May 22, 2004

OPELIKA, Ala. - Arizona State finished 10th at the 2004 NCAA Women's Golf Championships, which concluded Saturday afternoon at the par 72, 6,215-yard Grand National Lake Course.

The 10th-place finish marked the 17th top 10 national showing in Arizona State's 23 NCAA Championships appearance and the first for the team since 2002. The Sun Devils have now turned in top 15 finishes in 21 of their 23 trips to the NCAA Championships.

UCLA won the 2004 NCAA title with a four-day total of four-under par 1148. The Bruins fired a two-over 290 in the final round, which was delayed by lightning for over two hours and shortened by darkness on Friday and completed on Saturday. UCLA posted a three-stroke victory over NCAA runner-up Oklahoma State (1151), while Duke (1159), California (1172) and Vanderbilt (1180) rounded out the top five teams.

After being in 24th place out of 24 teams after a rough first round on Tuesday, the Sun Devils fired season-best 291s on Wednesday and Thursday to climb into the top 10. With three true freshmen, a sophomore and a junior in the lineup, ASU finished the tournament with an 11-over 299 in the final round for a four-day total of 1191 and a 10th-place finish, the first for second-year head coach Melissa Luellen at ASU.

Individually, sophomore Alissa Kuczka and freshman Tiffany Tavee led the Sun Devils with ties for 37th place at eight-over 296. Kuczka fired a one-over 73 in the final round (76-73-74-73), while Tavee turned in a four-over 76 on Saturday in her first NCAA appearance (77-71-72-76). It marked the 11th time in 13 tournaments this year that the Sun Devils had an underclassman as the team's top finisher.

Freshman Charmaine Erasmus finished her first NCAA Championships strong, carding an even-par 72 in the final round to tie for 49th at 10-over 298 (80-75-71-72). Junior Erin Tone, the lone upperclassman in ASU's lineup, tied for 80th (77-72-74-82=305), while freshman Lindsay Anderson finished 124th (82-83-91-78=334) in her first NCAA appearance.

California's Sarah Huarte captured the NCAA individual title, finishing with a four-day total of 10-under 278 after firing a 69 in the final round (73-69-67-69). Huarte earned the one-stroke victory over NCAA runner-up Karin Sjodin of Oklahoma State (279).

2004 NCAA Women's Golf Championships
May 18-22, 2004 - Final Results
Grand National Lake Course - Opelika, Ala.

1  UCLA  -4  F    +2  289  283  286  290  1148
2  Oklahoma State  -1  F    E  288  293  282  288  1151
3  Duke  +7  F    +6  289  284  292  294  1159
4  California  +20  F    +1  309  282  292  289  1172
5  Vanderbilt  +28  F    +8  298  284  302  296  1180
T6  Texas  +32  F    +6  302  295  293  294  1184
T6  Washington  +32  F    -4  305  298  297  284  1184
8  Ohio State  +35  F    +8  296  292  303  296  1187
9  Georgia  +38  F    +10  302  297  293  298  1190
10  Arizona State  +39  F    +11  310  291  291  299  1191
11  Tennessee  +41  F    +4  303  297  301  292  1193
T12  Southern California  +43  F    +9  307  286  305  297  1195
T12  Stanford  +43  F    +10  303  296  298  298  1195
14  Wake Forest  +44  F    +11  298  289  310  299  1196
T15  New Mexico  +45  F    +9  304  292  304  297  1197
T15  Arizona  +45  F    +9  302  300  298  297  1197
T15  Furman University  +45  F    +9  302  296  302  297  1197
T15  North Carolina, U of  +45  F    +5  304  300  300  293  1197
T19  Baylor  +46  F    +8  299  308  295  296  1198
T19  Florida State Univ.  +46  F    +13  301  301  295  301  1198
21  UNLV  +52  F    +7  308  299  302  295  1204
22  Purdue  +53  F    +8  307  294  308  296  1205
23  Texas A&M University  +59  F    +13  306  302  302  301  1211
24  Michigan State  +63  F    +17  302  310  298  305  1215

Sun Devil Finishers: T37. Alissa Kuczka 296 (76-73-74-73) and Tiffany Tavee 296 (77-71-72-76); T49. Charmaine Erasmus 298 (80-75-71-72); T80. Erin Tone 305 (77-72-74-82); 124. Lindsay Anderson 334 (82-83-91-78).

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