Feb. 23, 2006

By John Davis
The Arizona Republic

With its second consecutive victory in this week's Wildcat Invitational, Arizona State might have re-established itself as a power in college women's golf.

Coming off a victory in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge a week earlier, the Sun Devils took the title in Tucson against a stellar field that included reigning NCAA champion and top-ranked Duke.

The Sun Devils went into the event ranked seventh and most likely will jump into the top five as a result of the 6-shot victory over Duke.

"ASU is back," coach Melissa Luellen proclaimed after Tuesday's victory. "We won back-to-back titles last year, but not against this caliber of competition."

The Tucson field featured 15 of the top 25 teams in the country and eight of the top 10.

"Not many teams have beaten Duke in recent years," Luellen said. "We feel pretty good about being one of the teams that have, and with the recruits we have coming next year, we will be at Duke's level."

The Sun Devils are led by freshmen Jennifer Osbornand Azahara Muñoz,and also have received solid outings from junior Tiffany Tavee of Gilbert and senior Alissa Kuczka of Phoenix.

"Our top four are all playing great," Luellen said. "We're still searching to establish a No. 5 player, but we're one of the hottest teams in the country. We're thrilled where we're at right now."