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Rain or shine, the Pepperdine women’s golf team was going to come out with a win.
After leading the field the first day of play, the No. 15 ranked Waves continued to control the Northrop Grummen Regional Challenge on day two.
Heavy downpour forced cancellation on the third day of play and sealed a victory for the Waves. They completed the Palos Altos Golf Club tournament with a 36-hole score of 598.
“We did really well for our first time back,” sophomore Rachel Kyono said. “This was just a preview of how we’re going to do this season.”
In their first tournament of the semester, Pepperdine started strong. They shot an even-par score of 284 the first day, which was only one stroke shy of the single-round team school record.
“The first day was awesome,” senior All-American Katherine Hull said. “We’ve struggled at this course in the past, but I’m ecstatic about our win. It was the perfect start.”
The second day, in addition to tough competition and a difficult course, another factor came into play — the rain. The drenched course and competitors contributed to higher scores for all players.
“There were a lot of negative factors out there,” senior All-American Lindsey Wright said. “We needed to get down to business despite them, and our team did what we needed to do. I think that is what distinguished us from the rest of the field.”
Despite the inclement weather, the Waves held on to first place. A score of 314 was still good for the fifth-lowest score of the day.
Little did they know, Pepperdine would not have to fight to keep its spot in first. After half an hour rain delay Wednesday, the course was declared unplayable.
“The course actually handled the conditions very well,” Head Coach Laurie Gibbs said. “However, no course in California could handle the rain we had on Wednesday.”
Kyono agreed that it was better to stop while they were ahead.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted to play in those conditions again,” Kyono said. “It was miserable.”
USC finished five strokes behind the Waves, grabbing second with 603 points. The top-ranked Arizona Wildcats took third with 606 points. They were followed by Oklahoma State and UCLA in fourth and fifth respectively.
A team first place finish was not enough for the hungry Waves.
Hull won individual medallist honors, shooting a two-over par 114. She finished just one stroke ahead of second place, carding rounds of 69 and 75.
“I was happy with my win,” Hull said. “I was all ready to go and play that third day of golf and go head to head with the top golfers in college. I would have like to beat them all properly, in three days of competition, but I’m not complaining. I’ll take the win.”
Fellow senior All-American Lindsey Wright took fourth with a four-over par total of 146.
Sophomore Rachel Kyono again gave a consistent performance to earn an 11-over par 156 and clinch 34th.
In her collegiate debut, freshman Carolina Llano tallied a two-round total of 157 to tie for 35th place.
“We gave it all we had,” Llano said. “I had a very good first day. The second day was not so good. I am not used to these conditions. That was my main problem. It was a good start to the season though.”
Llano is a new addition to the Pepperdine roster this spring. She is a national team member in her native country of Columbia.
“I was very impressed and proud of her,” Head Coach Laurie Gibbs said.
The competition wasn’t easy for the Waves. Of the 18-team field, 14 teams were ranked in the top 25 by Golfweek and Golfworld magazines.
“This was by far the toughest field we’ll face, except for at nationals,” Kyono said. “This was a really big win.”
The Waves continue their spring schedule Feb. 24-26 when they head to Tucson for the Arizona Wildcat Classic.
Gibbs said the team wants to continue to contend for every tournament title.
Submitted February 13, 2003
MALIBU, CA
