The 2001 West Coast Conference Golf Championships will take place next week, April 16-17 at Windsor Golf Club in Windsor, CA. The competitors will tee-off at 7a.m. on Monday morning with 36 holes ahead of them. Play will begin at 7 a.m. on Tuesday as well with a of round 18.

The West Coast Conference has sponsored men’s golf championships since 1969, and they have been dominated in the last decade by Pepperdine University. The Waves have won eight WCC championships since 1990 (and ten in all dating back to 1987) and took home the NCAA championship title in 1997.

The conference added a women’s golf championship four years ago. Pepperdine, ranked #9 in the most recent MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings, is the three-time defending champion, and Wave golfers have claimed the last three individual titles as well. Last year a freshman from Australia named Lindsey Wright burst onto the WCC golf scene, claiming the individual title by a record five strokes over teammate Tamie Durdin. Wright returns this year, along with six other members of last year’s top ten.

WCC MEN
Pepperdine men's golf has made its presence felt on the national level once again this season, rising to #29 in the latest Mastercard Collegiate Golf Rankings this week. Most recently they finished seventh at the Western Intercollegiate, recording a team score of 882. Michael Beard remains in the national rankings at #75, and is joined this week by teammate Jason Allred at #95.

San Diego has also posted a strong season in men's golf. The Toreros have won a league-best three tournaments this year, and have exceeded 900 in a 54-hole tournament just twice. Earlier this week, USD finished third at the Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invitational with a score of 878, the highest finish of four WCC schools in the field.

San Francisco and Santa Clara have both proven to be strong squads this season, but in a head-to-head meeting earlier this week, on the same course as next week's championship, it was the Broncos narrowly prevailing by eight strokes over USF in match play. SCU went on to finish 7th at the Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invitational.

Loyola Marymount heads for the championships coming off a 9th place finish at the Grand Canyon Thunderbird Invitational. Portland wrapped their regular season with a 12th place finish at the same tournament. Saint Mary's was also in action this past week, traveling to Indiana for the Ball State Invitational, where they finished 10th.

WCC WOMEN
The Pepperdine women are ranked a very strong #10 in the Mastercard Rankings this week, with three golfers in the individual rankings. Lindsey Wright and Katherine Hull are #8 and #11 in the country respectively this week, while Lisa Chang checks in at #52. The trio also have the top three stroke averages in the WCC this year. The Waves have rested since mid-March, but posted their best team scores of the year in their last two tournaments, while finishing second and first in the two events.

San Francisco has momentum on their side heading for the WCC Championships, as they posted a solid victory in the BYU Dixie Classic last time out, winning by 15 strokes. Two USF golfers, Emilie Arnaud and Lisa Chen, finished in the individual top five.

Portland has played solid this year, winning the Matador Fall Classic and receiving consistent scoring from Megan Radonich and Sarah Walter. The Pilots have finished 2nd and 4th in two events over the past ten days. Santa Clara joins USF at the Peg Barnard CA Collegiate this weekend, a final tuneup before the WCC Championship.