USC women capture No. 1 spot in Division I Preseason Coaches’ Poll; Auburn’s Cydney Clanton tops magazine’s list of players to watch
NEW YORK, NY-Golf World has published the results of its latest preseason College Coaches’ Polls and its list of the top “Players to Watch.” The content will be featured in the September 6 issue of the magazine and can be viewed online at: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/blogs/campusinsider.
For the second time in three years, USC is the top-ranked team in the Division I preseason poll, claiming nine of 33 first-place votes. While losing All-Americans Belen Mozo to graduation and Jennifer Song to the pros, the Trojans return senior Lizette Salas, a member of their 2008 NCAA title team. They also brought in transfer Lisa McCloskey, who finished runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship and the Women’s North & South Amateur, as well as making the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open this past summer.
Ranked second in the poll is USC’s cross-town rival, UCLA, which also grabbed nine first-place votes. The Bruins return a pair of players that competed on the victorious U.S. Curtis Cup team this past summer, Stephanie Kono and Tiffany Lua.
Rounding out the top-five are Purdue (No. 3), Alabama (No. 4) and Duke (No. 5).
Cydney Clanton, a senior from Auburn and first-team All-American, is number one on Golf World’s list of the “Top 50 Female Players to Watch.” The rest of the top-ten includes: No. 2 Marina Alex (Vanderbilt, Jr.); No. 3 Stephanie Kono (UCLA, Jr.); No. 4 Carlota Ciganda (Arizona State, Jr.); No. 5 Marta Silva Zamora (Georgia, Jr.); No. 6 Danielle Kang (Pepperdine, Soph.); No. 7 Lizette Salas (USC, Sr.); No. 8 Lisa McCloskey (USC, Jr.); No. 9 Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (Purdue, Jr.); No. 10 Megan McChrystal (LSU, Sr.).
Visit Golf World Senior Writer Ryan Herrington’s “Campus Insider” blog to find out the latest on collegiate golf: http://www.golfdigest.com/magazine/blogs/campusinsider.
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GOLF WORLD/NGCA COACHES’ POLL
Women’s Division I – Preseason Edition
Rank Team Points ’10 NCAA
1. USC (9) 775 2nd
2. UCLA (9) 746 6th
3. Purdue (11) 737 Won
4. Alabama (1) 706 3rd
5. Duke (1) 691 T-8
6. Auburn 651 T-11
7. Arizona 638 5th
8. Wake Forest 463 DNP
9. Virginia 446 13th
10. Vanderbilt 445 7th
11. Pepperdine 384 T-14
12. Tennessee 345 T-19
13. Georgia 342 DNP
14. Stanford 312 T-19
15. Michigan State 295 DNP
16. LSU 293 DNP
17. Texas A&M 275 T-11
18. Florida State 271 10th
19. Florida 265 DNP
20. California (1) 233 DNP
21. Arizona State (1) 184 4th
22. South Carolina 181 T-14
23. Denver 170 DNP
24. Oklahoma State 160 9th
25. Texas 159 T-16
Also receiving votes: Arkansas, 128; New Mexico, 127; Ohio State, 119; TCU, 100; North Carolina, 92; Tulane, 88; Oregon, 68; Kent State, 61; Louisville, 20; Georgia State, 16; San Jose State, 12; Florida Gulf Coast, 11; Penn State, 8; San Francisco, 8; UC Davis, 7; Texas State, 6; New Mexico State, 4; Colorado, 2; Oregon State, 2; Florida International, 1; Indiana, 1; Northwestern, 1.
First-place votes in parenthesis
Contact:
Bret Hopman
212-286-2059
Bret_Hopman@condenast.com
