Sunday, April 16
Spanish Trail Country Club
Long Beach State University
vs
Big West Championship (First Round)
Photo by: John Fajardo
Women’s Golf Set For Big West Championship
4/13/2023 9:58:00 AM | Women's Golf
The Beach will enter next week’s conference championship as the highest ranked team in the Big West.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The final tournament of the regular season is just around the corner as Long Beach State's year-long work culminates in the Big West Championship. Hosted by the conference at Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas, Nev., all nine Big West teams will take part in the three-day event beginning on Sunday, April 16.
"I think we're very prepared to come in and play our best at the championship," said head coach Alyssa Waite. "We've seen a lot of different teams, from No. 1 Stanford to our direct Big West competition to lower ranked teams, and I think that experience really sets us up to have success."
For the first time, all three rounds of play will have broadcast coverage, as ESPN+ will be on site providing fans at home an ability to get closer to the action than ever before with a wrapup on competition each day presented by Jill Painter Lopez. Each round is scheduled to begin at 9.a.m., with one round to be played each day.
Long Beach State is entering the championship on a tremendous run. The Beach has finished in the Top 5 in each of their last eight tournaments, and for just the second time in program history finished in the Top 5 in every spring competition leading up to the conference championship.
That success has seen the Beach rise up to No. 80 in the Golfstat rankings, the highest among the nine Big West women's golf programs. Defending champions Cal Poly are also in the Top 100, while Hawai'i, Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside have also had good seasons that should set the stage for an excellent tournament.
The Beach has played in three straight weeks entering the Big West Championship, a strategy intended to maximize the preparation for Long Beach State. "This team loves to compete, and the best way for prepare is to engage in other competition. It's hard to simulate what that's like for collegiate golf in any other way," noted Waite.
Freshman Jasmine Leovao will head up the lineup for Long Beach State in those last three tournaments, Leovao has been the top finisher for the Beach in all three, finishing in the Top 10 in all three tournaments, most impressively taking fourth place overall in the 108-golfer field at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.
Veteran Hannah Ko will play second. The junior who started at Long Beach State in 2018-19 has played in the top three for the Beach in all but one of the team's ten competitions this season, including tying for the top score at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. Ko finished in 14th overall at the Silicon Valley Showcase the last time out and has been the team's most consistent golfer throughout the season.
Junior Angelina Kim will play third for the Beach. The individual champion at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational as well as the CSUN/CSUB tri-match this spring, Kim is more than capable of outstanding performances, and will be counted on to capture that form in the coming week. Twin sister of Jasmine, Janae Leovao was the team's top finisher in three of the four tournaments over the fall portion of the schedule, and is another golfer who is able to put up very low numbers, twice shooting 67 earlier this year.
Sophomore Kristina Ponomareva will get the nod in the final spot in the lineup. After a one-week absence, Ponomareva will be in the lineup for the seventh time of the year. Her top finish came at The Clash at Boulder Creek, where she shot a second-round 70 on the way to a Top 20 finish. Freshman Madison Le will be the team's alternate. A regular competitor through the spring, Le finished in a tie for 38th at the Fresno State Classic as an individual and placed in a tie for 39th at last week's Silicon Valley Showcase.
Long Beach State has won the team championship on three occasions, in 2009, 2018, and 2019. Additionally, the Beach have had four individual Big West champions in Kay Hoey (2007), Jennifer Yu (2018), Haley Tygret (2019) and Holland Shourds (2021). The Beach is seeking their fifth team appearance in the NCAA postseason.
In addition to the ESPN+ coverage, the traditional live scoring will also be available through Golfstat across all three days at https://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=27419.
"I think we're very prepared to come in and play our best at the championship," said head coach Alyssa Waite. "We've seen a lot of different teams, from No. 1 Stanford to our direct Big West competition to lower ranked teams, and I think that experience really sets us up to have success."
For the first time, all three rounds of play will have broadcast coverage, as ESPN+ will be on site providing fans at home an ability to get closer to the action than ever before with a wrapup on competition each day presented by Jill Painter Lopez. Each round is scheduled to begin at 9.a.m., with one round to be played each day.
Long Beach State is entering the championship on a tremendous run. The Beach has finished in the Top 5 in each of their last eight tournaments, and for just the second time in program history finished in the Top 5 in every spring competition leading up to the conference championship.
That success has seen the Beach rise up to No. 80 in the Golfstat rankings, the highest among the nine Big West women's golf programs. Defending champions Cal Poly are also in the Top 100, while Hawai'i, Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside have also had good seasons that should set the stage for an excellent tournament.
The Beach has played in three straight weeks entering the Big West Championship, a strategy intended to maximize the preparation for Long Beach State. "This team loves to compete, and the best way for prepare is to engage in other competition. It's hard to simulate what that's like for collegiate golf in any other way," noted Waite.
Freshman Jasmine Leovao will head up the lineup for Long Beach State in those last three tournaments, Leovao has been the top finisher for the Beach in all three, finishing in the Top 10 in all three tournaments, most impressively taking fourth place overall in the 108-golfer field at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.
Veteran Hannah Ko will play second. The junior who started at Long Beach State in 2018-19 has played in the top three for the Beach in all but one of the team's ten competitions this season, including tying for the top score at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. Ko finished in 14th overall at the Silicon Valley Showcase the last time out and has been the team's most consistent golfer throughout the season.
Junior Angelina Kim will play third for the Beach. The individual champion at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational as well as the CSUN/CSUB tri-match this spring, Kim is more than capable of outstanding performances, and will be counted on to capture that form in the coming week. Twin sister of Jasmine, Janae Leovao was the team's top finisher in three of the four tournaments over the fall portion of the schedule, and is another golfer who is able to put up very low numbers, twice shooting 67 earlier this year.
Sophomore Kristina Ponomareva will get the nod in the final spot in the lineup. After a one-week absence, Ponomareva will be in the lineup for the seventh time of the year. Her top finish came at The Clash at Boulder Creek, where she shot a second-round 70 on the way to a Top 20 finish. Freshman Madison Le will be the team's alternate. A regular competitor through the spring, Le finished in a tie for 38th at the Fresno State Classic as an individual and placed in a tie for 39th at last week's Silicon Valley Showcase.
Long Beach State has won the team championship on three occasions, in 2009, 2018, and 2019. Additionally, the Beach have had four individual Big West champions in Kay Hoey (2007), Jennifer Yu (2018), Haley Tygret (2019) and Holland Shourds (2021). The Beach is seeking their fifth team appearance in the NCAA postseason.
In addition to the ESPN+ coverage, the traditional live scoring will also be available through Golfstat across all three days at https://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=27419.
Players Mentioned
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