Oct. 4, 2000 Seattle - COMING UP: The Washington women's golf team will play host to its only home tournament this season Oct. 9-11 when the 22nd-annual Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational is held at Sahalee Country Club in Redmond, WA. This year the par-72 course will play at 5953 yards for the tournament. The 17-team field will tee off at 8 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 9 and Wednesday, Oct. 11. Tuesday's play will begin at 10 a.m. Pairings for the tournament will be available on www.gohuskies.com on Sunday, Oct. 8. THE FIELD: The field for the 2000 Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational includes five teams that are ranked among the top 12 teams in the nation in this week's Golfweek Collegiate Rankings. A total of 11 of the 17 teams are ranked in Golfweek's top 50. The field (ranking) includes: Arizona State (36), BYU (50), California (10), Hawaii, Long Beach State, New Mexico (12), Oregon, Oregon State (48), Pepperdine (7), San Francisco (42), San Jose State, USC (4), Stanford, Tulsa (11), UCLA (28), Washington (44) and Washington State. LAST YEAR'S TOURNAMENT: The fourth-ranked USC women's golf team broke a tournament record and captured the team title. The Women of Troy carded a three-day 54-hole total of 878, lowering the previous tournament record of 881, set by Tulsa in 1997. All five USC golfers placed in the top 10, giving their team a 21 stroke victory over second-place Pepperdine (899). Pepperdine's Tamie Durdin captured individual medalist honors, also in record fashion, by firing a final-round 68 and finishing at 208. She lowered the mark of 211, set by Tulsa's Christina Kuld in 1997. Durdin's 68 was the low round of the tournament. Washington finished sixth in its tournament, with a total of 940 on the par 72, 6,030-yard course. The Huskies were led by freshman Louise Friberg and senior Andrea Cordova, who tied for 20th with a total of 234. SAHALEE GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB: Located on the Sammamish Plateau east of Redmond, WA, the 27-hole Sahalee Golf and Country Club opened in 1969. The name Sahalee is from the language of Chinook and means "High Heavenly Grounds." The name of the course was chosen to reflect the Northwest's heritage and tradition. The original course was designed by Ted Robinson. In 1996, noted golf course architect Rees Jones oversaw the redesign and renovations of the bunkers and many key features of the North and South courses. In 1998 Sahalee was the site of the PGA Championship. EDEAN IHLANFELDT: The namesake for the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational is the woman responsible for launching the women's golf team at Washington. When Washington expanded its athletic lineup to include women's sports, Ihlanfeldt, one of the area's top players, was hired to coach the Huskies. She started the program in 1974 before retiring eight years later in 1981 at the age of 50. During her eight-year coaching career, Ihlanfeldt never accepted payment for her coaching duties. Instead, she donated her salary back for scholarships. Three of Ihlanfeldt's teams and five individuals qualified for the AIAW championships. During her tenure, Washington was the only northwest team to qualify for the nationals. Two of her players, Robin Walton and Mary Lou Mulflur went on to appear on the professional tour and several others became club pros. DIRECTIONS TO SAHALEE: From Seattle, follow state Route 520 through Bellevue and Redmond to its intersection with Redmond/Fall City Road (Highway 202), follow Redmond/Fall City Road for 2.3 miles to the traffic light at NE Sahalee Way and follow it up the hill 1.1 miles to the turnoff for the main gate at NE 36th near the top of the hill. Turn right and follow NE 36th briefly to the Sahalee entrance on the left. Stop at the gate and inform security that you are going to the country club for the tournament. Veer right inside the gate and keep going until you see the green off to your left. Turn left at the intersection in front of the Sahalee Country Club sign. Parking is to your right as you proceed toward the clubhouse. LAST TIME OUT: The Washington women's golf team opened the 2000 fall season by finishing 13th at the Comcast Dick McGuire Invitational at the University of New Mexico. The tournament was held Sept. 21-23. The Huskies were led by junior Kelli Kamimura who improved two places on the final day of competition to finish in a tie for 17th with a three-day score of 227. Lindsay Morgan, competing as an individual and not counting toward the Husky scoring, placed 36th with a score of 233. Washington's Jenny Kamimura and Bianca Clark tied for 50th overall with scores of 236. Arizona captured its second-straight McGuire Invitational title by a five-stroke margin over the University of Tulsa (892-897). Pepperdine finished in third place with a 904 followed by host New Mexico at 913. Rounding out the top-five was Oklahoma with a 915. Taking individual medalist honors was Arizona freshman Lorena Ochoa who was the only player to finish under par (-7, - 212). Ochoa broke or tied several UNM Championship course records on the way to victory. Ochoa's first round score of 69 tied her for first round individual score record, her two round total of 140 set the new 36-hole individual score record and her three-round score of 212 tied the 54-hole individual score record. NEXT UP: Washington plays its third fall tournament on Oct. 20-22 at the Stanford Intercollegiate held at the Stanford University Golf Course. UW TO HOST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2002: The NCAA has awarded Washington the 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship. The four-day tournament will be held at the University Course of the recently opened Washington National Golf Course in Auburn. Specific dates for the tournament have not been assigned, but it will be held in late May of 2002.The 2002 NCAA Championship will be the 22nd national championship sponsored by the NCAA in women's golf. It marks the first time Washington has played host to an NCAA women's national championship since the women's Final Four was played in Tacoma in 1989. The last NCAA championship hosted by the University was the men's basketball Final Four in 1995. This year's NCAA Championship is hosted by Stetson University and the Orlando Sports Commission at Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. The tournament will take place from May 23-26. Last year's NCAA Championship, won by Arizona, was played at the Sun River Resort in Sun River, Ore. |
