Soo helps Oklahoma grab lead in the Battle at the Beach

   Some of the best teams in women’s college golf gathered Friday in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico for the Battle at the Beach, including a UCLA team that is No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings, but it was No. 31 Oklahoma that emerged with a one-shot advantage on a tightly bunched leaderboard.

   The Sooners, led by a 2-under-par 69 over the 6,209-yard, par-71 Club Campestre San Jose layout by Julienne Soo, a junior from Australia, carded a 3-under 281 to lead the top-ranked Bruins by a shot.

   UCLA, with Lilia Vu, a junior from Fountain Valley, Calif. who is the No. 4 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, and Clare Legaspi, a sophomore from the Philippines, matching Soo’s 2-under 69, carded a solid 2-under 282 to land in second place.

   UCLA, the reigning Pacific 12 Conference champion, watched three of its chief conference rivals – Southern California, Stanford and reigning national champion Arizona State – battling it out in the  East  Lake Cup on The Golf Channel this week and is probably anxious to solidify its hold on the No. 1 ranking.

   Only 13 shots separate Oklahoma and former Radnor standout Brynn Walker and North Carolina in ninth place in the loaded 14-team field as the fall portion of the college golf season winds down.

   No. 22 Houston was another shot behind UCLA in third at 1-under 283, Texas, a much stronger team than its No. 13 ranking would suggest, is fourth at 2-over 286 and No. 38 Auburn is fifth at 4-over 288.

   No. 57 Baylor, the host for the Battle at the Beach, joined a couple of strong Atlantic Coast Conference entries in No. 20 Wake Forest and No. 21 Virginia in a tie for sixth at 6-over 290. Then comes the Tar Heels, who have nosed their way into the top 25 at No. 24 with a solid fall campaign, alone in ninth at 10-over 294.

   But it was a solid performance by a veteran Oklahoma team that gave it the lead. Backing up Soo were a pair of seniors, Hannah Wood of Centennial, Colo. and  Ana Ruiz, playing in her home country of Mexico, both of whom carded a 1-under 70 and are in the group tied for eighth in the individual standings.

   Kaitlin Milligan, a freshman from Norman, Okla., was the fourth counter for the Sooners with a 2-over 72. Rylee Pedigo,  a senior from Fort Worth, Texas is tied for 42^nd with a 4-over 75 and Valerie Tanguay, a senior from Canada competing as an individual, joined Pedigo in the group tied for 42^nd with a 4-over 75.

   Wake Forest’s Jennifer Kupcho, a junior from Westminster, Colo. and the No. 2 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, is tied for the individual lead with Houston’s Leonie Harm, a junior from Germany, after each carded a 4-uneder 67.

   North Carolina’s Bryana Nguyen, a senior from Columbia, Md. who has had a quiet fall, fired a 3-under 68 to get a share of third with Baylor’s Diane Beillieux, a freshman from Belgium.

   Another shot back in a tie for fifth were the UCLA pair of Vu, who reached the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club last summer, and Legaspi and Oklahoma’s Soo.

   Backing up Nguyen for the Tar Heels was Kelly Whaley, a junior from Farmington, Conn. who carded a 3-over 74. Ava Bergner, the freshman from Germany who has been North Carolina’s best player this fall, was another shot behind Whaley in the group tied for 42^nd at 4-over 75.

   The final counter for North Carolina was Walker, the two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor who hasn’t had the start to her sophomore season that she probably envisioned. Walker carded a 6-over 77 and is tied for 61^st.

   Rounding out the North Carolina lineup is Mariana Ocano, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Fla. who is tied for 84^th after posting a 78.