NCAA Regionals Notes

BACK TO TEXAS:

• This is the second consecutive year members of GU's women's golf squad have competed in an NCAA Regional in the Lone Star State: last year, the Zags reached the Regional as a team and played at San Antonio's Briggs Ranch Golf Club.
• At least one Bulldog has earned a spot in the NCAA Regionals the last four seasons: the entire squad earned at-large berths in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Pagdanganan is the first Gonzaga individual selected to postseason play.
• Bianca Pagdanganan is the third-seeded individual in the Bryan Regional. The freshman from Quezon City, Philippines, is ranked No. 59 in the nation by GolfWeek and 100 by GolfStat.

TOP ZAG:

• Pagdanganan (pronounced POG - dun - gone - on) has been the Bulldogs' top player throughout the year, leading the team with a 72.65 stroke average. That is the lowest in school history by over a stroke, as current junior Ciera Min set the record at 73.89 last season. She also leads the team with 11 rounds at or below par, six of which came in the spring.
• Additionally, Pagdanganan was the highest-finishing Bulldog in five of the eight tournaments she played in (she missed the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational due to illness) and won the prestigious Edean Ihlanfeldt Invite back in October. She leads the team with four Top 5 finishes and five Top 10s.

CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:

• Pagdanganan was named Co-Freshman of the Year in the West Coast Conference, sharing the award with Rose Huang of BYU. She is the the second Zag to earn the honor after current senior Raychelle Santos did so in 2013.
• Pagdanganan joined WCC medalist Ciera Min as Bulldogs in receiving First Team All-WCC honors. Gonzaga has now placed multiple players on the All-Conference team every year since 2011.

SPRING IN HER STEP:

• Despite a stroke average .28 higher than her season average, Pagdaganan's posted strong results in the spring. Three of her four Top 5 finishes and four of the five Top 10s have come during the Zags' spring season, and she still remained in the Top 25 during her only other tournament of 2016. She began the spring season with a fourth-place finish at The Gold Rush and fifth place at the Bay Area Intercollegiate, finishing at even par for both tournaments. She also tied for seventh in a tough field at the Silverado Showdown to end the regular season
• Additionally, Pagdanganan is coming off a strong finish at the WCC Championships, where she tied for second with a final round 69 (-3). It was her second 69 of the year; she also went below 70 during the opening round of the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in October, a tournament which she eventually won.

BEFORE GU:

• Pagdanganan was very active on the junior circuit in her native Philippines, medaling in the stroke play portion of the Philippine Amateur Open in 2013 and winning the amateur division of the 2013 Philippine ladies Open. She also has multiple appearances at Junior Worlds, including a Top 25 placement in 2013, and is a member of the training pool for the Philippine National Golf Team.

ZAGS AT NCAAs:

• As mentioned before, 2016 will be the fourth year in a row at least part of the GU women's golf team will compete at NCAA Regionals. The Zags made their first appearance in 2013 after earning an at-large bid, and they picked up at-large berths in each of the next two seasons; with the consecutive at-large berths, the women's golf team became the first Gonzaga squad in any sport to earn three consecutive at-large berths into NCAA postseason play.
• Below is a list of the six highest individual finishes in Gonzaga's Regionals history:
  

  Year	Player	Score	Finish	Location
  2015	Alice Kim	217 (+1)	T-26th	San Antonio, Texas (Briggs Ranch GC)
  2015	Ciera Min	219 (+3)	T-40th	San Antonio, Texas (Briggs Ranch GC)
  2013	Alice Kim	226 (+10)	T-62nd	Norman, Okla. (Jimmie Austin OU GC)
  2013	Raychelle Santos	229 (+13)	T-78th	Norman, Okla. (Jimmie Austin OU GC)
  2014	Alice Kim	238 (+22)	T-79th	Cle Elum, Wash. (Tumble Creek)
  2014	TJ Kliebphipat	238 (+22)	T-79th	Cle Elum, Wash. (Tumble Creek)

PLAYING THE BEST:

• Pagdanganan has played in four of the 40 most difficult tournaments in the nation (according to GolfWeek and the Sagarin rating system): the Silverado Showdown (No. 21), the Bay Area Intercollegiate (30), the West Coast Conference Championships (31), and Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational (32). Pagdanganan posted a Top 10 finish in all four tournaments, including her win at the Edean Ihlanfeldt. Her average finish in those tournaments was fourth.
• Her stroke average in those four tournaments was 72.55, and four of her 11 rounds at or under par came in those competitions, including both of her 69s.

A NEW PAG IN THE RECORD BOOKS:

• As a freshman, Pagdanganan has already made an impact on the Zags' record books. Not only is she one of eight medalists in Gonzaga's history, she's just one of six Bulldogs who have turned in a round of 70 or below.
• Her 36-hole score of 142 (-2) at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational is the seventh-best through two rounds in GU history, and she also has two single-round and two 54-hole marks in the program's Top 11 as well.

ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE:

• As a team, the Zags' 2015-16 season ended on a high note as the Bulldogs finished in second place at the West Coast Conference Championships. They fired 290 (+2), their fourth-lowest of the season, to pass Pepperdine on the final day and finish just three strokes back of conference champion BYU. At one point during the final nine holes, the Zags pulled within one of the Cougars.
• The second-place finish at the WCCs was their best of the year and fourth No. 2 finish in the conference tournament in history.