February 7, 2025 • by Scoreboard
USC and Arkansas women win fourth tournaments in a row... BYU men fire best-of-the-century score to continue upward trajectory... FSU’s Mirabel Ting claims third straight victory as Noles win in Guadalajara... NC State men grab second victory of season... Marquette takes Big East Match Play, plus other tournament news from the week
The University of Southern California won for the fourth time in five events, taking down the Therese Hession Regional Challenge by five shots at the Palos Verdes Golf Club in California. Justin Silverstein’s side bettered five other teams ranked inside the top-10 and are now up to #3 in the rankings.
The Trojans finished at nine under par (843) and had three players inside the individual top-10 after 54 holes: senior Cindy Kou in 3rd (-5), standout freshman Jasmine Koo T4, and junior Catherine Park T8.
On the final day, Oregon secured second place with the lowest team round of the week and the lowest round ever by a Ducks women’s team. Their 12-under par 272 was five strokes better than any other team managed in the tournament and two better than the previous program record.
The in-form Kary Hollenbaugh of Ohio State finished as individual medalist on 10 under par, four strokes ahead of Kiara Romero of Oregon, after firing a closing 67 (-4). Her performance moved her up 87 places in the rankings.
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The fast-improving Brigham Young men’s team won the N.I.T in Arizona, shooting a stunning 50-under-par team total at Omni Tucson National Resort. It was the lowest score this century by a Cougars team, aided by four of its players — Simon Kwon, Peter Kim, Cole Ponich and Kevin Wu — finishing inside the top-10. BYU are up 15 places to 21 in the rankings.
“We wanted to show that we are a top team in the country,” Kwon told the BYUcougars.com website. “The last three weeks we have been grinding in our facility to prove that we could beat anyone in the country.”
Hosts Arizona were second, 14 shots adrift, with New Mexico State in third. Iowa State’s Paul Beauvy claimed his first solo win after shooting a final round 64 (-8), which included an ace on the par-3 17th hole.
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Florida State’s formidable one-two punch came through to deliver the Noles’ second consecutive team win and complete a successful defence of their title at Guadalajara CC.
All-American Mirabel Ting (-10) won her third tournament in a row and the fifth of her college career, pushing teammate and WAGR No. 1 Lottie Woad (-6) into second place with a career best 66 in the final round.
Coach Amy Bond’s team ended on 10 under par, six ahead of TCU and 13 clear of hosts Virginia. FSU move up from 12th to 7th in the rankings.
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Arkansas won a fourth tournament in a row after a 15-under par final round proved to be too good at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande. It was the Razorbacks’ lowest 18-hole score since 2018 and continued a winning streak that began after they finished runners-up at their very first event of the season, the Carmel Cup.
Sophomore Maria Jose Marin, now ranked #1 in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings, claimed her second individual title of the season while her teammate, freshman Clarisa Temelo from Mexico, recorded the best finish of her college career by coming in third.
In a field that contained 10 other teams inside the top 40, Arkansas entered the final round trailing Vanderbilt by seven and Ole Miss by two. But with Marin, Temolo and Reagan Zibilski all recording scores in the 60s, the Hogs proved impossible to stop. Ole Miss and Vanderbilt, their two closest rivals, both finished 13 shots back.
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Top seeds Marquette took the Big East Match Play at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, winning three matches out of three in impressive fashion.
The Golden Eagles, with the highly ranked Patrick Adler in the team, disposed of Villanova 6-1 in the first round before taking down Butler 5-2 on day two. In the championship match Coach Steve Bailey’s men closed out hosts UConn 5-2.
Sweden’s Johan Widal and freshman Vinny Cervantesboth completed the tournament with perfect three for three records for Marquette.
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NC State won for the second time in four events at the Battle at Briar’s Creek, moving inside the top-50 in the rankings. The Pack’s 54-hole total of 19 under par was good enough for a six-shot win over hosts College of Charleston as West Virginia, leaders thru 36 holes, faded with a final lap of two over.
Michael Vick of NC State birdied his last last hole to pull alongside Elon’s Garrett Risner and Clemson’s Kian Rose at the top of the individual leaderboard on seven under par. It was the lowest 54-hole score of Vick’s college career and moved him up almost 300 places in the rankings.
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Baylor topped a field including four other teams inside the top 30 at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, claiming a first tournament victory of the season. The Bears finished two ahead of Duke in second and six clear of UNC in third.
For the first time since 2021, all five Baylor players finished the event under par. Their 30-under team score was the second-lowest to par in program history.
For the second tournament in a row, Kansas provided the individual winner. Lauren Clark shot a 54-hole total of 201 (15 under par) to finish two shots ahead of Silje Ohma of Baylor, claim her first collegiate title, and jump 178 places in the rankings.
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