Men’s, women’s golf teams cap memorable seasons

The USC men’s golf team finished its memorable 2015 campaign on June 3 with a loss in the national championship match to LSU, ending the best season in program history.

A week earlier, the women’s golf team capped a stellar season, reaching the semifinals of the first NCAA Championships match play, where the team fell to Stanford 3-2.

Men’s wrapup

The Trojans upset many top competitors in their run to the title match, including No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Illinois before falling to the No. 9 Tigers at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.

With their eyes set on the program’s first NCAA men’s title, the Trojans kept every match close throughout the morning, but could not finish the task, ultimately losing 4-1 to LSU. Senior Eric Sugimoto, who wanted to end his USC career on a high note, scored the only point for the Trojans in the championship match.

Next season USC returns all but one member of its NCAA runner-up roster. The valuable postseason experience gained by sophomore Rico Hoey and freshman Sean Crocker can only help the Trojans as they look ahead.

I think it’s great that four of the guys will be here next year.

Bobby Gojuangco

“I think it’s great that four of the guys will be here next year,” said sophomore Bobby Gojuangco, who won both of his matches against Illinois and was tied when LSU clinched the championship match. “We’ve all had such a great week and played seven straight days of really good golf. I think next year is going to be really good.”

This championship run is the closest USC has come to a national title, having finished in third place seven times, most recently in 2008.

Women’s wrap-up

Each player on the USC women’s golf team played more than 100 competition holes over five days, but lost in the semifinals to Stanford 3-2 on May 26, also at Concession in Bradenton.

The Trojans, who won the stroke play portion of the championship by five shots to earn the top seed in match play and then defeated Washington in a come-from-behind effort, couldn’t pull off another win, falling to a hot Cardinal team that defeated fellow Pac-12 squad Arizona in the quarterfinals.

When you play stroke play, there’s four days and that’s an endurance race.

Andrea Gaston

“Match play is unpredictable. When you play stroke play, there’s four days and that’s an endurance race,” USC Coach Andrea Gaston said.

The loss ended the USC career of junior Annie Park, the 2013 NCAA Player and Freshman of the Year and the Trojans’ career leader in individual titles (six), who is turning pro.

“We played well throughout the week and fought hard,” Park said. “It was hard to come back in the morning, finish late, come back in the morning, finish late again this week. It was tough, but we held it together well.”