With momentum — and, hopefully, a little luck — in its corner, No. 8 Stanford women’s golf kicks off the Pacfic-10 Conference Championships today in Seattle. The event will run through Wednesday at the University of Washington’s par-72, 6,196-yard Broadmoor Golf Club.

The Cardinal enters the tournament fresh off a victory at the Peg Barnard California Collegiate this past weekend.

Senior Lauren Todd, ranked No. 19 nationally by Golfweek magazine, paced host Stanford with a five-under 137 for a second-place individual finish. Freshman Catherina Wang finished fourth with a 142, two strokes ahead of sophomore Mari Chun, who tied for ninth. Senior Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana, ranked 41st, came in at 23rd (73-77—150), another sub-par performance from one of the team leaders.

Nonetheless, the Cardinal lineup appears set for the postseason. Seniors Todd and Tangtiphaiboontana are usually consistent players who have led Stanford throughout the season. Chun has shown flashes of brilliance, winning the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational earlier this season.

Todd currently leads the team with a 73.2 stroke average, with No. 29 Chun following closely behind at 73.6. Tangtiphaiboontana boasts seven top-25 finishes, edging out Todd and Chun’s six apiece.

While those three form the team’s nucleus, Wang’s recent strong play will likely earn her the final spot in the lineup. Sophomore Ki-Shui Liao had occupied that slot for most of the season, but a weak early spring opened the door for Wang, who also placed 35th at the PING ASU Invitational.

With four seniors — Todd, Tangtiphaiboontana, Jenna Seki and Saana Rapakko — and no juniors on the roster, Stanford knows this is the year. Chun and Liao do return next season, but asking them to carry the team is a tall order.

In their eight tournaments this season, the Cardinal women have won twice and finished in the top 10 every time. Their first victory of the year came at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invite in Sammamish, Wash., so Stanford is hoping that another visit to the Evergreen State will have the same results.

Still, the competition is fierce as No. 1 Arizona State, No. 6 Southern California, No. 11 UCLA and No. 15 Arizona all could easily walk away with the crown. The dark horses are No. 45 Washington State, No. 50 Oregon, No. 55 California, No. 59 Oregon State and No. 60 Washington.

Last season, UCLA took its third straight Pac-10 Championship with a 15-over 879, inching out Arizona State (880). Stanford finished seventh of the ten teams with a 912 as Chun finished 11th with a 222. Tangtiphaiboontana placed 15th with a 226, Todd took 33rd with a 232 and then-senior Kelly Husted and Liao tied for 34th with 235.

Though the Pac-10 Championships are today’s focus, a brighter beacon looms on the horizon — the NCAA Championships. Anything can happen there: Four Pac-10 teams placed in the top 10 last year, but Pac-10 champion UCLA only managed 11th.

Today, though, Stanford will tee-off with the defending champion Bruins at 9:40 a.m.