October 21, 1998
Up Next:
October 23-25
1998 Stanford/PEPSI Intercollegiate
Stanford Golf Course Palo Alto, Calif.
The Arizona State women's golf team, ranked No. 3 in the latest MasterCard rankings, travels to the Bay Area this weekend to compete in the Stanford/PEPSI Intercollegiate. The 19-team field features 10 of the nation's top-25 teams. Coach Linda Vollstedt will field a lineup of: SR Jody Niemann, SR Tui Selvaratnam, SR Keri Cornelius, FR Lisa Meredith and SO Molly Cooper. SO Michaela Friberg will compete as an individual. SO Grace Park is not with the team this week as she is competing in the Samsung World Championship.
About the Tournament The Stanford/PEPSI Intercollegiate will be played at the par 73, 6,093-yard layout at the Stanford Golf Course. The 54-hole format includes one round each on Friday and Saturday beginning at 8:00 a.m. MT (8:00 a.m. PT), with the final round on Sunday beginning at 7:30 a.m. MT (8:30 a.m. PT).
Park to Play in Samsung World Championship & World Amateur Team Championship ASU sophomore Grace Park, ranked third in the latest MasterCard rankings, will compete in the Samsung World Championship of Women's Golf Oct. 22-25 in Lady Lake, Fla. The 19-year-old Park earned an invitation via her U.S. Amateur title and is the lone amateur in the 16-player elite field. The Tierra del Sol Golf Course hosts the 72-hole event, which will be televised by the Golf Channel (1-3 p.m. ET). A total of three current or former Sun Devils comprise the field: Park, Brandie Burton and Danielle Ammaccapane. Park and former Sun Devil Kellee Booth will compete in the 1998 Women's World Amateur Team Championship Nov. 12-15 in Santiago, Chile. Park will represent her native South Korea, while Booth competes for the U.S. Team.
Last Time Out Arizona State, defending 1998 NCAA Champions, finished fourth in the Bama Fall Preview held in Tulsa, Okla. The Sun Devils shot rounds of 301(17-over) and 311(27-over), six strokes behind first place Duke. (First-round action at the Bama Fall Preview was cancelled due to severe rains and thunderstorms.) Jody Niemann led the Sun Devils, finishing tied for third. Niemann fired rounds of 73 and 75 for a total of 6-over 148.
1998-99 STROKE AVERAGES Name App. Top 10 Rds. Strokes Avg. Low Keri Cornelius 2 0 4 314 78.50 76 Michaela Friberg 1 1 2 154 77.00 75 Jody Niemann 2 1 4 304 76.00 73 Grace Park 2 1 4 298 74.50 69 Tui Selvaratnam 2 1 4 305 76.25 75 Molly Cooper Lisa Meredith 1 0 2 160 80.00 78
Keri Cornelius SR Keri Cornelius (Scottsdale, Ariz.) tied for 35th at the Bama Fall Preview, shooting rounds of 76 and 80. At the Topy Cup, Cornelius shot rounds of 76 and 82 to finish tied for 18th.
Career Low Round: 69 ('97 NCAA West Regional)
Season Low Round: 76 (twice, Bama Fall Preview)
Tui Selvaratnam SR Tui Selvaratnam (Colombo, Sri Lanka) tied for 12th at the Bama Fall Preview with a 10-over par 152. Selvaratnam finished tied for 7th at the TOPY Cup with a 9-over par 153 to begin the 1998-99 season.
Career Low Round: 67 (1997 NCAAs, 3rd round)
Season Low Round: 75 (twice, Bama Fall Preview)
Grace Park SO Grace Park (Phoenix, Ariz.) is ranked third individually in the MasterCard Collegiate Rankings. The 1998 U.S. Amateur Champion, Park finished tied for 35th at the Bama Fall Preview, carding scored of 77-79 (156). Park claimed individual honors at the TOPY Cup by virtue of playoff win earlier this season. In addition to NCAA competition this fall, Park will play in the 1998 Samsung World Championships (Oct. 19-25) in Villages, Fla., and the 1998 World Amateur Team Championships in Chile.
Career-Low Round: 65 (twice, at 1998 NCAAs)
Season-Low Round: 69 (Japan TOPY Cup)
Jody Niemann SR Jody Niemann (Rigby, Idaho) led the Sun Devils at the Bama Fall Preview by finishing tied for third. Niemann shot a season-low round of 73 on her first round, finishing 6-over par 148. She tied for 15th at the TOPY Cup with a 12-over par 156.
Career-Low Round: 69 (1996 Pac-10 Championships)
Season-Low Round: 73 (Bama Fall Preview)
Michaela Friberg SO Michaela Friberg (Rydeback, Sweden) saw her first action since 1996-97 at the TOPY Cup and finished tied for 9th with a 10-over par 154.
Career-Low Round: 73 (1996-97 GolfWorld Collegiate)
Season-Low Round: 75 (Japan TOPY Cup)
Lisa Meredith FR Lisa Meredith (Reading, England) turned in a 78 and 82 to finish tied for 60th at the Bama Fall Preview in her first collegiate tournament.
Season-Low Round: 78 (Bama Fall Preview)
We Know What You Did Last Summer During her "summer vacation" Grace Park became the first player in 60 years (since Patty Berg in 1938) to sweep the major U.S. women's amateur events. She claimed top honors at the U.S. Women's Amateur (defeating Jenny Chuasiriporn 7 and 6), the Western Amateur and the Trans-National Championship (defeating Chuasiriporn 3 and 2). Park also competed in two LPGA events, tying for 19th in the LPGA Friendly's Classic (1-under 287) and tying for 46th at the LPGA Jamie Farr Kroger Classic (2-under 282). Park was the recipient of the 1998 Rolex/Eleanor Dudley College Player of the Year Award, finishing the season as the top-ranked women's golfer. She ended the season ranked No. 1 in the MasterCard Collegiate rankings.
Coach Linda Vollstedt Linda Vollstedt, now in her 19th season at the helm of the Sun Devils, is one of the most successful coaches in collegiate golf history. She has coached six NCAA Championship squads and garnered national coach of the year honors six times. Fourteen of her former student-athletes have gone on to play on the LPGA Tour. She has guided the Sun Devils to first or second-place finishes in 48 of their last 64 tournaments, and has taken the program to 10 top-10 NCAA finishes in the last 12 years. Vollstedt has coached 20 All-Americans (37 selections), 34 All-Conference golfers (61 selections), four U.S. Amateur champions and three NCAA Champions. ASU has won 63 tournaments by Vollstedt-coached squads. Vollstedt has been involved with ASU for 35 years, earning her bachelor's degree in 1969 and her master's degree in 1971. Her Sun Devil playing career began in 1964 and concluded in 1968. She is a native of Portland, Ore.
1998-99 Mastercard Collegiate Golf Rankings
( October 7, 1998)
1. Duke
2. Arizona
3. ARIZONA STATE
4. USC
5. Tulsa
6. Georgia
7. Stanford
8. TCU
9. Texas
10. North Carolina
11. Louisiana State
12. Oregon
13. Auburn
14. Oklahoma State
15. Furman
16. Indiana
17. Tennessee
18. New Mexico State
19. Wake Forest
20. Oregon State
21. Texas A&M
22. Florida State
23. South Carolina
24. New Mexico
25. Washington