April 22, 2008
Results
Big West Conference Results
RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. -- UC Davis freshman Chelsea Stelzmiller tied for first at the Big West Conference Championships but was defeated by UC Irvine's Kim Lorenzana on the third playoff hole as the Aggie women's golf team took second in its first official appearance at the league tournament.
Stelzmiller, a freshman from Placerville, led five Aggies in postseason honors announced after the tournament when she was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and to the all-conference first team.
She was joined on the first team by freshman teammate Alice Kim while junior Bryana Gregory, senior Sydney Roughton and freshman Katie Sisler were named to the second team.
The awards came after UC Davis cut three strokes off winner UC Irvine's 10-stroke lead after the second round, shooting a 10-over 298 in Tuesday's final round at the par-72, 6,149-yard Tijeras Creek Golf Club. The Anteaters, who won the tournament for the fourth consecutive year earned the Big West's automatic bid to next month's NCAA Div. I West Regional at Lincoln Hills. The Aggies will hope for an at-large bid when they are announced Monday.
UC Irvine had a 44-over 908 and won by seven shots over UC Davis while Cal State Northridge finished 23 shots behind the Aggies for a distant third. Cal Poly was fourth, Long Beach State took fifth and UC Riverside was sixth.
Stelzmiller had a four-shot lead heading into the final round but shot a 78 and was caught by Lorenzana who fired a 72. The duo then went to playoff holes with Lorenzana earning top individual honors on the third extra hole. Both players finished the championship at 6-over 222, three shots in front of the Anteaters' Selanee' Henderson.
UC Davis' final-round tally - its best of the 54-hole tournament and only the event's second below 300 - was led by Kim and Sisler who were seventh and eighth, respectively, on the individual leaderboard. Sparked by five birdies, Kim fired a 72 on Tuesday to post a 14-over 230 while Sisler had four birdies on her first 10 holes on her way to a 73 and a 231 total.
Roughton tied for 11th at 234 after shooting 77 in the final round, posting pars on eight of her last nine holes. Gregory had her second-round score disqualified on Monday but rebounded to shoot 76 on Tuesday, shooting just one shot over par on the back nine.
The tournament marked the Aggies' first official appearance at the Big West Conference Championship after playing as non-scoring participants each of the past two seasons. UC Davis is in its first year of Big West Conference membership.
Stelzmiller, from Union High School, earned the conference's top overall player and top freshman honors after a standout inaugural campaign. She's posted seven top-10 finishes this season, including earning medalist honors at the Price's Give 'Em Five Intercollegiate in October, and also tied for fourth at the Oregon Duck Invitational in March. Stelzmiller has a 74.1 average and three times has posted scores of 69, the only occasions an Aggie has broke 70.
Kim played four tournaments this spring, averaging 75.9 strokes. Along with finishing seventh at the Big West tournament, she highlighted her spring with a tie for second place at the NCAA Western Regional Preview and in the fall tied for 15th at the USF/Richmond Country Club Invitational.
Sisler averaged 77.1 strokes on her way to second-team honors, tying for fourth at the Oregon Duck Invitational and tying for eighth at the Lady Braveheart Classic for her other two top-10 finishes prior to this week. Roughton, who has a 77.4 stroke average, was sixth at the Peg Barnard Invitational at Stanford earlier this month and tied for 21st at the NCAA Western Regional Preview.
Gregory, who has played each year of the Aggies' varsity existence, has averaged 75.9 strokes and garnered four top-10 finishes, including a second-place at the Price's Give 'Em Five Intercollegiate and a tie for third at the Heather Farr Memorial at Colorado. Those two finishes earned her Big West Conference Golfer of the Month honors for October.
UC Irvine's Julie Brooks was named the Big West Coach of the Year.
BIG WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
Tijeras Creek Golf Club
Par 72, 6,149 yards
Final
TEAM
1. UC Irvine, 312-295-301-908
2. UC Davis, 305-312-298-915
3. Cal State Northridge, 327-302-309-938
4. Cal Poly, 306-316-319-941
5. Long Beach State, 316-321-305-942
6. UC Riverside, 308-320-319-947
INDIVIDUALS
T1. Chelsea Stelzmiller, UCD, 70-74-78-222
UC DAVIS
7. Alice Kim, 75-83-72-230
8. Katie Sisler, 82-76-73-231
T11. Sydney Roughton, 78-79-77-234
Bryana Gregory, 82-D-158
ALL-BIG WEST CONFERENCE
FIRST TEAM
Chelsea Stelzmiller, UC Davis
Selanee Henderson, UC Irvine
Jennifer Bermingham, UC Riverside
Alice Kim, UC Davis
Eva Yoe, Cal State Northridge
Kim Lorenzana, UC Irvine
SECOND TEAM
Patty Chawalitmetha, UC Irvine
Bryana Gregory, UC Davis
Julia Heath, Cal Poly
Sydney Roughton, UC Davis
Katie Sisler, UC Davis
HONORABLE MENTION
Hannah Brabb, Cal Poly
Brenda Chhuor, Long Beach State
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chelsea Stelzmiller, UC Davis
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Chelsea Stelzmiller, UC Davis
COACH OF THE YEAR
Julie Brooks, UC Irvine
