April 21, 2013
VALENCIA, Calif. - On a stacked field where six of 11 conference teams are ranked in the nation's top 20, Stanford women's golf competes in the Pac-12 Championship on Monday through Wednesday at the Valencia Country Club.
The No. 11 Cardinal, who is up three spots in the Golfweek rankings, opened spring with three consecutive tournament victories at the Peg Barnard, Cal Classic and Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational.
"Our win at San Jose State was a big one," said Anne Walker, Stanford Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf, who referred to the Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational that garnered the Cardinal a No. 5 ranking. "The field was strong. It was our first 54-hole event of the spring and we led from the start."
Since then Stanford finished sixth in the Anuenue Spring Break Classic and third at the PING/ASU Invitational.
"We have to play great," Walker said about what it will take for Stanford to remain in contention at the Pac-12s. "The conference is strong and we have no shot unless we make a lot of putts and save par with our short game. We have put a lot of time into our short game, so hopefully it is ready."
Stanford is joined by top-ranked USC, No. 6 Arizona, No. 8 UCLA, No. 13 Arizona State and No. 14 Washington, headlining a field that also includes Pac-12 rivals Oregon, California, Washington State, Oregon State and Colorado.
Walker starts the same spring lineup with freshman Mariah Stackhouse, freshman Lauren Kim, senior Sally Watson, sophomore Mariko Tumangan and junior Danielle Frasier.
"We are a much more polished team at this point and also a little more competitive in nature," Walker said on how far the team has come this spring from the fall start. "We are staying committed to every shot, till the last putt drops."
The first and last time the Cardinal clinched the Pac-12 title was in 1999.
The Valencia Country Club plays approximately 6,300 yards and to a par of 72.
This 54-hole event begins at 8:30 a.m. (PT) Monday and Tuesday, and 8 a.m. Wednesday. Stanford tees off with Washington on the first hole.
Follow @StanfordWGolf on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates and quotes from the team. Get to know the players and the program through the daily features at facebook.com/StanfordWomensGolf