No. 5 USC Set For Regular Season Finale At Silverado Showdown

The No. 5 USC women's golf team, a four-time winner this season featuring a vastly changed lineup for the spring semester, is set for its final regular season event at the Silverado Showdown, Sunday through Tuesday (April 8-10), at the Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif.

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.

SILVERADO SHOWDOWN TOURNAMENT INFO
The 18-team field in the fifth-annual Silverado Showdown will tee off starting at 7:45 a.m. Sunday and Monday and at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. This year's field includes co-hosts Oregon and Colorado as well as USC, Arizona, Arizona State, California, Northwestern, Pepperdine, Purdue, San Jose State, Stanford, Texas, Tulane, UCLA, UNLV, Washington State and Wisconsin. Results will be available at Golfstat.com.

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 showed the new look can turn in strong results as it finished second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate before coming together to win the Bruin Wave Invitational and the SDSU March Mayhem.

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 leads the current squad in stroke average (73.58). 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 career-best 68 at the SDSU March Mayhem ahead of three straight match play wins. She has four top 17s and six top 26 results and is 4-1 overall in match play this year.

Freshman Alyaa Abdulghany is second on the squad with a stroke average of 73.68 and has posted four straight top 18 finishes among her five this year. She posted a season-best tie for sixth 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 Jennifer Chang, after four events, is third on the Trojans with a stroke average of 73.80 and posted recent back-to-back top 3 finishes, tying for second at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate at 3-under 213 (70-69-74) and finishing 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.

Freshman Gabi Ruffels, in four 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 two events, highlighted by her tie for third at the SDSU March Mayhem with a 1-under 71 that preceded three 1up match play wins.

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 34 events (including ties for first) since the start of the 2012-13 season. In addition to the four 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.
* 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.
* USC players have won a combined 21 events in the last 5-plus years, including two NCAA titles.
* 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