BC's Christine Wong wins her first NCAA title

in
news_item_brief_description: 

Oct. 14, 2009 LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Christine Wong of Richmond, BC, a freshman at San Diego State, shot a 3-under-par 69 in Wednesday's final...

Christine Wong of Richmond, BC, a freshman at San Diego State, shot a 3-under-par 69 in Wednesday's final round to capture medalist honors by four strokes at the Price's Give `Em Five Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M. Wong's three-day total of 10-under 206 blew away the previous SDSU individual school record by five strokes and she becomes the first Aztec to win a 54-hole event since 2003.

Wong entered the day at the par-73, 6,319-yard NMSU Golf Course with a five-stroke lead over Baylor's Hannah Burke and ended the tournament with a four-stroke advantage over Idaho's Kayla Mortellaro, who was at 6-under 210. Wong, who was one of only three golfers in the 94-participant field to finish under par, fired three-consecutive sub-70 rounds (69-68-69) with 12 total birdies and 40 total pars. She beat her previous collegiate best for a 54-hole event by 14 strokes.

"Christine didn't make a lot of mistakes," SDSU head coach Emilee Klein said. "Her scorecard was pretty (clean) with 12 birdies, including three today. She struck the ball really well and made sure to stay consistent through the final round."

Wong's tournament-ending performance Wednesday was just a part of what was a record-setting round for San Diego State. The Aztecs combined for a 3-under 285 over the final 18 holes, the best round by any team at the 2009 Price's Give `Em Five Invite and the lowest score by SDSU in the Mountain West Conference era (since 2000).

"The team played outstanding today," Klein said. "They dug in hard and really played their hearts out and it showed."

The Aztecs, who entered the round 12 strokes off the lead, finished in third place overall, nine strokes in back of No. 32 Idaho, which won the tournament with a 7-over 871. SDSU, which is ranked 54th nationally, trailed second place and No. 35 UC Irvine by only two strokes and finished ahead of both No. 38 Baylor (t-4th) and No. 15 Arizona (6th) with a 16-over 880. The 54-hole total ranks second in school history behind only the 878 carded by the 2003 squad at the Lady Aztec Invitational.

San Diego State will conclude its 2009 fall slate in Kahuku, Hawaii, when the team travels to the Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational, Nov. 2-4.