Trojans Look To Repeat At Mason Rudolph Championship
September 22, 2010 | Women's Golf
Sept. 22, 2010
The USC women's golf team, ranked No. 1 in Golf World's 2010-2011 preseason poll and fresh off a third-place finish in the ultra-competitive NCAA Fall Preview, turns its attention to the Vanderbilt-hosted 2010 Mason Rudolph Challenge, Friday through Sunday (Sept. 24-26) at the Legends G.C. in Nashville, Tenn.
The Women of Troy, under 15th-year head coach Andrea Gaston, have their long-term sights set on challenging for the program's third NCAA title despite losing a pair of All-Americans from last year's NCAA second-place team, Belen Mozo and Jennifer Song.
The Mason Rudolph field includes USC, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn, Arizona State, California, College of Charleston, Duke, Florida, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Stanford, Texas, UCLA and Wake Forest. Play begins on the 6,281-yard, par 72 course at 8 a.m. (CST) each day off the 1st and 10th holes.
USC won the event by two strokes over UCLA last season in a rain-shortened, two-round event with Song claiming the individual title. Troy's first-round 278 stands as a tournament record. In 2008, USC took second, six strokes back of UCLA.
Results will be at Golfstat.com.
Featured on this year's USC squad is three-time All-American senior Lizette Salas, part of USC's 2008 title team, as well as junior transfer Lisa McCloskey, an All-American at Pepperdine the last two years. McCloskey reached the final of the 108th Women's North & South Amateur Championship earlier this summer. Both players are among Golf World's "Top 10 Women's Golf Collegiate Players to Watch."
The duo finished third and tied for fourth, respectively, at the 2010 Fall Preview. Salas finished at 6-under 210 (70-70-70) while McCloskey was at 5-under 211 (74-70-67).
Also back are junior Inah Park and sophomore Cyna Rodriguez, both of whom played big roles during USC's 2010 NCAA Championships title chase. Rodriguez tied for 30th in the opening event this year while Park will be making her debut this week in Tennessee.
Joining McCloskey as newcomers to the squad are talented freshmen Rachel Morris and Sophia Popov. Morris won the Pacific Northwest Amateur in Clarkston, Wash., this summer while Popov, from Germany, won the 2010 International European Ladies Amateur Championship. Both debuted as Trojans at the Fall Preview. Morris played very well, taking 18th at par 216 (73-72-71) while Popov tied for 67th at 12-over 228 (75-76-77).
Including the 2003 and 2008 NCAA titles, USC has finished in the NCAA Championships' top 4 in six of the past eight years. In fact, the Trojans, who finished second in 2010 (by one stroke) and third in 2009, have reached the NCAA Championships 13 times in a row under Gaston and have been in the top 7 10 times.
Players Mentioned
