Women of Troy unable to surpass Washington


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Following the final 18 holes of the UC Irvine Invitational, the No. 2 USC women’s golf team finished in second with an overall 1-over 865 behind Washington with an overall 10-under 854. The same shot difference separated the two teams after the first 36-hole day.

The Women of Troy began their play on the course in Santa Ana Country Club in Santa Ana, California, at 8:25 a.m. USC looked on optimistically at the 18 holes that were ahead of them for the final day of play.

Sophomore Gabriella Then, who was in first after the first round by two shots at 6-under, finished up the final 18 holes with a 2-over 73. She was tied for first with Marijosse Navarro of Texas A&M.

Then and Navarro played through a total of five playoff holes until Navarro captured the individual title with a par on the fifth hole. The two went neck and neck with a birdie, par, bogey and a birdie on the first four holes. On the fifth, Then missed her par putt to keep it tied and to play another hole.

Then was in search of her first collegiate win. Her play on the first day was the best round of her career as a Trojan (70, 68).

Then, a Rancho Cucamonga native, has only had one top-10 finish in her collegiate career. Her previous best finish was a tie for fifth at the SDSU Farms Invitational.

Junior Kyung Kim (70, 78, 69) and freshman Amy Lee (71, 73, 73) finished up tied for 10th. Kim shot a 3-under 69 to finish with a 1-over 217, and Lee shot a 1-over 73 to finish with a 1-over 217. With Lee’s performance on the final day, she jumped up two spots. Kim, with the biggest move for the Women of Troy, moved up 16 spots.

Furthermore, sophomore Karen Chung had an 8-over 224 (76, 75, 73) to finish the invitational tied for 33rd. Senior Annie Park  finished up at 35th with a 9-over 225 (77, 74, 74) in her first spring event.

Considering that all of the Women of Troy improved their place in the invitational, it’s unfortunate that it was not enough to surpass the 11-stroke lead that Washington accumulated.

Junior Kim Santiago, who played individually, finished up the invitational with a 16-over 232 (74, 78, 80).

With Then’s first place finish yesterday, the Women of Troy now boast five players with at least one collegiate event win: Then with one, Park with six, Kim with three, Chung with one and senior Doris Chen with two. With the talented squad, the Women of Troy can expect to find more success as the season continues.

Even with the second-place finish, the Women of Troy have been playing consistently and have shown personal improvement.

They should expect similar results when they head to Long Cove Country Club in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate from March 6 to 8.