As a final tune-up before the postseason, the No. 9 Stanford women’s golf team ended its spring in winning fashion at the 2007 Peg Barnard Collegiate. The event marked the Cardinal’s second tournament victory of the season and yet another top ten finish for its record.

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Sophomore Ki-Shui Liao at the 2007 Peg Bernard Collegiate meet this weekend #gallery http://daily.stanford.org/image/full/7171
Alvin Chow

Sophomore Ki-Shui Liao at the 2007 Peg Bernard Collegiate meet this weekend

Over the course of the two-day event, the Cardinal shot a four-over-par 572 (287-285) for a four-stroke victory over No. 23 Denver (286-290 — 576). After the first day of play, Stanford had trailed Denver by a stroke. However, a strong final day pushed the Card ahead of the Pioneers.

Fellow Pacific-10 Conference opponent Oregon State (586) came in at third, followed by Hawaii (592), Long Beach State (592) and San Francisco (593). Rounding out the rest of field were Washington State (594), San Jose State (599), Fresno State (608), Portland State (620) and UC-Davis (620).

The Cardinal win came at the par-71, 6,037-yard Stanford Golf Course, where the Stanford Intercollegiate was held last October. In that event, senior Lauren Todd’s strong play led the team to a fourth place finish. This time around was no different, as Todd finished second overall with a 137 (70-67), one stroke from the tournament’s two round record. Todd had ten birdies in the event.

Long Beach State’s Kay Hoey trumped Todd in both accolades, though. Her eight-under 134 earned her top individual honors for the tourney and broke the tournament two-round record set back in 1997 by San Jose State’s Janice Moody.

Following Todd was freshman Catherina Wang, who tied for fourth with a 142 (74-68). During the weekend, Wang had 11 birdies, which could greatly help the Cardinal lineup in the postseason.

Sophomore Mari Chun finished ninth in the tourney with a 144 (71-73). Chun’s recent strong play is also good news for the Cardinal cause. This is her second top ten finish following last week’s second place standing at the PING ASU Invitational. With no juniors on Stanford’s roster, these two golfers figure to be the team’s leaders of the future.

For now, Stanford is led by two formidable players in seniors Todd and Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana. Tangtiphaiboontana finished 23rd with a 150 (73-77), her second straight sub-par performance. At the beginning of the spring season, Tangtiphaiboontana led the Cardinal outright with her strong play. Her current slump jeopardizes Stanford’s desire to go deep in the postseason.

Nonetheless, these four players pose an intimidating lineup for any Pac-10 or other non-conference opponents. Over the two days, Stanford totaled 33 birdies to lead all visiting teams. The Card will be counting on strong performances from these four in the upcoming postseason.

Sophomore Ki-Shui Liao tied Tangtiphaiboontana with both rounds of 75 and freshman Angela King finished at 35th. The tourney also served as a final regular-season farewell to the four seniors on the team: Todd, Tangtiphaiboontana, Saana Rapakko and Jenna Seki. Rapakko tied King with a 153, and Seki shot a five-over 76 on the final day.

The Cardinal is now primed for the postseason with two strong finishes in its final regular season tournaments. With last week’s sixth place finish at the PING ASU Invite and this weekend’s victory at home, momentum appears to be with Stanford. However, Stanford will surely need all it can get when it faces a strong Pac-10 Conference.

The postseason begins at the end of the month when Stanford heads to Seattle for the Pac-10 Women’s Golf Championships. The three-day event will last Apr. 23-25. Last year, the Cardinal finished seventh in the Pac-10, led by Chun, then a freshman.

Following the Pac-10 tourney are the NCAA Regional Championships and NCAA Women’s Golf Championships, both in May. Although the Cardinal is faced with a difficult task at hand, it now has a two week break to recover and regroup.

Interestingly, history may be on Stanford’s side as well. The last time the Cardinal headed to Washington, it took the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, its first victory of the season. Chun also took top individual honors. The Cardinal women can only hope that another trip to the Evergreen State will produce similar results.