No. 8 USC Women's Golf About To Tee Off At NCAA Championships

The No. 8 USC women's golf team, the reigning Pac-12 champion with a pair of wins this season, begins its push for a fourth national title at the 2023 NCAA Championships at Grayhawk G.C. in Scottsdale, Ariz., the tournament running Friday through Wednesday (May19-24).

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP INFO
For the eighth time, the NCAA women's golf team champion will be decided in a combination of stroke and match play. The 30 teams that advanced out of six regionals will compete in 72 holes of stroke play, the top 15 advancing to a final round (May 22), where the individual winner will be determined as well. The top eight teams after 72 holes will be seeded into a match-play format. Quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on May 23 and the final will be May 24.

Action begins at 6:10 a.m. PT Friday through Sunday (May 19-21). Monday's final individual round starts at approximately 10 a.m. PT. Tuesday's match play quarterfinals begin at 6:20 a.m. PT with semifinals to follow at approximately 12:45 p.m.. Wednesday's final match starts at approximately 1:35 p.m. PT.

USC will tee off in the first round off the 10th tee beginning at 12:25 p.m. with San Jose State and Florida State. The same trio will begin the second round off of 1 at 7:05 a.m.

Golf Channel will televise three days of coverage, starting with the final individual round beginning at 2 p.m. PT. Golf Channel will televise quarterfinal play Tuesday starting at 9 a.m. PT and semifinals will air at 2 p.m. PT. Live coverage of the final round Wednesday will start at 2 p.m. PT.

Results will be at Golfstat.com.

STARTING LINEUP
USC's starting lineup will be feature senior Malia Nam, junior Brianna Navarrosa, sophomores Amari Avery and Xin (Cindy) Kou and freshman Catherine Park. Junior Christine Wang will be available as a sub for the second consecutive NCAAs.

USC'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
* USC has won three NCAA titles in 2003, 2008 and 2013. USC is one of only six schools with at least three NCAA team titles. Arizona State has eight, Duke has seven while USC, Arizona, San Jose State and UCLA have three. The Trojans finished 21 strokes better than Duke in 2013 (the biggest margin at the NCAA Championships since Arizona won by the same amount in 2000), six strokes ahead of UCLA in 2008 and were 15 strokes better than second-place Pepperdine in 2003.
* This is USC's 35th overall NCAA Championship final appearance and 25th in a row, the longest active streak by far in the nation.
* The Trojans are also in their 31st straight NCAA appearance (reaching regionals and beyond).
* In addition to winning three titles, the Trojans have finished second five times (2014, 2012, 2010, 2006 and 1994) and also finished third in 2018, 2017 and 2015 (ties for third after semifinal losses in match play) as well as in 2009 and 1986, fourth in 2007, 2000 and 1987, fifth in 1993 and tied for fifth in 2011, 2016 and 2019 (the latter two in NCAA quarterfinal losses).
* USC had a national-best streak of 14 straight top 5 finishes snapped in 2021 (when it finished 23rd). USC's combined 20 NCAA top 5 finishes are the most nationally and are one ahead Arizona State and two better than Duke and UCLA.
* USC made it to the NCAA Championships match play bracket in the first five years after it was instituted. Stanford is the only team to make it all seven years.
* USC is 3-5 in the NCAA match play format since it started. It beat Washington in the quarterfinals in 2015 before falling to eventual champion Stanford. In 2016, USC fell to Duke in the quarterfinals. In 2017, USC defeated Ohio State in the quarters before losing to Northwestern in the semifinals, 3-2. In 2018, USC beat Duke, 3-1-1, and then lost to Alabama by the same score. In 2019, Troy fell, 3-2, to defending champion Arizona.
* USC's five NCAA match play appearances are tied for third most while its three wins are tied for fourth most.
* USC finished in the top 2 in the stroke play standings four years in a row (2012-2015) before a third in 2016. USC has finished in stroke play top 2 in five of the past 10 seasons, including the NCAA title in 2013 and a first in 2015 – the first season when the champion was decided in the match play format. It has also finished in the top 3 in stroke play in 10 of the past 12 seasons.
* 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 won five NCAA individual titles, including Jennifer Rosales in 1998, Mikaela Parmlid in 2003 (in a one-hole playoff), Dewi Claire Schreefel in 2006, Annie Park in 2013 and Doris Chen in 2014. The last school to post back-to-back individual titles was Duke in 2001-02. No school has won it three straight years and no player has won it twice.
* USC's five individual titles are second in the NCAA behind only Arizona State (six). In addition to its five individual champions, USC players have posted 10 other top five finishes. Jennifer Song (2009) was second, Paola Moreno (2007) tied for second, Irene Cho (2003), Candie Kung (2001) and Dana Arnold (1990) all tied for third, Jill McGill (1994) and Belen Mozo (2008) finished fourth, Rosales tied for fourth (1999) and Leila Chartrand (2000) and Song (2010) tied for fifth.
* The NCAA title in 2008 was USC's fourth consecutive tournament win at the time, a then-first in program history.
* USC had five All-Americans in 2008 for the first time in school history (Dewi Claire Schreefel, Paola Moreno, Belen Mozo, Stefanie Endstrasser, Lizette Salas) while all five of USC's finishers at the 2013 NCAAs finished in the top 17.
* Rosales was 9-under par after three rounds in 1998 while Park did the same in 2013, tying for the best score in NCAA Championship history through three rounds with two others.
* USC's best combined round at an NCAA Championships is 270 in the final round in 2014. That score – also a school record – shattered the recently set mark of 276, set in the second round in 2013.
* Troy's best individual round at an NCAA Championships is 65 by Sophia Popov, also carded in the 2014 NCAA Championships final round. The previous best was a 66, carded by Rosales during her title run in 1998.
* The Trojans finished at 19-under 1133 (284-276-285-288) in their 2013 win, shattering the previous NCAA Championship record for most strokes under par, which was previously four (UCLA, 2004).
* Five different Pac-12 teams have won the NCAA title since 2013, including USC (2013), Arizona (2018), Arizona State (2017), Washington (2016) and Stanford (2015, 2022). Add UCLA in 2011, that's six different Pac-12-winning teams in the last 11 NCAA Championships.

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF USC'S 2013 NCAA TITLE
USC won the 2013 NCAA Championships — its third — at the University of Georgia while freshman Annie Park won the NCAA individual title. The Trojans ran away with the title at 19-under 1133, breaking the NCAA record for most under par by 15 stroke. USC's 21-stroke margin of victory was the most at the NCAAs since 2000. All five players finished in the Top 17 (Park 1st, Sophia Popov and Kyung Kim T6, Dorris Chen T15, Rachel Morris T17). USC became the first school to post the low round each day since 1982. USC's second-round 276 set the NCAA Championship record for low round. Annie Park became only second the golfer to win titles at conference, regional and NCAA events

USC WINS PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
USC turned in a dominating final-round performance to win the 2023 Pac-12 Women's Championship on April 19 at the Papago G.C. in Phoenix. The Trojans won at a combined 15-under 849 (279-289-281), seven strokes ahead of No. 9 Oregon and eight strokes ahead of No. 1 Stanford. The win marked USC's eighth Pac-12 title and ninth in conference history. It is the Trojans' third championship in the past four seasons, sixth in the last 12 and the seventh in the last 15 (not including the cancelled 2020 championship). It was also USC's second win this season, extending the Trojans' streak of having at least two tournament victories in a season to 14 years. Sophomore Amari Avery and freshman Catherine Park tied for third at 4-under. Park's finish marked USC's best Pac-12 effort by a freshman since Annie Park won the title in 2013. For Avery, it was her second straight top 5 finish at the conference tournament. Senior Malia Nam tied for ninth at 2-under as she earned her third Pac-12 title as a Trojan. Xin (Cindy) Kou tied for 20th while junior Christine Wang was a final-round sub and fired a 4-under 68 in her postseason debut.

All-PAC-12 TROJANS
Sophomores Amari Avery and Xin (Cindy) Kou and freshman Catherine Park were selected to the 2023 Pac-12 Championships All-Conference on April 19 while junior Brianna Navarrosa was named an honorable mention pick.

The first-team honor is the second in a row for Avery and a first for Kou, who was an honorable mention pick as a freshman. It is Navarrosa's first conference notice.

USC's three first-team honors equal what it received in 2021 and give it three or more first teamers for the the third time in the last four seasons (not including the 2020 shortened spring season when awards were not given out).

It is the eighth time the Trojans have had three or more first teamers on a team.It also marks the 23rd season in a row that USC has had three or more players earn any level of conference honors.

AVERY NAMED TO 2023 PALMER CUP TEAM
Amari Avery, just days after competing in an LPGA major and winning a Pac-12 title, was been named to the U.S. side for the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup. It is the second straight Palmer Cup assignment for Avery, who played for the U.S. in 2022. This year's Palmer Cup — which features Ryder Cup-style competition with men's and women's collegiate golfers from the United States competing against their International counterparts, is set for June 8-10 at the Laurel Valley Golf Club, located outside Ligonier, Pa.

SPRING RESULTS
USC opened spring play with the debut of the Battle for the Bell, a two-round match-play event between the Trojans and their crosstown rivals, UCLA. The Bruins got the better of the event, winning 8.5-3.5. Freshman Catherine Park posted a 2up win in the first day of action at Sherwood C.C. while sophomore Amari Avery halved her match. In the second day at Rolling Hills C.C., Avery won her match, 5&4, while senior Malia Nam won hers, 4&3.

Troy followed it with a solid tie for third at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge, led by Xin (Cindy) Kou's season-best tie for fifth at par 213 (72-68-73) while Avery tied for 12th at 2-over 215 (73-73-69).

USC next took third at the ICON Invitational, led again by Kou, who tied for sixth at 10-under 206 (65-70-71) for her third top 7 this season. Senior Malia Nam, meanwhile, tied for 14th at 5-under 211 (69-73-69). Her 5-under was her most under par since her USC debut as a 2018 fall freshman when she was second at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate at 12-under 204.

USC posted another top 3 finish, taking second at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational at 1-under, led by Amari Avery, who tied for third at 1-under 215 (72-70-73) for her second top 3 this season and her third top 7. Freshman Catherine Park's tie for sixth at par 216 (71-70-75) marked her highest finish this season and her fourth top 17.

The Trojans most recently were 10th at the PING/ASU Invitational, Christine Wang and Park tying for 30th.

FALL HIGHLIGHTS
After a tough season-opener, USC came roaring back in its second event of the fall season, winning the Windy City Collegiate Classic on Oct. 4 by nine strokes while sophomore Amari Avery won her fourth career individual title by a stroke. It marked both USC's third team and individual wins at the event. Avery won at 6-under 210 (67-69-74). Fellow sophomore Xin (Cindy) Kou tied for seventh at 3-over 219 (72-75-72).

THE TROJANS IN THE RANKINGS
Amari Avery is the No. 32-ranked golfer in the NCAA per golfweek.com while Xin (Cindy) Kou is No. 66, Catherine Park is No. 70 and Brianna Navarrosa is No. 123. Malia Nam is No. 157 and Christine Wang is No. 248.

TROJAN NOTES
* Amari Avery's win at the Windy City gives her four for her career, tied for fifth on USC's career chart. She has four top 7 finishes, seven top 14s and nine top 23 results to start her sophomore year.
* Avery has a team-best 10 rounds in the 60s this season, giving her 20 career rounds in the 60s, tied on USC's career chart, two off the school record. Her 10 rounds this season are also tied for second-most on USC's season chart, one off the record.
* Avery leads USC with a stroke average of 71.70 (currently eighth-best on USC's all-time season list) and also boasts team bests in rounds under par (14) and rounds of par or better (17).
* Avery competed at the 2023 Chevron Championship without a practice round (a day after helping USC win the Pac-12 title) and made her first major cut thanks in part to a 3-under second round 69 en route to a tie for 45th.
* Avery recently made her third career appearance at the Augusta National Women's Amateur. She made the cut for the second year in a row to earn a final round at Augusta National, where she tied for 29th at 8-over, which included a 1-under 71 second round at Champions Retreat.
* Xin (Cindy) Kou's tie for fifth at the Regional Challenge, her tie for sixth at the ICON Invitational and her tie for seventh at the Windy City Collegiate marks eight career top 10s in her young career and gives her four top 17s this season. She has been inside the top 25 in seven of her 10 events.
* Kou is second on the Trojans with a stroke average of 72.50, which includes 16 rounds of par or better (second most on the team), including eight under par. She has three rounds under 70, including a career-best 65 in the ICON Invitational first round, giving her 10 for her career.
* She played at the 2023 Women's Amateur Asia Pacific in early March in Singapore, tying for 20th at 2-over.w
Brianna Navarrosa's tie for third at 5-under 211 (69-70-72) at the Stephens Cup was her second top 3 finish in a five-start stretch. She also tied for ninth at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational.
* Navarrosa had four top 19 finishes this fall and has 10 top 22s in her last 15 events. She is third on the team with 13 rounds of par or better and she has 7 rounds under par, second-best on the team.
* Navarrosa turned in best round as a Trojan as a final round sub at the NCAA Pullman Regional, firing a 5-under 67.
* Senior Malia Nam has been one of USC's hottest golfers and enters the NCAAs with three straight top 15 finishes.
* She posted a season-best tie for ninth at the Pac-12 Championships, winning her third ring in her Trojan career. That included a season-best opening round 68 in an overall 2-under 214 … She then led USC with a tie for 11th at the NCAA Pullman Regional at 8-under 208, closing with a final-round 66.
* Nam's 66 matched her career high she set in the second round of her first tournament as a freshman, the 2018 ANNIKA Intercollegiate. Her 54-hole 8-under was also her lowest since that same event.
* Nam tied for 14th at the ICON Invitational at 5-under par 211 with a pair of 69s, her then-best finish since the 2021 Pac-12 Championships. She also tied for seventh at the Valley Invitational in which she was USC's lone entry.
* Her five rounds in the 60s gives her 16 career rounds under 70, tied for fifth on USC's career chart.
* Junior Christine Wang has a trio of ties for 24th, first at the Windy City and again at the Regional Challenge and the Juli Inkster Invitational. Her 1-under 70 at Palos Verdes was a then-career best and bettered her season-best 71 at the Stephens Cup. She then lowered it to 68 in the second round of the ICON Invitational, where she finished a career-best even for the tournament. At the Juli Inkster, she lowered her career best again to a 66.
* Wang made her postseason debut as a final-round sub at the Pac-12 Championships with a 4-under 68, playing a key role in USC's surge to the title.
* Wang also turned in a pair of solid rounds at the NCAA Pullman Regional with, going 1-under 143 (70-73) in the first two rounds before bowing out for a third-round sub.
* She has eight rounds of par or better in her last 16 and 11 overall.
* Freshman Catherine Park, third on the team in stroke average (72.71), has eight top 25 results this season and three in the top 10, including a season-best tie for second at the Silverado Showdown at 2-under and a tie for 3rd at the Pac-12 Championships at 4-under.
* She tied for 17th at the Pac-12 Pullman Regional at 5-under 2011 (66-72-73), including a career-best 66 in the first round.
She posted a tie for sixth at the Juli Inkster Invitational at even par. She also has a pair of ties for 12th at the Windy City and at the Regional Challenge. Her play in Chicago featured a then-season-best final-round 70 while she closed with a 71 in Palos Verdes. She also tied for 17th at the Nanea Pac-12 Preview at 2-over.

TROJAN OVERVIEW
USC returns seven golfers from last year's team that posted a trio of wins, captured the 2022 NCAA Stanford Regional and finished 10th at the NCAA Championships, just outside of match play.

Avery returns following her All-American first-team debut as a 2021-22 freshman — which saw her win three times — while Nam, also an All-American as a freshman, is back after missing last season due to injury. Kou was Pac-12 honorable mention last year and started all 13 events, as did the ever-improving Navarrosa, while Park will make her debut in Cardinal and Gold.

USC saw just one departure from last season as fifth-year senior and All-Pac-12 honorable mention pick Katherine Muzi transferred for her final season to South Carolina.

TROJAN FLASH CARDS ENTERING 2022-23
* Avery was a finalist for the 2022 ANNIKA Award as well as the WGCA Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honor and managed all of that despite joining the Trojans as a spring semester freshman. Collegiately, Avery posted three wins (including at NCAA Regionals), a tie for second, a tie for fifth, a tie for sixth and a tie for eighth among her first eight stroke-play starts.
* Avery, who tied for fourth at the Augusta National Women's Amateur, finished with seven top 10 finishes (all in the top 8) in nine stroke play events, tied for sixth on USC's all-time season list.
* Avery represented the U.S. at the 2022 Curtis Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup.
* Avery won her fourth career event at the 2022 Windy City Collegiate Classic. That total is now tie for 5th on USC's career tournament wins list. She now has 12 career rounds in the 60s in less than a full season of collegiate golf, tied for ninth on USC's career chart.
* Junior Brianna Navarrosa was a 2022 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist. She finished second on the Trojans in stroke average (73.63) after starting all 13 events. She had six top 16 finishes and nine in the top 24 to go with 11 top 20s for her career. She led USC at the NCAA Championships, tying for 21st.
* Sophomore Xin (Cindy) Kou is USC's other returner who started all 13 events last year. She was just the third Trojan freshman in over 20 years to record four straight top 15s to start the season.
* Kou finished with four top 5 finishes, five top 10s and six top 15 results. Her 13-under at the Icon Invitational last year is tied for the third-best total in school history.
* Junior Michael Morard came on strong last spring and finished with three top 11s, highlighted by a tie for eighth at The Gold Rush and a tie for 11th at the Icon Invitational. She had 11 rounds of par or better.
* Injured last season, graduate senior Malia Nam looks to return to the form this year that made her the 2019 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a 2019 All-American.

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Players Mentioned

Amari Avery

Xin (Cindy) Kou

Katherine Muzi

Malia Nam

Brianna Navarrosa

Catherine Park

Christine Wang