No. 5 USC Set To Start NCAA Madison Regional On Monday

The No. 5 USC women's golf team, a five-time winner this year and a three-time NCAA champion, featuring a four-freshmen, one-sophomore lineup this spring, continues the pursuit of the program's fourth national crown as the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Madison Regional, Monday through Wednesday (May 7-9), at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisc.

Under 22nd-year head coach Andrea Gaston, the Trojans are coming off their 20th consecutive season reaching the NCAA Championships and the 12th straight year posting an NCAA top 5 finish.

2018 NCAA MADISON REGIONAL INFO
Duke is the top seed in the NCAA Madison Regional while USC, Arizona State, Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue, Iowa State, Virginia, host Wisconsin, Campbell, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Oregon State, Idaho, Murray State, North Dakota and IUPUI round out the 18-team field.

The University Ridge Golf Course is the site where Jennifer Rosales won USC's first NCAA individual title in 1998.

There are 72 teams in four NCAA regionals with 18 schools at each site, set for three rounds of competition, May 7-9. USC is one of 10 Pac-12 teams to make the field. A total of 384 participants have been selected for regional competition. Of these players, 132 will advance to the championships finals. Six teams and three individuals will advance from each regional.

The national championships will be May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, hosted by Oklahoma State University.

Live results for the Madison Regional are here.

USC IN NCAA REGIONALS
The Trojans have won an NCAA-record 12 NCAA regionals and had their NCAA-record regional win streak of seven in a row snapped in 2017 (which included a 2016 tie for first). USC, which also boasts a national-leading 13 straight NCAA top 5 finishes, saw its streak of six NCAA Regional top seeds end last year but has been a No. 2 seed or higher each year since 2010 … The Trojans' NCAA-best 12 regional titles include 10 of the past 12 seasons. The past 10 came in 2006 (Central), 2007 (Central), 2008 (West), 2010 (Central), 2011 (West), 2012 (Central), 2013 (West) and 2014 (West), 2015 (St. George Regional) and 2016 (Stanford Regional, tied for first). USC is looking to advance out of the NCAA Regional not only for the 21st year in a row but in its 27th consecutive NCAA appearance (the last 21 under Gaston).

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.

Overall, USC has posted five consecutive top 2 finishes, including taking second at the 2018 Pac-12 Championships.

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 (73.24) and has turned in five straight top 15 finishes among seven top 17 finishes this year and nine in the top 26. 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. Corpuz, who is 4-1 in match play this year, tied for seventh at the Pac-12 Championships at 1-under 215 (69-71-75) to lead the Trojans.

Freshman Jennifer Chang, after six events, leads the current crop of Trojans with a stroke average of 72.88 and has posted five straight top 15 results, including 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). Chang tied for 15th at the Pac-12 Championships at 4-over 220 (72-76-72). 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 74.00 and has posted six top 19 finishes among her last seven starts and has seven overall. 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 six 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 tied for 20^th at the Pac-12 Championships at 5-over 221 (76-71-74).s 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 four 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) and tied for 23^rd at the Pac-12 Championships at 6-over 222 (78-72-72).

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 this spring 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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No. 5 USC Set To Start NCAA Madison Regional On Monday

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