Long Beach State University Athletics
49er golf teams prepare for Big West Conference Championships
4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 18, 2009
The Long Beach State men's and women's golf teams travel to San Luis Obispo for the Big West Conference Championships on April 20-21. The three-round tournament will take place at the San Luis Obispo Country Club as 36-holes is scheduled for Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday. The course layout is a par-72, 6,769 yards for the men's competition and 6,168 for the women's course.
Ranked at No. 48 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, the 49er women are seeded second and will be looking to claim their first Big West Championship as UC Irvine has won the last four championships. Last year, the 49ers finished in fifth place with a 942 as sophomore Reina Rogers led The Beach as she finished in sixth, followed by junior Brenda Chhuor tied for ninth. Sophomore Lindsey McAtee finished in 28th.
LBSU ranked in the top-50 throughout the year, ended the regular-season on a high-note by claiming the Anteater Invitational two weeks ago as the 49ers won by 12-strokes over second place UC Davis and 28-strokes over tournament host and No. 24 UC Irvine. Senior All-American Kay Hoey and freshman Lee Lopez tied for third as both players finished just four shots behind first place.
"The team is going through final preparations for the Big West Championship where we hope to back up our last tournament win and bring home the conference championship trophy," said head women's coach Sue Ewart. "The weather should be good, the golf course neutral for the top three teams, and a shootout should be expected!"
The 49er men seeded sixth, will be looking to claim their first Big West Championship since 2004, when LBSU won on a playoff hole with UC Riverside. Last year, the 49ers finished in eighth place with a 908. Junior Michael Drake finished second for LBSU as he tied for 26th, followed by sophomore Ricky Montanez as he tied for 29th.
LBSU is coming off a ninth place finish as they last played at the 63rd annual Western Intercollegiate last month as the 49ers shot a 909. Drake led The Beach for the third consecutive tournament as he tied for 29th with a 225, followed by freshman Kevin Roy and junior Steve Gibson as both tied for 37th with a 227.
Opening round play begins on Monday at 7:10 a.m. Live action of the Big West Championships can be followed on www.golfstat.com.
2009 BIG WEST CONFERENCE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Women's Seeds
1. UC Irvine
2. LONG BEACH STATE
3. UC Davis
4. UC Riverside
5. Cal Poly
6. Cal State Northridge
Men's Seeds
1. UC Davis
2. UC Irvine
3. Pacific
4. Cal State Northridge
5. UC Santa Barbara
6. LONG BEACH STATE
7. Cal Poly
8. UC Riverside
Players Mentioned
