Top college players, teams compete at Caves Valley
Inquiring minds want to know about the NCAA Women’s Championship, hosted this year by Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills. Here are some questions and answers:
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1. Who is the defending team champion? No. 3 USC won the 2008 title and is led by freshman Jennifer Song and sophomore Lizette Salas, who are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively in the nation. USC will be hard pressed to repeat, however, as it finished second to No. 1 Arizona State in the Pac-10 and West Regional championship. No. 2 UCLA, which won the Central Regional and has five players in the top 50, has superior depth.
2. Who is the defending individual champion? Azahara Munoz, a senior from Arizona State, won the title last year and will try to become the first women’s champion to repeat in the 28-year history of the event. She is ranked No. 4 in the nation behind long-hitting freshman teammate Carlota Cigana, also from Spain, who is ranked No. 1 after winning the Pac-10 and West Region titles. Other threats include No. 5 Candace Schepperle (Auburn), No. 6 Stephanie Kono (UCLA), and No. 7 Maria Hernandez (Purdue).
3. Local Interest? Stephanie Connelly, a senior from Central Florida, won three Maryland state championships at Northeast High in Anne Arundel County. Shooting 73-69-68 – 210 to place second at the Eastern Regional, Connelly qualified as an individual.
Georgetown is hosting the event, but failed to qualify. Virginia is the only local school competing. Despite being the No. 1 seed at the Eastern Regional, the Cavaliers finished a disappointing fourth.
4. Is there a foreign component? You bet. Just like the LPGA, where 19 of the top 30 money winners are from outside the U.S., foreign players dominate the NCAA. Ten of the top 15 ranked college players are non-U.S., including Spain (four), South Korea (two), Canada, England, Sweden, and Colombia.
5. Cheyenne Woods, any relation? Yes. Tiger Woods’ niece is the No. 4 player for Wake Forest. The freshman has a 75.9 stroke average and helped the Demon Deacons to third place in the South Regional. She is the daughter of Earl Woods, Jr., older brother of Tiger.
