Women of Troy win their first event of 2012


The USC women’s golf team captured its first victory of the season Tuesday, channeling a strong performance on the final day into a long-awaited win at the Battle of Rancho Bernardo in San Diego.

The Women of Troy finished 14-over-par 590, two strokes ahead of second-place Arizona State (592). Texas A&M finished third at 596, and UC Berkeley took fourth at 597. The tournament, hosted by San Diego State University, featured 16 teams and was held at the Rancho Bernardo Inn Championship Golf Course.

The Women of Troy were led by sophomore Sophia Popov, who finished at 2-under-par 142 and won the tournament. The victory marked her first of the season and her fourth overall, following the three wins she captured during her freshman campaign in 2010-2011. Popov finished two strokes ahead of Texas A&M’s Patricia Garcia (144) and one ahead of the University of Miami’s Jennifer Hirano (145).

The tournament was scheduled to last three days; however, rain wiped out play on Sunday, with the competition being converted to a 36-hole format in place of the traditional 54. Damp, gloomy conditions persisted and created considerable struggle Monday, but the Trojans received a strong effort from Popov, who notched three birdies and two bogeys to finish tied for third at 1-under-par 71. Freshman Doris Chen continued her strong spring season with 1-over-par 73 finish, including three birdies, to place ninth. Senior Inah Park came in tied for 22nd at 3-over-par 75, while sophomore Rachel Morris tied for 27th at 4-over-par 76. All-American senior Lisa McCloskey, who started off strong with two birdies through the first three holes, struggled to score a 7-over-par 79 and tied for 58th.

Popov opened the second round with a birdie and two bogeys on the front nine, then notched back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes to finish 1-under-par 71 for the round and 2-under-par for the tournament. Chen recorded her third consecutive               top-10 finish, shooting 2-over-par 74 in the final round to finish tied for ninth at 147 overall. Park posted her fourth top-20 finish this year, tying for 15th at 5-over-par 149. Morris shot a 6-over-par 78 to finish tied for 35th at 10-over-par 154, while McCloskey recorded a 4-over-par 76 to come in tied for 45th at 11-over-par 155.

The victory was not only a welcome sight for Popov, whose wrist injury hampered her success in the fall, but for the entire team, especially after surrendering the lead at the last tournament.

“We played very solid golf and just didn’t give shots away,” Popov said. “We used the wind to our advantage and saved some really good pars at the end.”

The Women of Troy will next participate in the PING/ASU Invitational, held at Karsten Golf Course in Phoenix March 31 through April 2nd.