April 3, 2000
April 7-9 PING/ASU Invitational
Karsten Golf Course - Tempe, Ariz.
The Arizona State women's golf team returns to action this weekend as the team plays host to the PING/ASU Invitational Friday-Sunday, April 7-9 at the par 72, 6,090-yard Karsten Golf Course. The Sun Devils will be looking to capture their second straight tournament title after winning the San Jose State Spartan Invitational in their last action this spring. ASU will also be aiming for their second straight PING/ASU Invitational after winning the title last year with a 20-stroke lead (884). ASU All-American Grace Park captured individual medalist honors last year. The PING/ASU Invitational has been held each year since 1965-66, while Arizona State has won the tournament in 22 of the 34 years it has been held.
About the PING/ASU Invitational
18 holes will be played on Friday and Thursday beginning at 8 a.m. from tees No. 1 and No. 10. Sunday's final round will begin at 7:30 a.m. from tees No. 1 and No. 10. Second- and third-round pairings are based on team total and individual total within the team. Team ties will be broken by the highest score, while players tied within a team will utilize the previous day's position. The top four scores from each five-person team will count toward the team score.
The Field
This year's PING/ASU Invitational will feature 15 teams, all of which are ranked in the top 50 in the March 29 MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings. The field includes five of the top 10 teams in the nation in No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 USC, No. 6 Stanford and No. 9 New Mexico State. The rest of the field is made up of No. 12 San Jose State, No. 17 Tulsa, No. 21 New Mexico, No. 22 UCLA, No. 24 TCU, No. 31 Oregon, No. 35 Cal, No. 37 Washington, No. 41 Texas A&M and No. 47 Oregon State.
The field of individuals is just as distinguished featuring a total of 40 ranked players including the nation's top two golfers in top-ranked Jenna Daniels of Arizona and No. 2 Miriam Nagl of Arizona State. In addition to Daniels and Nagl, the ASU/PING Invitational features 10 of the top 15 golfers in the country and 25 of the top 50.
In the Rankings
Arizona State moved up to third from fourth in the March 29 MasterCard Collegiate Golf rankings and remains in fourth in the March 31 Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Individually, freshman Miriam Nagl is ranked second in the MasterCard individual rankings with 320 points, just five behind Arizona's Jenna Daniels, after holding the top spot for much of the spring season.
Four other Sun Devils appear in the MasterCard rankings with sophomore Caroline Laurens checking in at 50th, junior Molly Cooper at 61st, freshman Blair O'Neal at 72nd and sophomore Lisa Meredith at 86th.
The Lineup
Arizona State's lineup will include junior Molly Cooper, sophomores Caroline Laurens and Lisa Meredith and freshmen Miriam Nagl and Blair O'Neal, while junior Michaela Friberg will play as an individual.
1999-2000 Stroke Averages
| Name | App | Top 10 | Rounds | Strokes | Avg. | Low |
| Miriam Nagl | 7 | 7 | 21 | 1518 | 72.29 | 69 |
| Caroline Laurens | 7 | 1 | 21 | 1584 | 75.43 | 71 |
| Lisa Meredith | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1593 | 75.86 | 71 |
| Blair O'Neal | 7 | 1 | 21 | 1599 | 76.14 | 70 |
| Molly Cooper | 7 | 1 | 21 | 1603 | 76.33 | 68 |
| Michaela Friberg | 4 | 0 | 12 | 949 | 79.08 | 75 |
Head Coach Linda Vollstedt
Under the direction of 20th-year head coach Linda Vollstedt, Arizona State has captured six NCAA titles in the 1990s, twice as many as any other women's golf program in the nation. The Sun Devils have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships in 10 of the last 12 years. Throughout her career, Vollstedt, herself a 1969 graduate of Arizona State, has guided 15 players to the professional ranks including 1998 U.S. Amateur champion Grace Park and 2000 U.S. Public Links champion Jody Niemann.
Last Time Out
The Sun Devils are coming off their first tournament win of the season in their last action, placing first in the San Jose State Spartan Invitational, held at the par 72, 5,893-yard Laguna Seca Golf Course March 6-8. The Sun Devils edged out host San Jose State by six strokes, finishing with a final-round score of 301 and an overall score of 905.
Freshman Miriam Nagl, the top-ranked golfer in the country, finished third, shooting a final round 73, for a total of 225, while freshman Blair O'Neal, sophomore Caroline Laurens and junior Molly Cooper finished in a four-way tie for ninth place, with Tulane's Pam Buff. All four finished with a score 228. Rounding out the Sun Devil scorers was sophomore Lisa Meredith, who finished tied for 22nd with a score of 234. Junior Michaela Friberg, who was playing as an individual, finished in a tie for 54th place after turning in a three-day total of 246.
Molly Cooper
Junior Molly Cooper (Tumwater, Wash.) turned in her best finish of the season at the San Jose State Spartan Invitational, finishing in a tie for ninth place with a three-day total of 228. She carded a season- and career-low 68 in the final round of the Arizona Invitational to tie for 20th, her fourth top-20 finish of the year. Cooper's other top-20 showings included a tie for 16th at this fall's Golf World/Palmetto Dunes tournament and a tie for 20th at the Stanford Intercollegiate (75, a season-best 72 and 77).
Career Low Round: 68 (2000 Arizona Invitational)
Season Low Round: 68 (Arizona Invitational)
Michaela Friberg
Junior Michaela Friberg (Rydeback, Sweden) has seen action in four tournaments this season as an individual this year. Her best finish was a tie for 35th at the Stanford Intercollegiate, turning in rounds of 77, a season-low 75 and 76.
Career Low Round: 73 (1996-97 GolfWorld Collegiate)
Season Low Round: 75 (Stanford Intercollegiate)
Caroline Laurens
The only returning player from last year's NCAA Championships lineup, sophomore Caroline Laurens (Montpellier, France) has registered four top 20 performances in seven appearances with her best showing coming at the Spartan Invitational when she tied for ninth. Her best finish of the fall came when she tied for 11th at the Gold Wolrd/Palmetto Dunes tournament, shooting rounds of 74, 75 and 72 to finish at five-over par. Laurens turned in her best round of the season with a 71 in the second round of the NCAA Preview and tied that on the second day at the Arizona Invitational.
Career Low Round: 70 (1999 PING/ASU Invitational)
Season Low Round: 71 (twice, most recently at Arizona Invitational)
Lisa Meredith
Sophomore Lisa Meredith (Reading, England) has appeared in all seven tournaments this year and has finished in the top 30 in each of her last five tournaments. Her best showing of the year came at the Stanford Intercollegiate when she tied for 15th place. The Sun Devil sophomore shot a career-best 71 in the final round in Palo Alto, Calif., to finish six-over par. She most recently tied for 22nd at the Spartan Invitational and for 23rd at the Arizona Invitational.
Career Low Round: 71 (1999 Stanford Intercollegiate)
Season Low Round: 71 (Stanford Intercollegiate)
Miriam Nagl
Freshman Miriam Nagl (Berlin, Germany) is currently the second-ranked golfer in the nation in the most recent MasterCard individual rankings. She was ranked 14th in the fall before playing even one round of collegiate golf and proved herself worthy of the ranking after winning the NCAA Preview in Sunriver, Ore., her first collegiate tournament. She shot rounds of 70, 72 and a season-best 69 to finish five-under par at the NCAA Preview. Nagl was named Rolex College Golfer of the Month for September after her stellar debut. In seven appearances this year, she turned in seven top 10 finishes, highlighted by a tie for second place at the SMU/OSU Regional Challenge and third-place showings at the Stanford Intercollegiate and the San Jose State Spartan Invitational. She has shot three 69s on the season and has finished even or under par on four occasions.
Career Low Round: 69 (three times, most recently at SMU/OSU Regional Challenge)
Season Low Round: 69 (three times, most recently at SMU/OSU Regional Challenge)
Blair O'Neal
Freshman Blair O'Neal (Tempe, Ariz.) has really come on of late, finishing in the top 13 in each of her last two tournaments. She tied for ninth at the San Jost Spartan Invitational and for 13th at the Arizona Invitational, carding scores of 74, 70 and 73 for a season-low 217 (one-over par). She has seen action in all seven of ASU's tournaments this season. One of two freshmen on the squad, O'Neal's best fall finish came at the Stanford Intercollegiate when she took 23rd place, shooting rounds of 78, 74 and 73.
Career Low Round: 70 (2000 Arizona Invitational)
Season Low Round: 70 (Arizona Invitational)
This Fall
The Sun Devils turned in top five finishes in three of its four tournaments this fall, including third-place showings at the Stanford Intercollegiate and the Golf World/Palmetto Dunes tournament. Arizona State opened the season with a bang when freshman Miriam Nagl burst onto the national scene by winning the NCAA Preview at the Crosswater Golf Club in Sunriver, Ore., the precursor to the NCAA Championships to be held May 24-27 at the same venue. Nagl finished in the top 10 of all four fall events for the Sun Devils and was selected as Rolex College Golfer of the Month for September.