April 22, 1999

PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS The USC women's golf team will join the rest of the Pacific-10 Conference at the Stanford Golf Course (par-72, 6,154-yard) for the 1999 Pac-10 Women's Golf Championships on April 23-25 (Friday-Sunday). Nine of the 10 league schools competing this weekend are ranked in the top 35, according to the latest edition of the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings (April 14). Arizona leads the league, sitting at No. 2. USC is ranked fifth, followed closely by Arizona State (sixth) and host Stanford (10th). Individually, 13 of the top 50 players in the country will be competing at the Pac-10 Championships, led by USC sophomore Jennifer Rosales, who is ranked third in the nation and the defending NCAA champion. Arizona is the two-time defending Pac-10 champions and the Wildcats' Jenna Daniels won last year's individual title at Tijeras Creek Country Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (hosted by USC).

SCHEDULE & FORMAT
A practice round will take place on Thursday (April 22) before the tournament begins Friday morning. A three-flight pairing format with groups of three, three and four teams will be used for the first round of competition. All 10 teams, based upon the coaches' seeding of the squads, have been assigned to a flight via a blind draw. Following are the team seedings: 1. Arizona; 2. Arizona State; 3. USC; 4. Stanford; 5. Washington; 6. UCLA; 7. Oregon State; 8. Oregon; 9. California; 10. Washington State. The teams will play 18 holes Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with rounds beginning at 8:30 a.m. each morning (off the first and 10th tees). An awards ceremony and the announcement of the 1999 All-Pac-10 Team follow the completion of the tournament. The three-round competition will be scored by stroke play. Each team will consist of six players. One golfer shall be designated as eligible for the individual championship only, and may not contribute to the team's score. Four of the remaining five golfers may score for the team.

LAST TIME OUT
On April 11, the USC women's golf team won the team title at the Peg Barnard California Collegiate on the same course that will host the Pac-10 Championships. The Women of Troy overcame an eight-stroke Stanford lead after the first round and eventually beat the Cardinal by six strokes (599-605) after the 36-hole tournament was completed. Jennifer Rosales finished in a tie for second (75-71-146) in the individual competition. Three other Women of Troy - Leila Chartrand (fifth), Linda Ishii (seventh) and Johanna Josefsson (10th) - finished in the top 10 as well.

JENNIFER ROSALES
So far this season, Jennifer Rosales has led the Women of Troy in each outing and held the No. 1 ranking in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings for much of the 1998-99 campaign. Currently ranked at No. 3, she won the individual crown at the Golf World Invitational (Nov. 6-8) and the TRW Regional Challenge (Feb. 8-10). She also was outstanding at the Rolex Match Play Championships, winning each of her matches (including a showdown with Duke's Jenny Chuasiriporn). Jennifer also has had three runner-up finishes this season (Dick McGuire Invitational, Pioneer Electronic Bruin Classic and the Peg Barnard California Collegiate). Outside of one tournament (Ping ASU Invitational), she has finished within the top eight in each collegiate competition and has not taken more than 76 strokes in a single round.

1998 NCAA CHAMPION
Jennifer Rosales, who enrolled at USC prior to the 1998 spring semester, went on to make Women of Troy history in only her sixth collegiate event, winning the individual crown at the 1998 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships. Jennifer shot rounds of 68, 66, 73 and 72 on her way to a 9-under-par total of 279 at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis., smashing the NCAA Championship four-round record of 284 set by Penny Hammel of Miami in 1983. Jennifer's 6-under-par 66 in the second round set a new all-time Women of Troy record. After three rounds, she shared the lead with Grace Park of Arizona State at 207 (another USC record after 54 holes of play). Jennifer then fought off the challenge from a field of collegiate superstars in the final round with an even-par 72, despite bogeys on the first three holes and an hour-long rain delay, becoming only the fourth freshman in NCAA history to win the individual championship.

SO FAR THIS SEASON
The USC women's golf team has participated in eight tournaments this season as well as the Rolex Match Play and did well in each, powering the Women of Troy to an impressive No. 5 national ranking. USC opened the campaign by winning the team title at the Dick McGuire Invitational and proceeded to finish third at the Bama Fall Preview, seventh at the Stanford Women's Intercollegiate and second at both the Rolex Match Play Championships and Golf World Invitational. USC opened the 1999 spring season with a third-place showing at the TRW Regional Challenge and then finished eighth at both the Pioneer Electronic Bruin Classic and the Ping/ASU Invitational. In their last team tournament, the Women of Troy won the Peg Barnard California Collegiate. In addition to Jennifer Rosales' outstanding performances, fellow sophomore Nicole Dalkas also had an impressive fall season, recording two Top 10 finishes on her way to earning a No. 17 national ranking. Since then, Dalkas has not played in any spring tournaments for the Women of Troy while rehabilitating a back injury.

PAC-10 MEDIA CONTACT & RESULTS
Stanford media relations assistant Lisa Eskey is the media contact for the 1999 Pac-10 Championships. All inquiries should be directed to Eskey at (650) 723-4418. At the conclusion of each round, results will be posted on InfoConnection. To access Info Connection, call 1-800-868-2007 from the handset of your fax machine. The Pac-10 Code is 72210 (PAC10) and the cell number is 2891. The results will also be available via the internet at http://www.gostanford.com or www.pac-10.org.

UP NEXT
After the Pac-10 Championships, the USC women's golf team will head for Houston, Texas, and the NCAA West Regional Championships.