May 4, 2004
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU will compete in its first NCAA tournament in three seasons as the Aztecs head to Stanford, Calif. for the West regional on May 6-8. The top eight teams from the tournament will earn spots in the NCAA Championships on May 18-21 in Auburn, Ala. The Aztecs are competing in their third NCAA regional but are still seeking their first ever apperance in the championship. The tournament will be held at the par-72, 6,159 yard Stanford Golf Course. Tee times begin on both the front and the back at 7:40 am and continue into the afternoon. SDSU begins the first day of action on the first hole at 11:50 am and are paired with San Jose State and BYU. Live scoring updates throughout tournament can be found at www.golfstat.com.
Aztec Notes
* San Diego State (No. 42 Golfweek/No. 49 Golfstat) is enjoying arguably its best season ever. The Aztecs earned their first victory since 2000 when it fired a school record 878 at the Aztec Invitational in the fall and have posted four straight top four finishes entering the weekend. SDSU has three golfers on pace to break the all-time scoring record and have the potential to become the first Aztec squad to advance to the NCAA Championships.
* The 2004 Aztecs have a much different look with two newcomers from Scotland leading the way. All-MWC selection Jenna Wilson has produced five top-five finishes and a team-leading 74.65 stroke average. Fellow Scot Heather MacRae has posted five finishes in the top seven and a 75.15 average. Add to that the experience of seniors Shayna Miyajima and Sandy Kim and sophomore Toni Lutz and the Aztecs are a legitimate contender to finish in the top eight.
* Seniors Shayna Miyajima and Sandy Kim are the only two Aztecs with NCAA experience. The two played in NCAA East regional in 2001. However, the Aztecs were forced to miss the final round of the tournament because of inclement weather and this will be the duo's first and last chance since then to make a national impression.
* Toni Lutz is coming off of a career-best weekend at the MWC Championships where she shot a new 54-hole low 226 to finish 20th, also a new best. She ended the tournament with a final round 73, her career best 18-hole score. Lutz counted all three scores to the Aztec total and will look to contribute again this weekend.
The Field: At A Glance
* SDSU is 12-16 on the year against the field as it has faced 15 of this weekend's 20 opponents. The Aztecs have a 0-1 record against seven of the schools. The only team SDSU has lost to more than once without beating this year is New Mexico State, who enters the tournament ranked No. 48 after going 2-0 against SDSU.
* The task of placing in the top eight will not be an easy one as the Aztecs are the 12th ranked team in the field. Nine of the schools are ranked in the top-30 and 15 are in the top 50, including SDSU.
* No. 2/2 UCLA enters the tournament as the favorite after winning its last four tournaments, including the Pac-10 Championship. The Bruins are led by junior Charlotte Mayorkas, who won the Pac-10 title and is the second ranked individual in the country with a 71.4 stroke average.
* Following closely behind is No. 3/6 California, who placed second to UCLA at the Pac-10 Championship. Ohio State, Georgia, Washington and Texas all rank in the top 15 and will be in contention for the top eight spots.
* SDSU will most likely be battling the group of Stanford, Pepperdine, Arizona State, San Francisco and Oregon for the final entry spots to the NCAA Championship. The Aztecs have recorded a 2-5 record against the group that ranges from No. 23 to No. 36 in the Golfweek rankings.
NCAA West Regional History Lesson
* This is the third trip for SDSU to the NCAA tournament. The first time the Aztecs made the national postseason event was in 1999 when they played in the West Regional in Houston, Tex. SDSU shot a 36-hole total of 637 to finish 18th. The second trip to the NCAA's for the Aztecs was in 2001. After the first two rounds SDSU sat in 15th place at 626, but due to inclement weather the Aztecs did not play the final round. SDSU has also had individuals qualify for NCAA Regionals in 1996, 1997 and 2000 but no one has been able to reach the finals. The best individual finish for SDSU at the tournament has been an 18th place showing by Hiroko Fukushima in 1999. No other Aztec has placed in the top 30. In addition to the top eight teams, the top two individuals not on the qualifying teams will also advance to NCAA Championship play.
* Last season, the west regional ended up dominating at the NCAA Championships. USC's 10-stroke victory in the west regional at Arizona State's Karsten Golf Course propelled them to 15-stroke win for the 2003 national championship. Overall, five of the top six teams in the final standings came from the west regional as Pepperdine placed second, Ohio State finished fourth and Oklahoma State and UCLA tied for fifth. Also qualifying for nationals from the west regional were Arizona State, Washington State and Stanford.
* Pepperdine and UCLA tied for the team title at the west regional in 2002, but Arizona ended up as the top team from the west in the national competition finishing second at the championships.
* Stanford has the longest running streak of consecutive NCAA championship appearances at 15 in a row. The Cardinal enter this year's tournament as the seventh-highest ranked team.
Wilson Earns MWC Honors
* Freshman Jenna Wilson (Strathaven, Scotland/ Strathaven Academy) has posted some incredible numbers in her first season on the Mesa and after her last performance at the conference championships was rewarded with All-MWC honors. Wilson was the third Aztec to earn the award and the first since 2001. Wilson is also the first freshman from SDSU to be named all-MWC.
* Wilson placed fifth at the MWC Championships leading SDSU with a two-over par total of 215. It was the fifth time this season Wilson has placed in the top-five. She also leads SDSU with a 74.65 stroke average, which is the best in school history.
* Wilson won the Aztec Invitational in the fall by shattering the SDSU 54-hole scoring record by six strokes when she fired a five-under 211. A SDSU-record 67 in the second round propelled Wilson to the first victory for an Aztec since 2000. She also set the 36-hole scoring record two weeks before when she shot 145, including a second round 68, to place second at the Heather Farr Memorial.
* The spring results have also been eye-catching as Wilson has tallied four straight top-20 finishes including a second, fourth and fifth in her last three events. Overall, Wilson has led the Aztecs in scoring a team-high five times. She is currently the Aztecs top-ranked player at No. 64 by Golfstat.
MacRae Continues Strong Play
* Heather MacRae (Dunblane, Scotland (McLennan CC) posted her fourth straight top-15 finish at the MWC Championships as she shot 220 to finish 12th. MacRae leads SDSU in the spring with a 74.53 stroke average and is second for the season at 75.15.
* MacRae was named the MWC golfer of the month for March after posting top-10 results in both of SDSU's tournaments. MacRae recorded a career best second-place finish at the Dr. Thompson Invitational in Kaneohe, Hawai'i, and led SDSU to a runner-up finish. She followed that performance with a seventh place finish at the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz. MacRae shot five-over 221 in both events, her second best 54-hole score of the year. She also posted three rounds of even par 72. Overall, MacRae has recorded seven rounds of par or better this season, which leads the team.
* MacRae leads SDSU with five top-10 finishes and seven top-20 finishes in nine tournaments this year. Her best score of the year, a 219, came at the Las Vegas Intercollegiate to finish sixth against a tough field. MacRae has also been incredibly consistent, recording 23 straight rounds of 79 or better, the longest streak on the team, which dates back to the first tournament of the season. MacRae has been climbing the rankings and is currently 95th in Golfstat's listings.
Kim Makes The Difference
* Sandy Kim (West Linn, Ore./West Linn HS) entered the year having not missed a single tournament in her three years at SDSU, but a back injury suffered at the Aztec Invitational has kept the senior out of action in four of the last six tournaments. Kim was a little rusty when returning to action at the MWC Championships as she shot 237 to finish 26th. However, Kim's experience and ability to post low scores are imparative and may be the catalyst for SDSU's championship hopes.
* Before the injury, Kim had played seven rounds and recorded three scores of par or better. Her best result was an 11th-place finish at the Heather Farr Memorial with a five-over 149. Kim's 75.86 stroke average in the fall was the third best on the team.
Miyajima: The Steady Force
* Senior Shayna Miyajima (Wailuku, Hawaii/Baldwin HS) placed 18th at the MWC Championship after shooting 224. Miyajima has recorded three top-20 performances in the Aztecs last four tournaments and has five top-20's on the year. Miyajima is looking to go out with a bang as her stellar career at SDSU draws to a close.
* Miyajima has recorded a career-low 75.81 stroke average this season and has led SDSU in scoring twice. Last year, she topped SDSU with a 76.68 average and has a career stroke average of 77.34.
Lutz Stepping Up
* In only her second tournament of the season, sophomore Toni Lutz made a huge impact at the MWC Championships as she counted all three scores for SDSU. Lutz produced a career low 54-hole total of 226 to place 20th, the first top-20 of her career. She ended the tournament with a career low 73, breaking her previous mark of 76 she had set in the second round of the tournament.
Head Coach Felicia Brown
* Head coach Felicia Brown is in her second season at the helm of the SDSU golf program after serving as assistant coach in 2002. Brown prepped locally at San Marcos High School before playing collegiately at Arizona. She also boasts professional playing and teaching experience on the Players' West Golf Tour and the LPGA teaching division.