April 30, 2008
Tempe, Ariz. - The Arizona State women's golf team is proud to announce Carlota Ciganda has signed a letter of intent to study and play golf at Arizona State University starting the spring semester of 2009.
"On the golf course Carlota has an amazing presence and a maturity well beyond her years," said Head Coach Melissa Luellen. "She hits the ball a mile and has a terrific touch around the greens."
Ciganda, a native of Spain, has been the No. 1 ranked female amateur in Europe for the past two years. At the age of 14, she became the youngest player to win the European Championship. In addition to her stellar individual play, Ciganda is a member of the Spanish National Team and has represented Spain twice in the World Amateur. She is expected to make a third appearance at the World Amateur this October.
"Look for her to vie for Freshman of the Year, Player of the Year and to be a first-team All-American," said Luellen. "Of course, she'll have to battle our current Sun Devils for some of those honors, especially her best friend Azahara Munoz."
This summer, Ciganda defeated Arizona State's own All-American Anna Nordqvist in the final round of the 2007 Ladies' British Amateur Championship in England to take home tournament medalist honors.
"The entire team is excited about Carlota joining the team," said Luellen. "With our returning players and our new freshman [Giulia Molinaro], the Sun Devils will definitely be turning heads."
Up next, the Sun Devils will compete in the West Regional, hosted by Sacramento State, May 8-10. ASU is coming off a third-place finish at the 2008 Pac-10 Championships. Three Sun Devils finished in the top-10, including Nordqvist who finished in second to become the Pac-10 runner-up.