WWW.COLLEGEGOLFNEWS.COM back-to-back disappointing efforts on the last two days of the tournament. Other schools not advancing included UC-Davis in 15th overall, UC-Irvine in 17th position, and the University of San Francisco who finished in 21st position as a team. TROJAN HEARTBREAK USC lose the NCAA Championship by a single shot In a loss that will take some time to get over, the USC Trojans lost their grip on the NCAA Championship after los- ing by a single shot to first-time cham- pions Purdue. Jennifer Song once again had a final-hole drama with the Boilermakers that played out in all- too-familiar territory. While last year Song was fighting for medalist honors with Purdue senior Maria Hernandez, this year she took on the entire team. Needing a 10-foot birdie putt to force a playoff, Song missed and watched the Boilermakers celebrate again, this time as a team, for their first NCAA women’s golf championship. USC led the four-day tournament on the opening and second day, but after a tough third round, they trailed the Boilermakers by seven strokes entering the final day. Belen Mozo and Cyna Rodriguez both fired a final- round 1-under 71 at the Country Club of Landfall course in Wilmington, North Carolina, but the deficit was too great. Song was the individual leader for the Trojans, finishing in a tie for fifth place with Megan McChrystal, while Belen Mozo finished in a tie for 21st. Freshman Cyna Rodriguez was tied for third after day two before a tough day-three 83 moved her all the way back into 41st position. However, a real gut-check performance with the aforementioned 1-under lifted Rodriguez 10 spots to finish 31st for the championship. The medalist for the tournament and new NCAA indi- vidual champion is Caroline Hedwall of Oklahoma State. The UCLA Bruins had a very steady team performance, finishing in sixth place, but never had a breakout indi- vidual performance that could get the team excited. The top performers for the Bruins were Tiffany Lua in a tie for 27th and Sydnee Michaels in a tie for 39th. Pepperdine finished in a tie for 14th and had another strong performance by Danielle Kang who San Jose State sophomore Madeleine Ziegert was the co-med- alist at the West Regional. PHOTO BY TERRELL LLOYD Jennifer Song finished fifth individually in the finals. PHOTO BY JASON BARNETTE Cyna Rodriguez fired a final round -1 to keep the Trojans in contention. PHOTO BY JASON BARNETTE The Bruins’ Tiffany Lua ended up in a tie for 27th at the NCAA finals. PHOTO BY DAVID GONZALES Stanford’s Sally Watson led the Cardinal to the finals at their home course. PHOTO BY DAVID GONZALES Christina Corpus led the San Jose Spartans with her 57th place finish. PHOTO BY TERRELL LLOYD JUNE 2010 • CALIFORNIA GOLF NEWS 31 tied for 15th, and Jessica Wallace who tied for 21st. The Stanford Cardinal entered the tournament after a strong regional performance on their home course, but with three mediocre rounds before a nice final round, the Cardinal could do no better than a tie for 19th. Sally Watson’s final-round 6-under 66 lifted her to a top-10 finish for the championship. San Jose State might have run out of gas after their stirring performance at the West Regional to qualify for the tournament. The Spartans were in 16th position after day one, but a rain delay in the second round took its toll and they never could recov- er. Leading the Spartans individually were Christina Corpus, who finished in tie for 57th, and Shraddhanjali Singh, who finished in a tie for 86th.