Report by LBSU
FIRST TEE: For the second time in program history, the Long Beach State women’s golf team prepares for the NCAA Tournament as the 49ers will be among 21 teams at the West Regional in Tempe, Ariz., May 7-9, at the Karsten Golf Course (par-72, 6,230 yards) on the campus of Arizona State University. The Beach seeded No. 15, received the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by winning the Big West Conference Championship on Apr. 21 in San Luis Obispo. This year’s tournament is dispersed among three regional sites – the West Regional in Tempe, the Central Regional in Columbus, Ohio and the East Regional in Gainesville, Fla. The top eight teams and two individuals from each site will advance to the NCAA Finals in Owings Mills, Md. Opening round play begins on Thursday, followed by 18-holes on Friday and final round action concluding on Saturday. All three days will begin at 7 a.m. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
EWART ON NCAA TOURNAMENT: “It’s good to finally hear the words that we’re heading to the West Regional,” said 49er head coach Sue Ewart. “The girls have certainly played a phenomenal spring season and winning back-to-back tournaments is indicative of their abilities as a team. The regional field is formidable and it will be important to get out of the gate with a strong start and keep the pedal to the metal. Momentum is definitely on our side and we intend to continue the ride on to Nationals.”
BEACH WINS FIRST BIG WEST TITLE: After finishing in second place three of the past four years, LBSU won their first Big West Conference Championship at the San Luis Obispo Country Club on Apr. 21. The 49ers won on the last hole by one-stroke over UC Irvine and UC Davis. The Beach finished with a tournament score of 965 (308-313-308). Freshman Lee Lopez was the 49ers’ top player as she finished in a four-way tie for second place with a 12-over 228 (74-76-78). Senior All-American Kay Hoey tied for seventh with a 17-over 233 (76-79-78), while junior Brenda Chhuor tied for 12th with a 237 (83-79-75). Sophomore Reina Rogers finished in 17th as she carded a 240 (75-82-83) and fellow classmate Lindsey McAtee tied for 18th with a 241 (85-79-77).
FORTY-NINERS RECEIVE BIG WEST HONORS: Four members from the Long Beach State women’s team received several awards from the Big West Conference after claiming their first conference championship last month. Senior All-American Kay Hoey and freshman Lee Lopez were named to the All-Big West First Team, while sophomore Reina Rogers received Honorable Mention honors and head coach Sue Ewart was named Big West Coach of the Year. Lopez was also named Big West Freshman of the Year as this is only the second time a player from LBSU has received the award. Hoey was named Freshman of the Year in 2005.
LBSU IN THE RANKINGS: The 49ers are ranked at No. 47 in the latest Golfstat ratings and No. 48 in Golfweek. On the individual side, the 49ers have two individuals ranked in the top 50 in Golfstat as freshman Lee Lopez is No. 28 and senior Kay Hoey comes in at No. 46.
LOPEZ RECORDS EIGHTH TOP TEN FINISH: True freshman Lee Lopez recorded her eighth top-10 finish as she tied for second place at the Big West Conference Championships with a 228 (74-76-78). Of the nine tournaments the 49ers played in during the 2008-09 campaign, Lopez only had only one top-20 finish as she tied for 15th at the Las Vegas Showdown in October.
BEACH CAPTURES ANTEATER INVITATIONAL: Long Beach State recorded a tournament low of 289 in the final round of the Anteater Invitational to win the team title. The 49ers won by 12-strokes over second place UC Davis and 13-shots over third place San Francisco. Tournament host UC Irvine finished in fifth place, 28-shots behind The Beach. Senior All-American Kay Hoey and freshman Lee Lopez tied for third as both players finished with a three-round score of 216. It was the first tournament victory for LBSU since October 2001 when the 49ers won the Cal State Northridge Matador Fall Classic.
HOEY FINISHES IN SECOND PLACE IN FRESNO: Kay Hoey finished just three-strokes from winning her third Fresno State tournament championship as she fired a one-under par 71 in the final round to finish in second place at the Copper River Country Club. The 49ers completed the three-round tournament with a 32-over 896 (298-303-295) to finish in third place, just five shots behind team champion UC Irvine (891) and five shots behind second place San Francisco (892).
LOPEZ TIES FOR SECOND IN CHULA VISTA: After shooting a two-over 74 and tied for 19th place in the opening round of the Aztec Spring Invitational, true freshman Lee Lopez came back with a vengeance in the last two rounds as she climbed her way back up in the standings to finish in a three-way tie for second. Despite recording a five-over 77 in the second round, Lopez finished the day tied for seventh. In the final round, Lopez was the only player to shoot a two-under 70 as she finished just four strokes behind first place.
FORTY-NINERS HOST GOLD RUSH IN 2010: The Long Beach State women’s golf program will serve as host for the Gold Rush tournament, Feb. 8-9, 2010. The three-round 54-hole event will take place at the Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach, Calif., and will feature 12 teams (Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Riverside, Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Portland State, Fresno State, San Diego State, New Mexico State, BYU).
EWART ON SPRING SEASON: “The spring season will be very rigorous early on. Three tournaments back to back will be a solid test for the team but one test I expect they should handle very well,” said 49er Head Coach Sue Ewart. “After that we should have some time to re-group and replenish for our remaining two tournaments, UCI and the Big West Championship. The team has the Big West Championship in their sights and it should be a very solid test before we progress to post season. Providing we can stay healthy and not stumble along the way, the team should enjoy its’ second trip into post season. I’m excited to get the season started!”
BEACH HAS SUCCESSFUL FALL CAMPAIGN: Despite not winning a tournament in their fall campaign, the 49ers finished in the top-10 in all four tournaments they played in. LBSU placed fifth at the Heather Farr Memorial, a sixth place finish at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic and Edean Ihlanfeldt and tied for seventh at the Las Vegas Showdown. “I thought the fall season was very successful even though we didn’t win a tournament,” said Ewart. “Anchored by Kay Hoey and Lee Lopez, it was very satisfying to see the rest of the team had stepped up as well. To finish the fall campaign ranked in the top 40 provides a solid platform to begin our spring campaign.”
LBSU WELCOMES VILLARREAL TO THE TEAM: Redshirt freshman Monica Villarreal (Yorba Linda) joins the 49ers this season as the former Mater Dei player helped the Monarch’s to three Trinity League Championships and a CIF Southern Section Division Championship. “I’m excited to have Monica join our team as she seems to be a perfect fit,” said 49er Head Coach Sue Ewart. “Though she will be unable to play until the spring of 2010, I can only expect her to get stronger and more refined in her game. She will provide consistent scoring capabilities along with her pleasant personality.”
LOPEZ HAS FOUR TOP TEN FINISHES: Playing only in her fifth collegiate tournament, true freshman Lee Lopez recorded her fourth top ten finish as she tied for second place at the Aztec Spring Invitational with a five-over 221. In the fall, Lopez tied for seventh place at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Washington as she carded a 227. Lopez tied for third in her first tournament as a 49er as she scored a 210 (68-74-68) at the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic. She also tied for seventh at the Heather Farr Memorial Invitational shooting a 213 (69-70-74).
HOEY WINS HEATHER FARR INVITATIONAL: Senior All-American Kay Hoey claimed the individual medalist at the University of Colorado Heather Farr Memorial Invitational. Hoey fired a 7-under 65 in the opening round and posted score of 71 in the last two rounds for a total of 207. Her opening round of 65 tied her personal best as she shot the same low score at the 2007 Peg Barnard Collegiate in Palo Alto. This was Hoey’s seventh tournament win in her stellar career as a 49er.
HOEY NAMED BIG WEST GOLFER OF THE MONTH: Long Beach State All-American senior Kay Hoey was named Golfer of the Month by the Big West Conference for September. This was the first monthly award handed out by the Big West for men’s and women’s golf this season. This marked the ninth time that Hoey has been named Big West Golfer of the Month as she has won the honor three times as a junior and sophomore and twice as a freshman.
HOEY RETURNS FOR SENIOR YEAR: All-American Kay Hoey returns to the 49ers as its lone senior after redshirting last year. As a junior in 2006-07, she was selected second team All-America by the National Golf Coaches Association. She was named Big West Golfer of the Year and first team All-Big West as she claimed the individual medalist at the Big West Conference Championship. Hoey tied for 46th place at the NCAA Championships with a 305 (79-77-75-74) and qualified for the NCAA Finals by tying for 10th place at the NCAA West Regionals with a 220 (77-73-70). She had eight Top 10 finishes in her 11 tournaments and captured three individual titles,