April 14, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. -
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Coming off a win at the PING/ASU Invitational, the team's third victory of the season, the fifth-ranked Arizona State University women's golf team returns to action next week, heading to Pleasanton, Calif., for the 2005 Pac-10 Conference Championships. The University of California will play host to this year's championship Monday-Wednesday, April 18-20 at the par 72, 6,315-yard Ruby Hill Golf Club. With top five finishes in eight of nine events this season, including three tournament victories, the Sun Devils will be looking to capture their first Pac-10 title since 1996 and their seventh Pac-10 crown all time.
About the Pac-10 Championships Eighteen holes will be played each day with tee times beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific Time. First-round team pairings are based on seeding, while second- and third-round pairings are based on team total and individual total within the team. The top four scores from each five-person team will count toward the team score. An awards ceremony and the announcement of the 2005 All-Pac-10 team will follow the completion of the tournament.
ASU has earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will play with top-seeded UCLA and third-seeded Washington on Monday with tee times starting at 8:45 a.m.
Live Scoring Live scoring for the 2005 Pac-10 Championships will be available for each round at www.golfstatresults.com, while a recap will also be available at the conclusion of each round at www.pac-10.org or www.thesundevils.com.
TV Exposure Fox Sports Net will carry a one-hour tape delayed broadcast of the Pac-10 Championships on Sunday, May 8 with Barry Tompkins (host), former Stanford golfer Sara Sanders and former Baylor golfer Christian Steckel (sidelines) calling the action. Check local listings for the exact time of the broadcast.
ASU Lineup ASU's lineup at the Pac-10 Championships will feature freshman Louise Stahle (Lund, Sweden), sophomore Tiffany Tavee (Gilbert, Ariz.), senior Erin Tone (Gilbert, Ariz.), junior Alissa Kuczka (Phoenix, Ariz.) and sophomore Charmaine Erasmus (Brandenton, Fla.).
The Field Eight of the 10 Pac-10 schools are ranked in the top 30 in the April 12 Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Three of the teams are featured in the national top 10, including No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 ASU and No. 8 Washington. Other ranked squads include No. 17 Arizona, No. 18 Stanford, No. 20 USC, No. 22 Washington State and No. 27 California.
Individually, ASU freshman Louise Stahle is ranked No. 1 in the nation, followed by No. 9 Charlotte Mayorkas of UCLA, No. 12 Amie Cochran of UCLA, No. 13 Susie Mathews of UCLA, No. 16 Paige Mackenzie of Washingon, No. 19 Sofie Andersson of California and No. 25 Cassandra Kirkland of Arizona. For ASU in addition to Stahle, sophomore Tiffany Tavee is ranked 35th in the country and junior Alissa Kuczka is 49th.
Pac-10 Championship History UCLA won last year's Pac-10 Championships, held at the Saticoy Country Club in Somis, Calif. The Bruins carded a 38-over 902, followed by California (920) and Arizona (923). ASU and USC tied for fourth (928). UCLA's Charlotte Mayorkas was the individual champion at two-over 218, while her teammate, Hannah Jun, was second at 220. Honorable-mention All-Pac-10 selections Alissa Kuczka and Tiffany Tavee were ASU's top finishers with Kuczka placing fourth (76-73-75=224) and Tavee tying for fifth (74-76-75=225). Last year marked the first time that two Sun Devils earned top-five finishes at the Pac-10 Championships since 1998 when Kellee Booth took fourth and Grace Park and Jeanne-Marie Busuttil tied for fifth.
Six different schools have won Pac-10 titles in the 18-year existence of the tournament. ASU leads the way with six Pac-10 team crowns, most recently with four straight from 1993-96, while Arizona has held a lock on the Pac-10 in recent years, winning five of the last eight team titles. Jimin Kang is the last Sun Devil to win an individual Pac-10 title, besting Lorena Ochoa, the top-ranked player in the nation at the time, by one stroke in 2002. Seven Sun Devils have won a total of eight Pac-10 individual titles, including two-time conference medalist Wendy Ward.
Sun Devil Bio Updates
Louise Stahle 5-8 Freshman Lund, Sweden
- Holds the nation's best stroke average at 71.57.
- Is the top-ranked player in the country, the first Sun Devil to hold the nation's No. 1 spot since All-American Miriam Nagl in 2000.
- Has won two tournaments this season, most recently capturing individual medalist honors at the PING/ASU Invitational at seven-under 209.
- Was named the April 8 Golf World Collegiate Player of the Week after her victory in the PING/ASU Invitational.
- Has finished in the top five in six of seven events she has played in this season.
- Won the first tournament of her ASU career with a one-stroke victory in the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson in February (64-72-73).
- Tied the school record for lowest round vs. par with a six-under 64 in the first round in Tucson.
- Finished in a tie for 37th at the LPGA Safeway International in March after winning the amateur open to earn an exemption in the professional event.
- Also played for the winning Swedish team at the Women's World Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico in October.
Tiffany Tavee 5-7 Sophomore Gilbert, Ariz.
- Second on the team with a 74.54 stroke average this season.
- Is ranked 35th in the nation in the most recent polls.
- Has turned in four top 10 showings this season.
- Best finish was a tie for fourth at the Price's Give 'Em Five Intercollegiate in October.
- Finished sixth at the PING/ASU Invitational at one-over 217 (74-71-72).
- Carded a career-best four-under par 67 in the final round of the Mercedes Benz of Bend Fall Preview in September.
- Earned honorable-mention All-Pac-10 honors last season with a tie for fifth place at the 2004 Pac-10 Championships.
Erin Tone 5-9 Senior Gilbert, Ariz.
- Has played in ASU's starting lineup all four years of her career.
- Holds a 75.33 stroke average this season.
- Has finished in the top 20 three times this year.
- Best finish came at the PING/ASU Invitational where she finished seventh at two-over 218.
- Is a three-time National Golf Coaches Association All-Academic honoree and has been on ASU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for three years.
- Earned first-team Pac-10 All-Academic honors last season, the second league honoree of her career.
Alissa Kuczka 5-4 Junior Phoenix, Ariz.
- Third on the team with a 74.54 stroke average.
- Is ranked 49th in the country in the latest polls.
- Has turned in three top 20 finishes this year, including a pair of top 10 showings.
- Finished fourth at the Kent Youel Invitational in October at one-under 215 (70-72-73).
- Her two-under 70 in the first round at that tournament marked a career-low round.
- Also tied for 10th at October's Stanford/Pepsi Intercollegiate.
- Earned honorable-mention All-Pac-10 honors last season with a fourth place finish at the 2004 Pac-10 Championships.
- Was also an honorable-mention all-academic honoree in 2004.
Charmaine Erasmus 5-2 Sophomore Bradenton, Fla.
- Holds a 76.52 stroke average this season.
- Finished in seventh at the Price's Give 'Em Five Intercollegiate in October at eight-over 224 (74-75-75).
- Tied for 22nd at the Kent Youel Invitational in October.
- Carded a season-low round of even-par 72 at that event.
Head Coach Melissa Luellen Melissa Luellen is in her third year as the head coach of the Arizona State University women's golf team. Last year, she guided the Sun Devils to a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships and a total of seven top 10 showings, including a season-best tie for fourth at the Pac-10 Championships. Already this season, she has led the team to top five finishes in seven of eight events, including three tournament victories (Price's Give 'Em Five Intercollegiate, Stanford/Pepsi Intercollegiate and PING/ASU Invitational). ASU has also turned in a pair of runner-up finishes to go along with its three wins this season.
Luellen came to ASU after two seasons as the head coach at her alma mater, the University of Tulsa. A former All-American for the Golden Hurricane, she succeeded her mother, Dale McNamara, who retired in 2000 following a 26-year career that saw her Tulsa teams win four national championships. In her two seasons as Tulsa's head coach, Luellen led her team to seven tournament titles including back-to-back Western Athletic Conference and NCAA Central Regional championships. She also earned WAC Coach of the Year honors in each of her two seasons and was the 2002 Central Regional Coach of the Year.
Up Next Following the Pac-10 Championships, ASU will await selection to one of the three NCAA Regionals (East, West and Central). New Mexico State University will play host the West Regional at the NMSU Golf Course in Las Cruces, N.M., Texas Tech University will host the Central Regional at the Jerry S. Rawls Course in Lubbock, Texas, and the University of Florida will host the East Regional at the University Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.
A total of 63 teams will qualify for regionals with the top eight teams in each region advancing to the NCAA Championships. Oregon State University will host the 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships May 17-20 at the Meadows Golf Course in Sunriver, Ore.