Sept. 12, 2006
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The San Diego State women's golf team posted the ninth-best round of the day to jump up one spot in the final team standings Tuesday at the 28th Annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational at the par-73, 6,069-yard University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course. The Aztecs logged a final-round 307 to end up 13th overall at 42-over 918 in the 54-hole event. Second-ranked Arizona State, one of eight in the 17-school field to appear in the Golfweek preseason top 30, maintained its day one lead, easily claiming the team title by 14 strokes with a 7-under 869.
"I was happy with our consistency (throughout the tournament)," Aztec head coach Felicia Brown said. "I'm especially pleased because it was one of the toughest fields that we will face all year. The team is really working well together both on and off the course."
SDSU's team score of 918 was its best in five consecutive seasons of participating in the Dick McGuire Invitational. A year ago, the Aztecs logged a 920 and placed 15th out of 18 schools.
The Aztecs got a strong final-round performance from both senior Jamie Oliver (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and sophomore Alana Erlandson (Palm Desert, Calif.). Oliver moved up 11 spots on the individual leaderboard with her final round 2-over 75, which featured two birdies and 12 pars. She finished in a tie for 32nd place out of 93 golfers with an 8-over 227. Erlandson, meanwhile, fired a 3-over 76, tying her best round of the tournament, to end up tied for 55th place at 12-over 231.
Sophomore Maki Kamimura (West Covina, Calif.) was unable to match her day one performance, getting off to a rough start with a triple bogey and a pair of double bogeys on her first three holes. Kamimura finished with an 81 to slip from 18th place after the first 36 holes all the way to 44th at 10-over 229.
SDSU's other two golfers, redshirt sophomore Jackie Kazarian (Dana Point, Calif.) and sophomore Heather Wilson (Chula Vista, Calif.), both posted tournament-best rounds at 5-over 78. Kazarian moved up six slots into a tie for 64th place at 15-over 234, while Wilson jumped three spots to 81st place at 21-over 240.
TCU's Catherine Matranga pulled off the upset for medalist honors, moving up from 11th to 1st place, with the help of a 3-under 70 in the final round. Matranga was 5-under for the tournament, edging three other players by one stroke.
The Aztec `B' squad will head to Flagstaff, Ariz., next week, as the team attempts to defend its tournament title at the La Quinta Inn & Suites Shootout, Sept. 18-19.
Final round scores with relation to par Sept. 12, at the 28th annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, played at the par-73, 6,069-yard UNM Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M.
Top 5 Team Scores (Plus SDSU)
1. Arizona State 294-281-294-896 (-7)
2. BYU 298-294-291-883 (+7)
2. UNLV 291-298-294-883 (+7)
4. TCU 296-298-295-889 (+13)
5. South Carolina 295-288-307-890 (+14)
T14. San Diego State 302-309-307-918 (+42)
Top Three Individuals
1. Catherine Matranga, TCU 71-73-70-214 (-5)
2. Sandra Gal, Florida 71-71-73-215 (-4)
Anna Nordqvist, ASU 73-73-69-215 (-4)
Benedicte Toumpsin, S. Car. 71-69-75-215 (-4)
San Diego State
T32. Jamie Oliver 76-76-75-227 (+8)
T44. Maki Kamimura 73-75-81-229 (+10)
T55. Alana Erlandson 76-79-76-231 (+12)
T64. Jackie Kazarian 77-79-78-234 (+15)
T81. Heather Wilson 82-80-78-240 (+21)