THIS WEEK: The Cal State Fullerton women's golf team will participate in The Gold Rush presented by Farmers Insurance hosted by Long Beach State in Yorba Linda, Calif.
THE COURSE: This week's event will be held at the 6,077-yard, par-72 Yorba Linda Country Club in Yorba Linda, Calif. The two-day, 54-hole event begins Monday morning at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start. The teams will play 36 holes on the first day and conclude the final 18 holes on Tuesday, April 8.
THE FIELD: In addition to the Titans and host Long Beach State, nine other teams will compete at The Gold Rush including fellow Big West Conference teams Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, UC Irvine and UC Riverside. The rest of the field includes Boston College, Gonzaga, Idaho, Northern Arizona, and San Francisco.
IN THE POLLS: The Titans enter the tournament ranked No. 89 in the nation according to the Apr. 2 GolfStat NCAA head-to-head rankings, making them one of five teams ranked in the GolfStat top-100. The others are Gonzaga (No. 47), Long Beach State (No. 76), UC Irvine (No. 78) and San Francisco (No. 86).
WATCH IT LIVE: Well…sort of. Live scoring will be available for all three rounds of The Gold Rush by GolfStat.com or by clicking here. Complete results following each day's play and final results will be posted online at FullertonTitans.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The Titans took part in one of their toughest tournaments of the season as they travelled to the Farms Invitational hosted by San Diego State. The Titans finished in a tie for 15th place with a collective 83-over 947 over the three rounds.
The tournament featured six teams ranked in the top-25 of the GolfStat NCAA head-to-head rankings and 16 teams ranked in the top-100. USC, ranked No. 1 in the nation, took home the title with a 3-under 861, the only team to finish with a collective score under par.
Martina Edberg was the top finisher for the Titans, shooting a 16-over 232 for the three rounds. Edberg shot a 5-over 77 in the third round, her second straight 77 of the tournament, and placed in a tie for 49th place, 24 shots back of individual champion Karen Chung from USC, who finished 8-under par.
Tisha Alyn Abrea entered the final day in a tie for 41st place but dropped down to a tie for 58th place by the end of the third round after shooting an 11-over 83 on Wednesday. It was the first time this season that Abrea failed to shoot a round in the 70s at a competition. She finished the invitational with a 19-over 235.
Makayla Mier finished tied for 75th place after shooting a 10-over 82 on Wednesday to put her overall score at a 25-over 241. Dakota Brown was close behind with a 31-over 247 for the three-day competition after shooting an 88 on Wednesday.
Nadine Rivera rounded out the Titans performers as she had her best round of the week, shooting an 8-over 80 on Wednesday. In her first competition of the season, Rivera finished with a 42-over 258 and placed 90th overall, improving her score in each round.
THE FARMS INVITATIONAL
TEAM… 314-311-322—947 (+83, t15th)
T49th. Martina Edberg… 78-77-77—232 (+16)
T58th. Tisha Alyn Abrea… 74-78-83—235 (+19)
T75th. Makayla Mier… 83-76-82—241 (+25)
86th. Dakota Brown… 79-80-88— 247 (+31)
90th. Nadine Rivera… 91-87-80—258 (+42)
EDBERG NAMED BIG WEST GOLFER OF THE MONTH: Freshman Martina Edberg earned her first career Big West Conference Women's Golfer of the Month award, the conference announced Thursday.
Edberg is the first Cal State Fullerton golfer to earn player of the month honors since Sept. 2013 when Tisha Alyn Abrea received recognition for her stellar month and the third all-time since the golf program was reinstated.
Edberg became the first Titan to earn a medal in a multi-day event since the women's golf program was reinstated for the 2009-10 season. The freshman shot a 3-under 213 at the Juli Inkster Spartan Invite on Mar. 3-4.
She recorded three consecutive rounds of 71 to tie her for first place with co-medalists Cathleen Santoso of Oregon and Mew Mexico's Sammi Stevens.
The freshman from Sweeden also paced the Titans at The Farms Invitational, an event that featured six teams ranked in the Golfstat top-25 and 16 in the top-100. Edberg shot a 16-over 232 (78-77-77) to tie for 49th place at the event which featured 92 golfers.
LOOKING TO IMPROVE ON LAST YEAR: The Titans finished eighth at the 2013 Gold Rush after shooting a collective 102-over 966 at the Yorba Linda Golf Course, which played at 6,236 yards last season.
Tisha Alyn Abrea paced the Titans with a fourth place finish in the individual standings, shooting a 14-over 230 including a 2-over 74 in the second round. She was the only Titans golfer to place in the top-10 at the Gold Rush last year, which was won by host Long Beach State.
TOP-20: Tisha Alyn Abrea and Martina Edberg have each recorded five top-20 finishes this season, with Edberg securing her first top-five finish with her victory at the Spartan Invite. Seri Lee has also finished in the top-20 three times this year
TIP INS
--Tisha Alyn Abrea and Seri Lee is the only Titans golfer since the sport was reinstated to have competed in every possible tournament for Cal State Fullerton in her career (25-for-25). Seri Lee missed her first tournament of her Titans career at the Farms Invitational after participating in 24 straight competitions…
--Fullerton's first-place finish in Palm Desert was its best since finishing second at its Folino Invitational on Feb. 17-19 last season. It was also Fullerton's first victory since the Rose City Collegiate on Oct. 1-2 during the 2012-13 season and the fifth victory for the program since it was reinstated during the 2009-10 season.
