The Loop

USC women's next to claim No. 1 ranking

November 01, 2012

USC's victory at the Stanford Intercollegiate left an impression among the voters for the Golf World/WGCA women's coaches poll. The Trojans followed up two earlier third-place finishes with the win in Palo Alto to help them claim the top spot in the latest coaches' poll. They are the third different school to be No. 1 this fall, with Alabama holding the spot in the preseason ranking and Duke holding it in the Oct. 8 poll.

It's the first time USC has been No. 1 in the poll since May 2007.

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Four different schools achieved their highest ranking since Golf World resumed the poll in 2001-02: No. 3 Washington, T-8 Oklahoma, No. 11 UC Davis and No. 12 N.C. State.

Some other interesting tidbit include ...

Northwestern joined the top 25 at No. 20. It's the first time that the Wildcats have been ranked in the poll since March 1, 2002.

UCLA, which has not finished better than eighth in all four of its fall starts, stayed in the top 25, but barely, earning a share of the No. 24 spot with Baylor. The Bruins were previously ranked No. 8. It's the first time the school has failed to be ranked in the top 10 in the Golf World poll since April 2007.

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Nova Southeastern solidified its No. 1 spot in the latest Golf World/WGCA women's Division II coaches' poll. The Sharks claimed 18 of 19 first-place votes after claiming a third-place finish at the Lady Paladin Invitational, finishing better than 10 other Division I programs. This came after the four-time defending NCAA champs had won their first three starts of the fall.

St. Edward's received the other first-place vote as it maintained its No. 2 ranking. Barry, Rollins and Florida Southern round out the top five.

Midwestern State made the biggest move in the poll, moving from T-18 to ninth thanks to winning the Oklahoma Intercollegiate after finishing second in its previous three tournament starts.

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Methodist claimed 17 of 18 first-place votes to stay atop the latest Golf World/WGCA women's Division III coaches' poll. The Monarchs won three of their four tournament starts in the fall semester, including the NCAA Division III Preview to close out the first half of the 2012-13 season.