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Eight men's and six women's teams prepare to battle at the 2008 Big West Golf Championships on April 21-22 at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
The 54-hole tournament includes 36 holes on Monday. Eighteen holes conclude the championship on Tuesday. The men's course is a par-72, 6,918 yard layout while the women's course measures 6,149 yards. The Big West Conference and Tijeras Creek are teaming up for the fifth straight year to host the championship. Admission to this event is free. Live scoring for both championships will also be provided at www.golfstat.com.
UC Irvine swept the men's and women's crowns last year. The Anteater women won their third consecutive championship. The UCI men captured their fourth title in the last seven years.
Previous teams crowned as champions at Tijeras Creek include Long Beach State (2004), UC Riverside (2005) and Cal Poly (2006) on the men's side. Cal State Northridge claimed the women's title in 2004 before UCI went on its current three-year roll.
Competing men's teams include Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific. Participating women's teams include Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, UC Davis, UC Irvine and UC Riverside. The UC Davis women are the top seed and the men are seeded second as the Aggies compete in their first Big West Golf Championship. The UCD women were non-scoring participants the last two years.
A different school has been crowned men's champion in each of the last four years. UCI is highest ranked Big West team in the Golfweek rankings at No. 62. UC Davis is next at No. 81, followed by UC Santa Barbara at No. 93 and Pacific at No. 100. The Anteaters and Aggies have competed together in three previous tournaments this season, with UCI finishing higher in the standings twice and UCD once. The two teams play together again on April 19-20 at the U.S. Intercollegiate. Returning to the Tijeras Creek course from the 2007 All-Big West First Team is UCI's John Chin, Cal Poly's Geoff Gonzalez and UC Santa Barbara's Brian Hollenbeck.
On the women's side, UC Irvine has dominated with three consecutive titles and four in the last six years. The Anteaters have won by an average of 30 strokes over that three-year period. They will be severely challenged by a UC Davis squad that has outscored UCI in all four tournaments the teams competed in during the fall and spring. UCI is led by three-time first team all-conference performer Selaneé Henderson, who has finished in the top three in each of her appearances at Tijeras Creek. UCD counters with a lineup comprised of three freshmen starters, led by Chelsea Stelzmiller. Members of the 2007 All-Big West First Team that are slated to return include UC Riverside's Jennifer Bermingham, and UCI's Kim Lorenzana and Patty Chawalitmetha. UCD is No. 49, UCI No. 67 and Cal Poly No. 79 in the latest Golfweek rankings.
Men's Seeds
1. UC Irvine
2. UC Davis
3. Cal State Northridge
4. Cal Poly
5. Pacific
6. UC Santa Barbara
7. Long Beach State
8. UC Riverside
Women's Seeds
1. UC Davis
2. UC Irvine
3. Cal Poly
4. Cal State Northridge
5. UC Riverside
6. Long Beach State
Men’s Preview
UC Irvine attempts to defend its title at the 2008 Big West Men's Golf Championship at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club. Last year, the Anteaters shot a 12-under 852 to win by three strokes over a late charging Cal Poly squad. Here is a brief capsule on each of this year's competitors:
Cal Poly, in its last three tournaments, has two first place and one second place finish. The Mustangs took home team titles in the Braveheart Classic and Cal Poly Men's Intercollegiate. Sophomore Geoff Gonzalez shot a final round 65 last year at Tijeras Creek and leads the team with a 73.6 stroke average over 18 rounds.
Cal State Northridge is having a solid season with five top-five team finishes among the 11 tournaments it has competed. The Matadors won the OGIO Pacific Coast Intercollegiate that also featured Big West foes Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara. Freshman Nick Delio sports a team-best 72.1 stroke average in 32 rounds of play.
Long Beach State hopes to give 14th-year head coach Bob Livingstone a triumphant sendoff as he is retiring at the end of this season. The 49ers are an extremely young team with one freshman and three sophomores in their starting lineup. LBSU finished eighth out of 12 teams in its last outing at the OGIO PCI.
UC Davis participates in its first-ever Big West championship with high expectations, entering as the No. 2 seed. The Aggies won the Wyoming Cowboy Classic for the second straight year and also placed second at the Rice Intercollegiate earlier in the spring. Freshman Austin Graham has shot 13 rounds of under par golf. Consistency is the key for the UCD lineup as all five starters have averaged between 72.7 and 73.1 strokes per round.
UC Irvine, the defending tournament champion, comes in as this year's top seed. UCI has finished fourth or better in six out of 10 tournaments this season, including three second place showings. Sophomore John Chin leads the squad with five top-10 finishes and a 71.67 stroke average per round. Junior Sean Shahi was the individual medalist at the Turtle Bay Resort Invitational in November.
UC Riverside moved up to a fourth place in 2007 after coming in seventh in 2006. The Highlanders had their best showing in early March when they placed second in their own Braveheart Classic. Sophomore Scott Clayton leads a very young UCR squad.
UC Santa Barbara has had a strong spring season with a third, fourth and fifth place team finish to its credit. The Gauchos are led by sophomore Brian Hollenbeck, who won the Bill Cullum Invitational in UCSB's first tourney of the year.
Pacific is a program on the rise, evidenced by its spring performances that include third place (Rice Intercollegiate), fifth place (Lexus Golf Classic) and fourth place (Oregon Duck Classic) finishes in succession. Freshman T.J. Bordeaux became the first Tiger golfer since 2003 to win a tournament when he captured medalist honors at the Oregon Duck Classic.
Women's Preview
Six schools battle for the crown of 2008 Big West Women's Golf champion, including UC Davis, which joins the fray after competing as a non-scoring participant each of the last two years. The Aggies are the No. 1 seed for this year's event, trying to unseat three-time defending champion UC Irvine.
Cal Poly has won two tournaments in the spring - the Lady Braveheart Challenge (Feb. 11-12) and Matador Spring Invitational (Apr. 7-8). Junior Hannah Brabb earned individual medalist honors at the Matador Spring Invitational with a school 36-hole record score of 145, which included a final round of 70.
Cal State Northridge has finished in second place in two of its last three tournaments. In fact, the Matadors have ended up in the upper half of the team standings seven times in eight tournaments this season. Senior Eva Yoe was CSUN's top performer in four of the last five tournaments she participated in.
Long Beach State has two freshmen and two sophomores in its lineup, causing some growing pains this season. The 49ers have had promising performances from Brenda Chhuor and Erin Cylke while playing against tough competition throughout the fall and spring seasons.
UC Davis, in nine fall and spring tournaments, has seven top-five finishes. The Aggies won the USF Invitational in November and came in second at the Kitahara Fresno State Invitational and Oregon Duck Invitational. UCD finished ahead of defending champ UC Irvine in the team standings in all four tournaments the two teams competed in together this season. The Aggies have three freshmen among their starters, led by Chelsea Stelzmiller.
UC Irvine is led by senior Selaneé Henderson, the 2006 Big West Women's Golfer of the Year. Henderson has finished in the top three in each of her three previous starts at Tijeras Creek, including a victory in 2006. Henderson is UCI's all-time leader in tournament wins with six. The Anteaters won the Aztec Fall Classic in October and had a third place finish at the Spartan Invitational (Mar. 3-4).
UC Riverside finished third at last year's championship behind the efforts of Jennifer Bermingham, who came in fourth individually. Bermingham, the Big West Golfer of the Month in September and November, also was a second team All-Big West selection in 2007.