Fore • Ryan
Panichpakdee shot a 16-under par and
earned first-team honors and the Big
West Conference Individual Championship.
CSULB Sports Information
LBSU golf teams tee up in Big
West
By Kyle Cavaness
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant Sports Editor
Long Beach State’s women’s and men’s golf teams placed second
and third, respectively, at the Big West Conference Championships this week,
as well as having seven players named to the All-Conference team.
The women’s golf team took second place for the second year in a row, both
years losing to UC Irvine. The final tally this year only put the women’s
team behind by 43 strokes, 929-886. Sophomore and All-American Kay Hoey led the
team with a third-place seven-over 223 (72-76-75), behind the leader by only
four strokes. Hoey was followed by Beth Holtermann, who tied for 11th in the
tournament with 234 (78-81-75), as well as Katy Barrett (80-78-79) and Josefine
Lindbergh, who both tied for 18th with a 237.
The No.32-ranked women’s golf team was the highest-ranked team in the Big
West Conference entering the championships, according to both Golfweek and Golfstat
polls. Hoey, one of the four women selected for the All-Conference team, was
also honored as the Big West Conference Golf Athlete of the Month for March.
“
I’m so proud of all that they have accomplished through these past few
months,” said Head Coach Sue Ewart, who is finishing her 10th season
at The Beach. “It’s just been a joy to be around [these women].”
This tournament continues a banner year for the women’s golf team, in which
they have only finished outside of the top 10 in one of their nine tournaments
thus far.
The men’s team finished third behind Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Irvine,
trailing first-place Cal Poly by 19 shots, 872-853. The team was bolstered by
the record-setting play of senior Ryan Panichpakdee, who shot an exceptional
16-under par 200 over the course of the tournament earning him both first-team
honors and the Big West Conference Individual
Championship–the second for LBSU in the past three years. Nick Badel (78-71-72)
and Ryan Wood (74-73-74) were the closest behind Panichpakdee, tying for 16th
with a 221.
“
Phenomenal. What else can I say? … Ryan had a great tournament,” said
Head Coach Bob Livingstone.
Panichpakdee was joined on the All-Conference first team by Wood, and on the
second team by Brett Lederer.
LBSU’s men’s team was the second-highest ranked going into the Big
West Conference, behind UC Irvine. This year’s third-place performance
was a step up from the 2005 fifth-place showing, after the team won the title
in 2004.
The men’s golf team has done very well for themselves this year, placing
high in all of their tournaments, and in the top five in six out of their 10
tournaments this season.
The men’s golf team’s next scheduled match will be the NCAA West
Regionals, May 18-20 in Tucson, at the Tucson National Golf Course, while the
NCAA West Regionals for the women’s team will take place May 11-13, in
Auburn, Wash., at the Washington National Golf Club.
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