May 13, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State freshman Miriam Nagl shot a two-under 70 Saturday to win individual medalist honors at the NCAA Women's Golf West Regional Championships held May 11-13 at Arizona State's Karsten Golf Course. Top-ranked Arizona won the tournament, their eighth straight victory, after carding a 292 in the final round for a three-day total of 876.
The Wildcats finished with a five-stroke lead over runner-up San Jose State (881). USC (888) finished third by one stroke over tournament host Arizona State. The Sun Devils climbed from sixth to fourth after shooting a 292 on the final day to finish at 889. Other NCAA qualifiers included TCU (892), Stanford (893), Oregon (895), Pepperdine (898), Texas (899), Tulsa (899), Nebraska (899), Oklahoma (900) and New Mexico State (901).
Individual NCAA Championship qualifiers included Oklahoma State's Maria Boden, BYU's Carrie Summerhays and UTEP's Kristen MacLaren. The top 13 teams and top three individuals from non-qualifying teams advanced to the NCAA Championships from the NCAA West Regional, while 11 teams and three individuals advanced from the East Regional which was held at the Ohio State University.
Individually, Nagl won her second tournament of the season after breaking par in all three rounds (71-68-70=209). The ASU freshman, who is ranked No. 2 in the country, finished with a two-stroke lead over No. 3 Candie Kung of USC (75-65-71=211). Oklahoma State's Maria Boden finished third at 213, while TCU's Angela Stanford and San Jose State's Rebecka Heinmert each tallied 214 to finish in a tie for fourth.
For the Sun Devils, sophomore Blair O'Neal and Lisa Meredith each finished at 227 to tie for 46th, sophomore Caroline Laurens tied for 56th (228) and junior Molly Cooper tied for 61st.
Arizona State head coach Linda Vollstedt said she was very pleased with the play of her young team.
"Molly (Cooper) had a good, solid round, Caroline Laurens kept it together with a 74 and Lisa Meredith and Blair O'Neal were their consistent selves," she said. "When Miriam Nagl gets under par, if we can back her up, we know we are in good shape. That's our game plan right now. She's a super star. Miriam played good, solid golf this weekend. To have three rounds under par is solid, especially given the weather conditions and playing in the NCAA Regional Championships. She has strived so much to get under par. This win gives her the boost of confidence she needs going into the NCAA Championships."
The Sun Devils wrap up their season in two weeks when the team heads to the NCAA Championships, being held May 24-27 at the Crosswater Golf Course in Sunriver, Ore. Arizona State will be looking to win its sixth NCAA title in eight years, while Nagl will be looking to defend her win in the NCAA Fall Preview which was held Sept. 13-15 at that course.