College Golf

Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen’s two Top 10 finishes has him ranked 3rd in the nation.

PEPPERDINE STARTS STRONG THEN STUMBLES

Defending NCAA champion Pepperdine has started the season strong with three finishes in the top 10, including a victory in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate, but the Waves might have run out of gas trying to defend their title in the East Lake Cup.

Only day after winning at the Golf Club Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga., the Waves went right into the East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta and captured the stroke-play title by shooting 5-under-par 283, with Arizona State second at 287, followed by Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in a tie for third at 292.

However, after Pepperdine beat Oklahoma in both the East Lake Cup finals and the NCAA Championships in head-to-head matchups last season, the Sooners got a bit of revenge with a 3-1-1 victory over Pepperdine in the semifinals of match play to determine the champion.

“We were 2-0 with them starting today, so now we’re 2-1,” Coach Michael Beard of Pepperdine said. “They were ready to play. They came out ready and firing. We got down early in three matches and it was just hard to come back. They’re a great team.”

Pepperdine, No. 9 in the Golfweek Men’s College Rankings after finishing in the top 10 of their first two events, came back to salvage the Consolation at East Lake title by beating Arizona State, 3-2.

For some reason, Joe Highsmith of Pepperdine isn’t getting much respect in the rankings even though he played a big role in the Waves winning the NCAA title last year and gotten off to a strong start.

Highsmith, a senior from Lakewood, Wash., claimed his second individual college title in the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate and tied for ninth in the Colonial Collegiate Invitational, but was ranked only 104th .

Joey Vrzich, a Pepperdine redshirt senior from El Cajon, was at No. 43, and Derek Hitchner, a senior from Minneapolis, at No. 45, but Pepperdine and Highsmith are too good not to move up.

Stanford is highest California team in the rankings at No. 3 after winning the Colonial Collegiate Invitational among three finishes in the top 10 in as many tournaments, with Michael Thorbjornsen, a sophomore Wellesley, Mass., third in the nation after two top-10 results; Henry Shimp, a senior from Charlotte, N.C., at No. 15, and Karl Vilips, a sophomore from Australia, at No. 56.

San Francisco is ranked 29th in the nation, with Alex Chin, a redshirt senior from Pleasanton at No. 84 in the individual rankings; UC Davis is No. 56, with Thomas Hutchison, a senior from San Jose at 38th in the rankings, while San Diego State is No. 60, UCLA is No. 63 and the University of San Diego is No. 74.

St. Mary’s is No. 75 with Mikey Slesinski, a graduate student from Fremont, ranked 55th, while San Jose State is No. 78 and Loyola Marymount is 97th.

TOP-RANKED STANFORD OFF TO BRILLIANT START

Freshman Rose Zhang and the Stanford Cardinal have been the story of the women’s college golf season thus far.

Zhang, the top-ranked women’s golfer in the world and already No. 2 in the Golfweek Women’s College Rankings, won her first three starts while leading the No. 1 Cardinal to victories in the Molly Collegiate Invitational, the Windy City Intercollegiate and the Stanford Intercollegiate.

“For me, I learn so much by watching a player of that caliber,” Stanford Coach Anne Walker said. “Her patience is unreal and obviously she has put in many hours of work so she doesn’t make many mistakes. When she gets her opportunities, she makes the most of them with her patience and mental fortitude.”

Zhang, from Irvine, hasn’t done it all by herself of course, as Aline Krauter, a senior from Germany, is ranked No. 8; Caroline Sturdza, a freshman from Switzerland, is No. 19; Brooke Seay, a junior from San Jose, is No. 27; defending NCAA champion Rachel Heck, a sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., is No. 40, and Angelina Ye, a sophomore from China, is No. 44.

UCLA checks in at No. 10 after finishing in the top 10 in four straight tournaments, including a ties for second in the Molly Collegiate Invitational and the Blessings Intercollegiate Invitational, and third in the Stanford Intercollegiate.

Alessio Nobilio, redshirt freshman for the Bruins from Italy, is ranked No. 25 after finishing second in the Blessings for her second top-10 result, while Emma Spitz, who won the NCAA Louisville Regional last spring, is No. 36 after a tie for 11th in the Blessings and a tie for 15th in the Stanford Invitational.

San Jose State is ranked 11th in the nation after runner-up finishes in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire

Cardinal Women Won Three Straight including the Molly Collegiate Invitational at Bayonet/Black Horse in Seaside, California. L-R: Rose Zhang, Rebecca Becht, Calista Reyes, Aline Krauter, Caroline Sturdza, Sadie Englemann, Yu Wen Lu

Invitational, the Molly Collegiate and the Stanford Intercollegiate led by No. 24 Andrea Oon, a senior from Malaysia who tied for second in the Molly Collegiate, and No. 35 Antonia Malate, a senior from Seaside who tied for fourth in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational.

Third-ranked Cindy Kou, a freshman from China, has led the way for No. 23 USC by finishing third in the Annika Invitational and a tie for fifth in the Windy City Collegiate; California is ranked 31st, Sacramento State is No. 63, Fresno State is No. 69. Pepperdine is No. 72, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is No. 73, San Diego State is No. 76 and San Francisco is 92nd.