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Program History

In 1998, the women’s golf team was co-founded with the men’s as the first intercollegiate sports at Cal State San Marcos. Coach Jacqueline Trischman, a chemistry professor at the university, organized the squad, which became the only women’s golf team to compete at the NAIA level in California at the time. The program has grown steadily over the years, and is now a perennial contender at Nationals.

In the early years, however, the team was more concerned with finding opponents to play than competing for championships. With no nearby NAIA women’s golf teams, the squad had to travel to its few tournaments each year. In the spring of 2000, the Cougar women participated in four tournaments. While the inaugural five-member team wasn’t ready to compete for tournament titles, they gained valuable experience as the year went on, and managed a surprising eighth place finish at the National Championships in Kentucky. This strong finish poised the team for future success.

Signs of that success began to emerge during the subsequent fall season. At the Baylor Invitational in Belton, Texas, the Cougar women placed fourth place out of thirteen teams. It was the program’s best finish to that point, and helped build confidence on a roster with no seniors. In fact, the squad showed so much potential that they earned a #4 national ranking by the NAIA entering the 2001 spring season.

That spring season would be the biggest test for the golf program to that point. With six scheduled tournaments – including five over a four-week span – it would be by far the busiest schedule faced by team members. The team rose to the challenge, finishing in the middle of the pack in most of the regular season tournaments before winning the NAIA Western Regionals to earn its second trip to Nationals. At the National Championships, the Cougar women played four great days of golf, placing fifth for the tournament. Junior Effie Rengpian, who tied for 11th, became the program’s first All-American. Sophomore Stephanie Segura placed 21st to earn Honorable Mention All-American.

Now an established competitor on the national NAIA scene, the Cougar women’s golf team entered the fall 2001 season with confidence at an all-time high. Coach Fred Hanover's squad placed fourth at Cal State Monterey Bay and eighth at Cal State Northridge, earning a national ranking of 13th in the rapidly-expanding field of 60 NAIA teams. Playing with that lofty ranking in the 2002 spring season, the Lady Cougars finished seventh at Santa Clara and second at the school’s host event, the San Marcos Invitational. After once again winning earning a bid to the National Championships, the squad posted another strong finish there, placing in a tie for seventh. Senior Nicole Cairns placed ninth in the individual competition, earning All-American honors.

The fall 2002 season brought more success for the team. Things started with a bang, as the Lady Cougars finished second at CSU Monterey Bay, their first tournament of the season. In the spring 2003 season, they placed second once again at the San Marcos Invitational, and posted many other competitive finishes. Led by junior Stephanie Segura, the squad finished tied for tenth at Nationals, continuing the program’s string of top-10 finishes at the sport’s most important event.

With most of its top golfers coming back for the Fall 2003 season, Coach Hanover's  Cougars continued to shine. The team finished fourth at the Grand Canyon Women’s Fall Invitational, but the story was Stephanie Segura, who tied for first the individual competition, becoming the first Cougar golfer to do so. A month later, freshman Kyle Safford improved on that feat at the Cal Poly Women’s Tournament, winning the event outright by shooting 74 on the par-72 course. Not to be outdone, Segura won the Chico Invitational early in the spring 2004 season, shooting 78 and 74. Segura finished second in a tournament at the Western Washington Invitational later in the season, with freshman Jennell French placing eighth, her third top-10 finish of the season. With so much individual success, the Cougars rolled into Nationals and came out with a strong sixth place finish. Segura continued her unbelievable play, placing second at the tournament. French finished not far behind, tying for sixth. Both women earned All-American status.

Coming off the most all-around successful season in the program’s history, a let-down for the fall 2004 season was predictable. However, the Cougars got off to a strong start, placing fourth in their first tournament of the year. The spring 2005 season was kicked off with a second-place finish at UC Santa Cruz, and capped off with a 10th-place finish at Nationals. Jennell French finished ninth in the field, earning her second-straight All-American title.

The 2005-2006 season proved to be another successful one for the Cougars. Former team member Stephanie Segura assumed the coaching duties, and led the team to post competitive showings at tournament in both the fall and the spring, highlighted by a third place finish at the San Marcos Invitational, and a win at the newly-reconfigured Region II Championships. At that two-day event, the Lady Cougars beat their closest competition by nearly 60 strokes, easily earning a bid to Nationals. At Nationals, the squad rose to the occasion. After day one, the Lady Cougars were in fourth place, and they never relinquished that position, making the 2006 Nationals the best ever for the program.