The Long Beach State women’s golf team kicks off the 2009-10 campaign as they travel to Ft. Collins, Colo. as they take part in the Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic hosted by Colorado State. The two-day tournament will take place at the Ptarmigan Country Club (par-72, 6,259 yards) with 36 holes scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14 and the final 18 on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The defending Big West Conference Champions will be among 16 teams (Baylor, Brigham Young, Colorado, Colorado State, Idaho, Louisville, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Northern Colorado, San Jose State, San Francisco, Texas Tech, UTEP, Weber State and Wyoming). Senior Brenda Chhuor, juniors Lindsey McAtee and Reina Rogers, sophomore Noelle Zavaleta and freshman Simone Hoey will represent the 49ers on the first tournament of the season.
LAST YEAR IN COLORADO: The 49ers finished with an 877 (287-293-297) to place sixth at last year’s Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic. Reina Rogers tied for 47th with a 226 (73-78-75) as she finished behind Lee Lopez and Kay Hoey. Brenda Chhuor tied for 66th with a 232 (75-77-80), followed by Lindsey McAtee tied for 75th with a 235 (81-73-81).
CERULLE TAKES OVER THE HELM: On Aug. 3, Joey Cerulle became the eighth head coach in the 43-year history of the women’s golf program at Long Beach State. Cerulle spent the past year as the assistant coach for the men’s and women’s golf teams at California Baptist in Riverside. Cerulle was selected to replace Sue Ewart, who stepped down after serving 13 years as the 49ers’ head coach. From 2005 to the spring of 2008, Cerulle was the first-ever head coach at Concordia University in Irvine. While at Concordia, Cerulle guided both men’s and women’s teams into the NAIA Top 25. In 2007, the men’s team advanced to the NAIA National Championships. He also coached one NAIA All-American and one Daktronics-Scholar Athlete. Prior to coming to Concordia, Cerulle spent three seasons as assistant head golf coach at nearby St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. While there, he coached a trio of players that went on to play at the collegiate level. From 1998-2003, Cerulle was a golf instructor with the Long Beach Junior Golf Association as he taught course etiquette and rules and helped maintain and run the largest junior golf organization in California.
CERULLE ON THE NEW SEASON: “Our goal all along this year is to defend the Big West title,” said first-year head coach Joey Cerulle. “We have the target on our backs this year and we have to step up to maintain it. I’m very impressed with how hard we have worked the last two weeks. I’m looking for some leadership from our upperclassmen and they stepped up in qualifying. We played well at this event last year, and hope to continue that trend.”
49ERS RELOAD WITH HOEY, ZAVALETA: Although the 49ers lost two of their best players this past season (All-American Kay Hoey to graduation and Lee Lopez tranferring to UCLA), the team welcomes two new players that are very familar to the program, sophomore Noelle Zavaleta (Long Beach) and freshman Simone Hoey (Rancho Cucamonga). Zavaleta, a Wilson High School graduate, transfered from Boise State where she played in eight tournments for the Broncos with two top ten finishes and three top 25. Zavaleta finished second for Boise State at the Western Athletic Conference Championships in Reno, Nev. as she tied for 17th with a 229. She finished the seaason with a stroke average of 77.17. Hoey, the younger sister of Kay, graduated from Rancho Cucamonga High School where she was a four-year letterwinner on the boys golf team.
LBSU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: For the second time in program history, LBSU took part in the NCAA Tournament as the 49ers were among 21 teams at the West Regional in Tempe, Ariz. The Beach finished in 17th place with a score of 908 (299-310-299) at the Karsten Golf Course. Kay Hoey was the top player for LBSU as she finished in 17th.
BEACH WINS FIRST BIG WEST TITLE: After finishing in second place three of the past four years, LBSU won their first Big West Conference Championship at the San Luis Obispo Country Club this past April. The 49ers won on the last hole by one-stroke over UC Irvine and UC Davis. The Beach finished with a tournament score of 965 (308-313-308). Freshman Lee Lopez was the 49ers’ top player as she finished in a four-way tie for second place with a 12-over 228 (74-76-78). Senior All-American Kay Hoey tied for seventh with a 17-over 233 (76-79-78), while junior Brenda Chhuor tied for 12th with a 237 (83-79-75). Sophomore Reina Rogers finished in 17th as she carded a 240 (75-82-83) and fellow classmate Lindsey McAtee tied for 18th with a 241 (85-79-77).
FORTY-NINERS HOST GOLD RUSH IN 2010: Long Beach State will serve as hosts for The Gold Rush tournament, Feb. 8-9, 2010. The three-round 54-hole event will take place at the Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach, Calif., and will feature 12 teams (Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Riverside, Cal State Northridge, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Portland State, Fresno State, San Diego State, New Mexico State, BYU).
NEXT UP FOR THE BEACH: The 49ers return to action Oct. 5-7, as they travel to the northwest for the Edean Ihanfeldt in Sammamish, Wash., hosted by the University of Washington.
Report By LBSU Sports Information Department