Sept. 30, 2012

USC junior Sophia Popov led Germany to second place at the 2012 Women's World Amateur Team Championship, completed Sunday (Sept. 30) in Antalya, Turkey.

Popov, a two-time All-American as a Trojan, led Germany to a combined 10-under during four rounds of play, three back of first-place Korea.

Popov, in fact, led the German team at 6-under 282 (72-70-72-68), good for sixth place. Former teammate and 2012 USC graduate and fellow All-American Lisa McCloskey tied for fourth at 7-under 281 (70-71-67-73). The U.S. finished eighth at 6-under.

Former Trojan All-American Paola Moreno, instrumental in USC's 2008 NCAA championship team, earned full status on the 2013 LPGA Tour after finishing No. 2 on the season-ending money list on the Symetra Tour.

Moreno played in a handful of LPGA events in 2012 with partial status, but will now get full-time access.

Moreno became a factor in the Symetra Tour's "Volvik Race for the Card" when she landed at No. 6 on week five after a third place finish at the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge. She then dropped to No. 8 after she did not play in the Tate & Lyle Players Championship and fell outside the top-10 the following week for four weeks.

The Colombia native solidified her spot in the Race after she recorded her third-career Symetra Tour victory at the Eagle Classic in week 12 and jumped to No. 3 in the rankings. After losing in a two-hole, sudden-death playoff at last week's Vidalia Championship, her runner-up finish was good enough to boost her to No. 1.