University Southern California Trojans
Monday, March 26
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
All Day
USC
at
SDSU March Mayhem
Allisen Corpuz
Photo by: John McGillen
No. 7 USC Returns To Action At SDSU March Mayhem
March 22, 2018 | Women's Golf, Features
The Trojans have won four times in the event's five-year run.
The No. 7 USC women's golf team, a three-time winner this season featuring a vastly changed lineup for the spring semester, returns to action after a long break at the SDSU March Mayhem, Monday through Wednesday (March 26-28), at the Farms G.C. in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Under 22nd-year head coach Andrea Gaston, the Trojans are coming off their 21st consecutive season reaching the NCAA Championships and the 12th straight year posting an NCAA top 5 finish.
SDSU MARCH MAYHEM TOURNAMENT INFO
USC has won the event four times (2013-14-16-17) in the Mayhem's five-year history and featured two medalists (Sophia Popov in 2013 and Karen Chung in 2014) when it was strictly a stroke play tournament. The Trojans' wins the past two years have come in the current match play format.
This year's field includes host San Diego State, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Texas, Northwestern, Colorado, Iowa State, Baylor, BYU, Pepperdine and California.
Teams will play 18 holes of stroke play Monday at 8 a.m. to determine match play seedings. The top 8 will be seeded into a championship bracket, the bottom four into a round-robin bracket. The first match follows Monday's morning stroke play. Tuesday and Wednesday matches start at 8:30 a.m. Results will be available at Birdiefire.com.
TROJAN REBOOT
USC's 2017-18 lineup has a new look with four additions to help fill the void with the departures of All-Americans Robynn Ree and Muni He, both of whom turned pro after the fall semester. Ree earned full status on the 2018 LPGA Tour after her top 10 finish at the final stage of Q School in December while He will compete on the Symetra Tour after reaching the Q School final stage as well.
The three returning Trojans from the fall season are sophomore Allisen Corpuz (USC's only player in the program for more than one season), sophomore transfer Divya Manthena and freshman Alyaa Abdulghany.
The trio welcomes a quartet of newcomers in spring-semester freshmen enrollees Jennifer Chang (Cary, N.C.), Amelia Garvey (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Gabi Ruffels (Sandringham, Australia) as well as sophomore transfer Aiko Leong (Honolulu, Hawaii).
Chang, Garvey and Ruffels all made their debut at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge last week, when the Trojans finished 10th. Leong debuted in San Luis Obispo.
USC showed the new look can turn in strong results as it finished second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate before coming together to win the Bruin Wave Invitational.
Freshman Jennifer Chang, after three events, leads the Trojans with a stroke average of 73.78 and is coming off of back-to-back top 3 finishes, tying for second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at 3-under 213 (70-69-74) and finishing third at the Bruin Wave at 6-over 222 (76-71-75).
Fellow freshman Alyaa Abdulghany is second on the squad with a stroke average of 73.83 and has posted three straight top 18 finishes among her four this year. She posted a season-best tie for sixth at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at 2-over 218 (74-71-73).
Sophomore Allisen Corpuz, the only Trojan on the roster last year, boasts a stroke average of 73.89 and is coming off of back-to-back ties for fourth, one at 2-under 214 (70-74-70) at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and one at 8-over 224 (73-77-74) at the Bruin Wave. She has three top 17s and five top 26 results.
Freshman Gabi Ruffels, in three events, boasts a season-best tie for seventh at the Bruin Wave at 10-over 226 (76-75-75).
FALL SEASON IN SUMMARY
USC won two of three fall events in which it competed at full strength. The Trojans captured their season-opener, taking the Minnesota Invitational at 26-under 838 (282-276-280) for a nine-shot win. The Trojans' 26-under performance was their third-most under par total in a 54-hole tournament. Sophomore Muni He tied for first at 10-under 206 (70-67-69), which is tied for fifth most under par in program history. Junior Robynn Ree tied for third at 8-under 208 (71-68-69).
He, Ree and sophomore Divya Manthena each won matches to give USC a 3-2 victory over Stanford in the East Lake Cup match play final at the East Lake G.C. in Atlanta to close fall play on Nov. 1. That followed a 4-1 win over Northwestern in the semifinals.
Ree led USC at the Annika Intercollegiate with a tie for ninth at 2-under 214 (68-74-72) as the Trojans finished seventh overall. The Trojans were short-handed at the rain-shorthanded Pac-12 Preview in Kona, Hawaii, sending just three players. Sophomore Allisen Corpuz and freshman Alyaa Abdulghany led the trio with a tie for 26th at 4-over 150.
Manthena Wins Community Award
Manthena was one of two recipients of the 3rd annual Tom Cousins Award announced in conjunction with the East Lake Cup in Atlanta. Manthena and Vanderbilt's Will Gordon were selected by a panel of industry leaders aiming to recognize a male and female collegiate golfer whom best represent the values of the award: exceling in academics, engagement in his or her community, and a demonstrated ability to overcome adversity.
A sophomore business administration major at USC, Manthena (Moorpark, Calif.) is following in the footsteps of family members from generations before her through a commitment to bettering the lives of others, latching on to causes with personal significance to her. The founder of her own non-profit organization, Krishak, she has spearheaded five separate golf outings in the past six years to benefit organizations such as the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Special Olympics, among others. In 2013, Manthena also was the recipient of the USGA/AJGA Presidents' Leadership Award, which recognizes a male and female junior golfer who demonstrate leadership, character and community service through volunteerism.
PROGRAM SUPERLATIVES
* USC has won 33 events (including ties for first) since the start of the 2012-13 season. In addition to the three wins this season, the Trojans won 3 times in the 2017 season, six times in 2016, five times in 2015, nine in 2014 and seven in 2013.
* The Trojans have reached the NCAA Championships finals a national-best 20 straight seasons and have won NCAA title in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
* The Trojans' second-place finishes in 2010 (Purdue, one stroke), 2012 (Alabama, one stroke) and 2014 (Duke, two strokes) were by a combined four strokes.
* USC has made it to the NCAA Championships match play bracket each of the last three years since it was instituted, one of just two teams to do so.
* USC has finished in the NCAA top 5 a national-best 12 straight years.
* USC players have won a combined 20 events in the last 5-plus years, including two NCAA titles.
* Ten different Trojan players have earned a combined 19 All-American honors in the last 5 years.
Under 22nd-year head coach Andrea Gaston, the Trojans are coming off their 21st consecutive season reaching the NCAA Championships and the 12th straight year posting an NCAA top 5 finish.
SDSU MARCH MAYHEM TOURNAMENT INFO
USC has won the event four times (2013-14-16-17) in the Mayhem's five-year history and featured two medalists (Sophia Popov in 2013 and Karen Chung in 2014) when it was strictly a stroke play tournament. The Trojans' wins the past two years have come in the current match play format.
This year's field includes host San Diego State, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Texas, Northwestern, Colorado, Iowa State, Baylor, BYU, Pepperdine and California.
Teams will play 18 holes of stroke play Monday at 8 a.m. to determine match play seedings. The top 8 will be seeded into a championship bracket, the bottom four into a round-robin bracket. The first match follows Monday's morning stroke play. Tuesday and Wednesday matches start at 8:30 a.m. Results will be available at Birdiefire.com.
TROJAN REBOOT
USC's 2017-18 lineup has a new look with four additions to help fill the void with the departures of All-Americans Robynn Ree and Muni He, both of whom turned pro after the fall semester. Ree earned full status on the 2018 LPGA Tour after her top 10 finish at the final stage of Q School in December while He will compete on the Symetra Tour after reaching the Q School final stage as well.
The three returning Trojans from the fall season are sophomore Allisen Corpuz (USC's only player in the program for more than one season), sophomore transfer Divya Manthena and freshman Alyaa Abdulghany.
The trio welcomes a quartet of newcomers in spring-semester freshmen enrollees Jennifer Chang (Cary, N.C.), Amelia Garvey (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Gabi Ruffels (Sandringham, Australia) as well as sophomore transfer Aiko Leong (Honolulu, Hawaii).
Chang, Garvey and Ruffels all made their debut at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge last week, when the Trojans finished 10th. Leong debuted in San Luis Obispo.
USC showed the new look can turn in strong results as it finished second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate before coming together to win the Bruin Wave Invitational.
Freshman Jennifer Chang, after three events, leads the Trojans with a stroke average of 73.78 and is coming off of back-to-back top 3 finishes, tying for second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at 3-under 213 (70-69-74) and finishing third at the Bruin Wave at 6-over 222 (76-71-75).
Fellow freshman Alyaa Abdulghany is second on the squad with a stroke average of 73.83 and has posted three straight top 18 finishes among her four this year. She posted a season-best tie for sixth at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at 2-over 218 (74-71-73).
Sophomore Allisen Corpuz, the only Trojan on the roster last year, boasts a stroke average of 73.89 and is coming off of back-to-back ties for fourth, one at 2-under 214 (70-74-70) at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and one at 8-over 224 (73-77-74) at the Bruin Wave. She has three top 17s and five top 26 results.
Freshman Gabi Ruffels, in three events, boasts a season-best tie for seventh at the Bruin Wave at 10-over 226 (76-75-75).
FALL SEASON IN SUMMARY
USC won two of three fall events in which it competed at full strength. The Trojans captured their season-opener, taking the Minnesota Invitational at 26-under 838 (282-276-280) for a nine-shot win. The Trojans' 26-under performance was their third-most under par total in a 54-hole tournament. Sophomore Muni He tied for first at 10-under 206 (70-67-69), which is tied for fifth most under par in program history. Junior Robynn Ree tied for third at 8-under 208 (71-68-69).
He, Ree and sophomore Divya Manthena each won matches to give USC a 3-2 victory over Stanford in the East Lake Cup match play final at the East Lake G.C. in Atlanta to close fall play on Nov. 1. That followed a 4-1 win over Northwestern in the semifinals.
Ree led USC at the Annika Intercollegiate with a tie for ninth at 2-under 214 (68-74-72) as the Trojans finished seventh overall. The Trojans were short-handed at the rain-shorthanded Pac-12 Preview in Kona, Hawaii, sending just three players. Sophomore Allisen Corpuz and freshman Alyaa Abdulghany led the trio with a tie for 26th at 4-over 150.
Manthena Wins Community Award
Manthena was one of two recipients of the 3rd annual Tom Cousins Award announced in conjunction with the East Lake Cup in Atlanta. Manthena and Vanderbilt's Will Gordon were selected by a panel of industry leaders aiming to recognize a male and female collegiate golfer whom best represent the values of the award: exceling in academics, engagement in his or her community, and a demonstrated ability to overcome adversity.
A sophomore business administration major at USC, Manthena (Moorpark, Calif.) is following in the footsteps of family members from generations before her through a commitment to bettering the lives of others, latching on to causes with personal significance to her. The founder of her own non-profit organization, Krishak, she has spearheaded five separate golf outings in the past six years to benefit organizations such as the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Special Olympics, among others. In 2013, Manthena also was the recipient of the USGA/AJGA Presidents' Leadership Award, which recognizes a male and female junior golfer who demonstrate leadership, character and community service through volunteerism.
PROGRAM SUPERLATIVES
* USC has won 33 events (including ties for first) since the start of the 2012-13 season. In addition to the three wins this season, the Trojans won 3 times in the 2017 season, six times in 2016, five times in 2015, nine in 2014 and seven in 2013.
* The Trojans have reached the NCAA Championships finals a national-best 20 straight seasons and have won NCAA title in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
* The Trojans' second-place finishes in 2010 (Purdue, one stroke), 2012 (Alabama, one stroke) and 2014 (Duke, two strokes) were by a combined four strokes.
* USC has made it to the NCAA Championships match play bracket each of the last three years since it was instituted, one of just two teams to do so.
* USC has finished in the NCAA top 5 a national-best 12 straight years.
* USC players have won a combined 20 events in the last 5-plus years, including two NCAA titles.
* Ten different Trojan players have earned a combined 19 All-American honors in the last 5 years.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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Wednesday, May 14
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