Tulsa women capture C-USA title

Tulsa after a wire-to-wire victory at the Conference USA Championship.

Tulsa after a wire-to-wire victory at the Conference USA Championship.

Women's Rankings »

RankNameSchoolRating
1Annie ParkUSC  69.66 
2Stephanie MeadowAlabama  69.96 
3Lindy DuncanDuke  70.64 
4Mariah StackhouseStanford  70.74 
5Sophia PopovUSC  70.89 

Women's Team Rankings »

RankNameRatingEvents
1Southern California 70.91  11 
2Duke 71.54  11 
3Alabama 71.56  11 
4Oklahoma 72.08  11 
5UCLA 72.33  12 

GULF SHORES, Ala. – The Tulsa women's team completed a wire-to-wire victory at the 2012 Conference USA Championship, defeating runner-up Central Florida by 13 shots Wednesday at Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA postseason.

The Golden Hurricane, No. 43 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, finished with a 20-over 884 total in winning its second Conference USA crown. Its previous title came in 2008. UCF, ranked No. 36, shot 33-over 897, and 34th-ranked Tulane finished third at 901.

All five Tulsa players finished in the top 15, led by Marita Engzelius in a tie for third. She was joined by teammates Kristina Merkle (fifth), Kamryn Ruffin (T-7), Sarah Elliott (11th) and Anna Young (T-13).

Tulane junior Maribel Lopez Porras won the individual title with an even-par 216 (73-72-71), four shots ahead of SMU's Felicia Espericueta.