THIS WEEK: After two straight fall tournaments in the Pacific Northwest, the Cal State Fullerton women's golf tournament competes in a drier climate this weekend as one of 19 squads competing at the Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate on Saturday (Oct. 13) and Sunday (Oct. 14) hosted by the University of Wyoming.
THE COURSE: This week's event will be held at the 6,119-yard, par-72 course at The Classic Club in Palm Desert, Calif. Competition starts at 7:30 a.m. each day with two rounds on Saturday and a final 18 holes on Sunday.
THE FIELD: Along with the Titans and host Cowgirls, this weekend's tournament field also includes competitors from the College of Charleston, Fresno State, Weber State, Montana, Northern Arizona, Cal Poly, UTEP, Eastern Washington, Hawaii, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Southern Utah, Northern Colorado, Montana State, Seattle, UC Riverside, and Cal State Northridge.
HEY! WE KNOW YOU!: Cal State Fullerton will be competing against a number of schools that it beat out at the Rose City Collegiate as eight of the 19 teams in Palm Desert this weekend were also in Oregon: Seattle (3rd at Rose City Collegiate), Northern Arizona (5th), San Francisco (7th), Wyoming (9th), Eastern Washington (t10th), Weber State (t10th), Northern Colorado (12th), and Montana State (13th). In addition, this week will mark the third time this fall that the Titans, Eastern Washington and Montana State have competed at the same event.
SWEET AS A ROSE: Cal State Fullerton enters this weekend's event coming off its first tournament title of the year after claiming the 2012 Rose City Collegiate hosted by Portland State on Oct. 2 in Aurora, Ore. It was the third tournament title for the Titans since the program was reinstated in 2009-10 and the first since they won the Fresno State Lexus Classic on March 12-13, 2011.
LOOKING BACK -- THE ROSE CITY COLLEGIATE:
TEAM… 304-305-303--912 (1st, +48)
t6. Tisha Alyn Abrea… 75-75-75--225 (+9)
t12. Seri Lee… 81-75-73--229 (+13)
t16. Taylor Fowler… 71-82-77--230 (+14)
t18. Makayla Mier… 77-76-78--231 (+15)
t45. Nicole Rivera… 82-79-81--242 (+26)
TEAM EFFORT: Fullerton had four golfers finish among the top 20 in Oregon led by sophomore Tisha Alyn Abrea's sixth-place finish with a 9-under-par 225, shooting three straight rounds of 75 to post the second top-10 finish by a Titan this season (Seri Lee, t-2nd at Washington State Cougar Cup). Lee (t12th), Taylor Fowler (t16th), and Makayla Mier (t18th) all helped power Fullerton to a final round 303 at the Rose City Collegiate -- the second-lowest score of the third round.
TAYLOR MADE: Senior Taylor Fowler got off to a quick start in Oregon with a first-round 71, which put her in a tie for second place after the first 18 holes. The round matched the lowest by a Titan this season after teammate Seri Lee set the bar with a pair of 71's in the first and third rounds of the Washington State Cougar Cup on Sept. 24-25. The 71 for Fowler was just one shot off her single-round career best of 70 accomplished twice -- the last coming in the first round of the Fresno State Lexus Classic on March 12, 2012.
TIP-INS
• Cal State Fullerton is ranked No. 54 in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings updated on Oct. 8 -- the second-highest ranked Big West Conference school behind No. 9 UC Davis. Sophomore Seri Lee is the highest-ranked Fullerton individual at No. 147.
• The Titans' team score of 912 at the Rose City Collegiate was the fourth-lowest 54-hole total since 2009-10…
• Two of the top four 54-hole scores since the program has been reinstated have been set this season…
• Fullerton's single-round scores of 304, 305, and 303 from the Rose City Collegiate all rank among the top 20 lowest team rounds since 2009-10…
• Sophomore Tisha Alyn Abrea set the school's single-season scoring average (since the program was reinstated in 2009-10) with a 75.74 last season as a freshman, posting five, top-10 finishes and placing among the top 25 in every tournament she competed in during the 2011-12 campaign...
• The top-five single-season scoring averages since the program's reinstatement were all set in 2011-12: Abrea, Taylor Fowler (77.04), Neomi Hunt (77.93), Kathryn New (78.13), and Seri Lee (78.52)…
• Abrea and Fowler became the Titans' first All-Big West Conference honorees since the program's reinstatement as Abrea was named second-team all-conference while Fowler earned honorable mention laurels.