No. 4 USC, Riding 3-Event Win Streak, Set For Pac-12 Championships

The No. 4 USC women's golf team, a five-time winner this season featuring a vastly changed lineup for the spring semester that has won three tournaments in a row, is set for the Pac-12 Championships, Sunday through Tuesday (April 22-24), at the Broadmoor C.C. in Seattle, Wash.

Under 22nd-year head coach Andrea Gaston, the Trojans are coming off their 21st consecutive season reaching the NCAA Championships and the 12th straight year posting an NCAA top 5 finish.

2018 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS INFO
The 11-team field (all conference schools except Utah) will tee off starting at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday and Monday and at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Results will be available at Golfstat.com. USC will tee off with Oregon and Stanford starting at 10:20 a.m. USC was fifth last year.

USC'S PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
USC has won six conference titles overall and in four of the past 10 years (2008, 2011, 2013, 2016). In fact, USC has finished in the top 3 in 10 of the past 13 Pac-12 Championships, including finishing second in 2012 and tied for second in 2014, both by one stroke. Overall, USC has collected Pac-12 crowns in 1989, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2016 and won the Pacific West Conference title in 1986 (the last year before it became the Pac-10) … The Trojans have also won six Pac-12 individual titles, including a recent streak that saw three straight freshmen win it. Annie Park won it as a 2013 freshman at 7-under 209 (70-70-69) to become USC's sixth conference medalist. Doris Chen won it as a freshman in 2012, taking first at 1-over 217 (77-72-68) while Sophia Popov claimed her title in a one-hole playoff as a 2011 freshman after finishing regulation at 6-under 210 (69-71-70) … The Trojans claimed the 2016 team title at 18-under 846 (278-275-293), a Pac-12 record for lowest three-round total. USC won by three strokes after leading by 13 through the second round. USC's second round 275 was its lowest ever at a conference championship and tied for sixth lowest ever. Then-junior Gabriella Then led Troy with a tie for third at 8-under 208 (70-65-73), her second round tying USC's record for lowest round at Pac-12s … USC won the team title in 2013, running away with a 24-stroke win behind Park's victory and Popov's second-place finish at 5-under 211. Chen and junior Rachel Morris also finished in the top 10 … In 2011, USC posted a five-stroke win while then-freshman Popov won the individual title in a one-hole playoff. USC played the final round with only four players after Lisa McCloskey suffered a rib injury, yet the shorthanded Trojans had enough for the win. Popov's string of birdies (when she knocked in five of seven between 7 and 13) helped her secure her seventh straight top 7 finish … In 2008, USC posted a dominating 26-stroke win for Gaston's first Pac-10 crown at Troy. Serving as host school, USC combined for an 8-over 860 (285-292-283) to win during a windy three-day event. Troy was led by senior Paola Moreno, who won USC's third individual championship with a 1-under 212 (70-75-67), the Trojans' best ever 54-hole total at a conference championship at the time. She led five Trojan golfers who all finished in the top 8. Moreno joined USC's previous two individual Pac-10 title winners Candie Kung (2000) and Jennifer Biehn (1994) ... In addition to USC's six team titles, Troy has finished second or third 10 other times, including in 2009, when the Trojans finished second when then-freshman Jennifer Song tied for first before falling in a playoff. Song went 5-under during the final seven holes of the Pac-10 Championships to get into a three-way playoff with Arizona's State's Carlotta Ciganda and Jennifer Osborn (Osborn won it on the first hole) ... Lizette Salas, as a sophomore in 2009, set USC's record for low round at the Pac-12 Championships with a final-round 65, tied by Then in 2016. Popov came close with a first-round 66 in 2013. Moreno (2008) and Anna Rawson (2001) were the previous record holders at 67.

TROJAN REBOOT
USC's 2017-18 lineup has a new look with four additions to help fill the void with the departures of All-Americans Robynn Ree and Muni He, both of whom turned pro after the fall semester. Ree earned full status on the 2018 LPGA Tour after her top 10 finish at the final stage of Q School in December while He will compete on the Symetra Tour after reaching the Q School final stage as well.

The three returning Trojans from the fall season are sophomore Allisen Corpuz (USC's only player in the program for more than one season), sophomore transfer Divya Manthena and freshman Alyaa Abdulghany.

The trio welcomes a quartet of newcomers in spring-semester freshmen enrollees Jennifer Chang (Cary, N.C.), Amelia Garvey (Christchurch, New Zealand) and Gabi Ruffels (Sandringham, Australia) as well as sophomore transfer Aiko Leong (Honolulu, Hawaii).

Chang, Garvey and Ruffels all made their debut at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge last week, when the Trojans finished 10^th. Leong debuted in San Luis Obispo.

USC has shown the new look can turn in strong results as it finished second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate before coming together to win the last three tournaments in a row at the Bruin Wave Invitational, the SDSU March Mayhem and the Silverado Showdown.

Sophomore Allisen Corpuz, the only Trojan on the roster last year, has stepped up in a major way as the most veteran player on the team and is second on the current squad in stroke average (73.45). She put together recent back-to-back ties for fourth, one at 2-under 214 (70-74-70) at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and one at 8-over 224 (73-77-74) at the Bruin Wave. Corpuz followed that by taking single round medalist honors with a USC then-career-best 68 at the SDSU March Mayhem ahead of three straight match play wins. Corpuz tied for 15^th at the Silverado Showdown with a 2-over 218 (78-73-67), lowering her career-best again. She has five top 17s and seven top 26 results and is 4-1 overall in match play this year. She

Freshman Jennifer Chang, after five events, leads the current crop of Trojans with a stroke average of 72.77 and is coming off her first victory, a tie for first at the Silverado Showdown at 8-under 206 (66-72-70). That complements a pair of top 3 finishes when she tied for second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at 3-under 213 (70-69-74) and finished third at the Bruin Wave at 6-over 222 (76-71-75). She won two of three matches at the SDSU March Mayhem, including in the title win against Texas. She was among 15 women's golfers on the latest ANNIKA Award Watch List.
Freshman Alyaa Abdulghany is third on the squad with a stroke average of 73.64 and has posted six straight top 19 finishes among her six this year. She posted a season-best tie for sixth (in a 54-hole event) at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at 2-over 218 (74-71-73) before tying for third in the SDSU March Mayhem single round at 1-under 71. She is 2-2-1 in match play, including a win in the SDSU final against Texas.

Freshman Gabi Ruffels, in five events, boasts a pair of season-best ties for seventh, one at the Bruin Wave at 10-over 226 (76-75-75), and one with the par 72 single round at the March Mayhem. She also won two of three matches at the SDSU March Mayhem, including a 6&5 semifinal win and a 1up victory in the title win against Texas.

Freshman Amelia Garvey has seen action in three events, highlighted by her tie for third at the SDSU March Mayhem with a 1-under 71 that preceded three 1up match play wins. She tied for 19^th at the Silverado Showdown at 4-over 220 (75-72-73).

Sophomore Divya Manthena, a first-year transfer, has played in 5 events and started in Trojan victories at the Minnesota Invitational and at the East Lake Cup when she posted a pair of match play wins.

Sophomore Aiko Leong, a 2018 spring semester transfer, has seen action in one spring event early in her Trojan career, helping USC to a win at the Bruin Wave Invitational, posting a tie for 27^th.

FALL SEASON IN SUMMARY
USC won two of three fall events in which it competed at full strength. The Trojans captured their season-opener, taking the Minnesota Invitational at 26-under 838 (282-276-280) for a nine-shot win. The Trojans' 26-under performance was their third-most under par total in a 54-hole tournament. Sophomore Muni He tied for first at 10-under 206 (70-67-69), which is tied for fifth most under par in program history. Junior Robynn Ree tied for third at 8-under 208 (71-68-69).

He, Ree and sophomore Divya Manthena each won matches to give USC a 3-2 victory over Stanford in the East Lake Cup match play final at the East Lake G.C. in Atlanta to close fall play on Nov. 1. That followed a 4-1 win over Northwestern in the semifinals.

Ree led USC at the Annika Intercollegiate with a tie for ninth at 2-under 214 (68-74-72) as the Trojans finished seventh overall. The Trojans were short-handed at the rain-shorthanded Pac-12 Preview in Kona, Hawaii, sending just three players. Sophomore Allisen Corpuz and freshman Alyaa Abdulghany led the trio with a tie for 26^th at 4-over 150.

MANTHENA WINS COMMUNITY AWARD
Manthena was one of two recipients of the 3rd annual Tom Cousins Award announced in conjunction with the East Lake Cup in Atlanta. Manthena and Vanderbilt's Will Gordon were selected by a panel of industry leaders aiming to recognize a male and female collegiate golfer whom best represent the values of the award: exceling in academics, engagement in his or her community, and a demonstrated ability to overcome adversity.

A sophomore business administration major at USC, Manthena (Moorpark, Calif.) is following in the footsteps of family members from generations before her through a commitment to bettering the lives of others, latching on to causes with personal significance to her. The founder of her own non-profit organization, Krishak, she has spearheaded five separate golf outings in the past six years to benefit organizations such as the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Special Olympics, among others. In 2013, Manthena also was the recipient of the USGA/AJGA Presidents' Leadership Award, which recognizes a male and female junior golfer who demonstrate leadership, character and community service through volunteerism.

PROGRAM SUPERLATIVES
* USC has won 35 events (including ties for first) since the start of the 2012-13 season. In addition to the five wins this season, the Trojans won 3 times in the 2017 season, six times in 2016, five times in 2015, nine in 2014 and seven in 2013.
* USC players have finished first a combined 30 times since the start of the 2010-11 season, including two NCAA titles (and including three single-round stroke play events).
* USC's three-tournament win streak is its longest since winning four in a row in the spring of 2014.
* The Trojans have reached the NCAA Championships finals a national-best 20 straight seasons and have won NCAA title in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
* The Trojans' second-place finishes in 2010 (Purdue, one stroke), 2012 (Alabama, one stroke) and 2014 (Duke, two strokes) were by a combined four strokes.
* USC has made it to the NCAA Championships match play bracket each of the last three years since it was instituted, one of just two teams to do so.
* USC has finished in the NCAA top 5 a national-best 12 straight years.
* Ten different Trojan players have earned a combined 19 All-American honors in the last 5 years.

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Players Mentioned

Amelia Garvey

Aiko Leong

Divya Manthena

Gabriella Then