March 11, 2008

Complete Results in PDF Format

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - A week after failing to break 80 through 54 holes of golf in the spring opener, Gonzaga University's women's golf team bounced back with a vengeance, winning the UC Santa Cruz Invite by eight strokes over West Coast Conference foe Santa Clara University.

Freshman Sage Suffecool captured medalist honors with rounds of 78-77 for 155 over the 5,805-yard, par 72 Pasatiempo Golf Course layout and a 1-stroke victory over Corey Utsurogi of SCU. Senior Sarah Sheffield finished third at 161 after rounds of 84-77, senior Lacey Jo Manwaring shot 80-85 for 165 to tie for fifth and freshman Rachel Sibbitt posted rounds of 80-86 for 166 to finish tied for seventh.

Gonzaga, which posted no better than a 329 in three rounds last week, shot 322-318 for 640 to easily outdistance the Broncos. Gonzaga and SCU were the only teams under 700 in the seven-team field.

The team finish was the best for the Bulldogs since finishing second in the 2006 NIU Springlake Invitational held in Sebring, Fla., and Suffecool's medalist honor was the first for the Bulldogs since last March when Mary Kate Morgan won the Bobcat Desert Classic in a playoff.