NICOLE ALBERTSON
Staff Writer
The No. 5 Pepperdine women’s golf team traveled to Tempe, Ariz. last weekend to compete in the PING/ASU Invitational, finishing fifth overall with sophomore Jayvie Agojo leading the Waves at No. 8 through the competition.
The difficult course posting at par-72 and measuring at 6,230 yards brought the Waves down to the lowest score on Sunday, posting a 2-under par total of 286. Waves’ determination brought the totaling the 54-hole tournament earned a 13-under par of 877 to round out the final score.
“I am really proud of the team,” Head Coach Laurie Gibbs said. “We started off with a solid round, played average on the second day and then came back in the third round.”
A difficult competition was met by 14 other competitive schools, including ten of Golfweek’s Top 30 teams in which seven ranked in the Top 10.
Grabbing honors and recognition as well, freshman Misun Cho earned the West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Month. Her noted success highlights a seventh place finish in the UFC Challenge held in Orlando, Fla., as well as the 25th place finish last weekend in the PING/ASU Invitational. Cho posted an average of a 73.83 stokes over six-rounds.
With only three more tournaments left in the season, the Pepperdine Waves are looking forward to fighting for a top ranking facing the regional, national and conference tournaments to come following the regular season.
“There have been a lot of exciting things this season,” Gibbs said. “We have made a lot of birdies. But we need to be a little bit more consistent throughout the tournament. We are going to work as a team and prepare for nationals. We are going to go out and do the best we can.”
The team has been battling well this season with a strong beginning and confident players.
“The first tournament we won,” senior Eileen Vargas said. “It was a great feeling.”
But the struggles in mid-season competitions challenged the women to push through.
“We started off playing very consistent,” Vargas said. “We finished in the top three in a lot of tournaments and just had a very positive attitude. We played some really strong competition though.”
Although golf is an individual sport, these women athletes feed off each other for motivation and inspiration. Long distance trips to locations like Tempe, Ariz., Orlando, Fla., and Kauai, Hawaii, has bonded the members of the solos competition.
“We set goals for the team,” Vargas said. “We have learned that all of us need to play well. Sometimes three of us will have good rounds and others not, but we are learning that we all need to be consistent. We all just try to stay positive and do the best we can. We learned to never give up.”
Coming to the conclusion of the season, the women athletes are looking to their past experiences for future success.
“We have very high expectations for our team,” Vargas said. “But we practice really hard and I think it is the process to get there that is really helping us.”
As for next years expectations, Vargas will be the only senior leaving the team and handing the clubs over to her current teammates and incoming freshman.
“They are excellent players,” Vargas said. “This year has been really good for the next and the players are going to help the team to move on and keep improving.”
Joining the women’s golf team next year will be a new recruit, Taylore Karle. Already having competited in two LPGA tournaments with an amateur status, Karle will be bringing her experience and talent to the team.
“She is a really great girl,” Gibbs said. “She is the No. 2 ranked junior in the country and shows a lot of maturity.”
The women will be swinging back into action March 16 when they travel to Lompoc, Calif., for the WCC Championships.
04-05-2007