The Arizona women’s golf team finished in fourth place in the Pacific 10 Conference Championships in Seattle, after not being able to hold onto its one-stroke advantage over USC.

The No. 16 Wildcats entered the final round of play in third place, but a score of 22-over 310 was not enough to hold off the No. 8 Trojans. USC shot a final round 19-over 307 to finish the tournament in third place, two strokes ahead of the Wildcats.

“”It was just a very difficult golf course,”” said UA head coach Greg Allen, after watching his team shoot a total 59-over 923. “”I am certainly proud of the team. They gave a great effort, but we just weren’t able to hold on.””

Arizona finished 26 strokes behind tournament champion No. 2 ASU, who shot a total 33-over 897. The Sun Devils were led by No. 2 Anna Nordqvist, who finished in second place after carding a tournament total 2-over 218.

Walshe notched her sixth top-10 finish of the campaign, as she closed the tournament in sixth place. The Westford, Mass., native shot a final round 4-over 76 and a 9-over 225 tournament total.

“”We could have done better, but it isn’t horrible to be in fourth,”” Walshe said. “”We didn’t play well this weekend at all, so it just shows how much better we could do if we were playing well. We definitely can play way better than we did.””

Adriana Zwanck finished tied for 11th place with a tournament total 13-over 229 and junior Mary Jacobs finished in 26th after carding a total 22-over 238.

“”It was an off-week for our team,”” Allen said. “”I still think we will be OK for nationals. Hopefully we are saving it for the NCAAs.””

19th Hole

Alison Walshe was named to the All-Pac-10 first team and Mary Jacobs was named to the All-Pac-10 second team yesterday, according to Arizona head coach Greg Allen.

Walshe to represent U.S.

UA junior golfer Alison Walshe was selected to represent the U.S. in the 2007 Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Championship on July 11-13, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced yesterday.
The tournament will be played at the Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., under Wake Forest’s head coach Jerry Haas and ASU’s Melissa Luellen.
“”It feels great to be able to represent the U.S.,”” Walshe said. “”I know some of the girls on the team, so I am definitely excited to go out and compete. It’s nice to know that I have been recognized, and being part of this team was one of my goals.””
Walshe, the No. 5 player in the nation, will be joined by Jacqui Concolina of Vanderbilt, Duke’s Jennie Lee and ASU’s Jennifer Osborn.

– Ari Wasserman