Memorable Matador Moments - Women's Golf Wins Back-to-Back Big West Championships
4/9/2020 1:43:00 PM | Women's Golf
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In this ongoing feature, GoMatadors.com takes a look back on some of the most memorable moments in CSUN Athletics history. Today, we revisit April 21, 2003, when the CSUN women's golf team won the first of back-to-back Big West Championships.
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Since becoming a varsity sport at CSUN in 1996, the Matador women's golf team enjoyed a moderate amount of success in its first five seasons. As a member of the Big Sky Conference from 1996-2001, CSUN posted a pair of top-five finishes at the conference championship, highlighted by a second-place finish in 2001.
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In their first season in the Big West Conference - under the leadership of first-year head coach and former Matador player Bonnie Murphy -Â the Matadors replicated the second-place finish at the 2002 Big West Championship, setting the stage for the two greatest seasons in program history.
Bonnie Murphy (left) won
consecutive Big West Coach
of the Year awards
With a lineup consisting of Beth Allen, Emma Wahlgren, Alexis Arnold, Brianna Bartle and Adrienne Cipparone, CSUN won its first-ever conference championship in 2003, claiming the Big West title at Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills, Calif.
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Allen won individual medalist honors with a rain-shortened total of two-under 142 (72-70), while Murphy earned Coach of the Year accolades. As a team, CSUN posted rounds of 314-303 to finish at 617, four shots better than second-place Idaho (621).
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Following Allen, Wahlgren finished fifth at (+11) 155, Arnold was seventh at (+13) 157, Bartle tied for 18th at (+23) 167 and Cipparone was 21st at (+24) 168.
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Beth Allen won her second
consecutive Big West
Individual title in 2004
Entering her senior season in 2003-04, Allen became the fourth and most recent Big West golfer to repeat as conference champion as she won individual medalist honors at Tijeras Creek Golf Club in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
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The Big West Player of the Year dominated the 2004 championship, winning by an astounding 15 strokes over second-place Angela Won of UC Irvine.
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Allen blistered the Tijeras Creek course with rounds of 67-72-70 for a three-round total of seven-under 209. Allen was joined on CSUN's second consecutive conference champion team by Arnold, Wahlgren, Kathy Pareja and Kelly Zerson.Â
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As a team, the Matadors posted rounds of 300-314-311 to finish with a tournament score of 925, four shots better than second-place UC Irvine. Murphy also repeated as Big West Coach of the Year.
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Following Allen, who has since gone on to play on the LPGA and Ladies European Tours, Pareja finished seventh at (+19) 235, Wahlgren placed 16th at (+25) 241, Arnold was 18th at (+28) 244 and Zerson was 26th at (+36) 252.
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The back-to-back conference championships stand as CSUN's best finishes since joining the Big West nearly 20 years ago. The Matadors finished as runners-up in 2014 and again this past season (2020).Â
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