’t be happier with her team’s performance at the tournament.
“It’s pretty easy with this group because they want to win and want to play well Gibbs said, according to Pepperdine Sports. They’re having fun as a team and you couldn’t ask for any more.”
After their third round Sunday Sept. 20 the team totaled an impressive 17-under par score of 859. New Mexico finished in second place with 866 while Texas Christian University and University of Nevada Las Vegas tied for third with 883. The scoreboard certainly looked differently last week at the Golfweek Conference Challenge where the Waves claimed the title by just a single stroke and the top five teams were head-to-head within five strokes of one another.
Their final round Sunday proved the team’s strength despite the lack of competition. The Waves began the day with a five-stroke lead only to widen the gap further throughout the round. They shot an 8-under 284 adding graciously to their total 17-under score. The first and second rounds were consistent at 288 and 287.
The team won back-to-back tournament titles in 2005 and achieved a third place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2006.
Junior Taylore Karle led the Waves this tournament with a total score of 8-under 211 (71-71-69) putting her in third place overall. Each round Karle shot was sub-par. The leader seems satisfied with her start to the season and approaches the rest of the season with confidence.
“My goal this year is to finish inside the top five every tournament Karle said. So I have finished fifth and third so far and I continue to work on my game relentlessly. We have the mindset to attack or be attacked.”
Junior Martine de Gannes is excited about the team’s record-setting play this weekend.
“We set a goal to win by a lot and I can say for sure that we are all very happy with winning by seven shots de Gannes said. It’s always special to put another one in the record books and we are very excited for more great things to happen.”
“Its great to see all of the hard work that we all put in together with the coaches starting to take shape and we are all very excited to have a great year de Gannes continued.
De Gannes shot a final round with five birdies. Her 1-under 72 ranked 45th, with a total score of 227 (78-77-72).
Sophomore Jessica Wallace also had a successful weekend. Her score of a 3-under 216 (72-72-72) tied her for seventh place, a significant improvement from her 51st place finish in the season opener.
The girls attribute their success to their strong team atmosphere.
Sophomore Kaitlin Drolson thinks the team is set up for great success this season.
We all played great and I think a lot of that is due to the great team chemistry our team has and we want to win for each other more than anything Drolson said. When you want to win for everyone on your team it makes the attempt to succeed and win so much easier.”
Drolson tied for ninth place this weekend with a 2-under 217 (72-70-75).
Sophomore Lisa McCloskey continued to improve her game throughout the weekend yet played consistently throughout. Her score of 1-under 218 (73-74-71) secured her spot of 12th place overall. McCloskey had five birdies in her last round.
The Waves have a short break before heading to Washington Oct. 5 through Oct. 7 for the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational.