| Bonnie Murphy |
|
|
Bonnie Murphy, a two-time Big West Coach of the Year, has recently completed her eighth season at the helm of the Cal State Northridge women's golf program.
This season, the Matadors posted three top-five finishes, which included a pair of fourth place finishes at the Mountain Shootout in Arizona and the Braveheart Classic. Northridge wrapped up the season with a sixth-place finish at the Big West Championship. Sophomore Ashlee Nagamine finished a team-best 12th at this season's championship while freshman Lady Samson (23rd) also finished in the top-25.
In 2001-02, the Matadors' first year in the Big West Conference, Murphy guided Northridge to a second-place finish, finishing seven shots behind UC Irvine.
The Matadors then went on to win back-to-back Big West Championships in 2003 and 2004. Northridge won its first championship with a two-round, 617 which defeated Idaho by four shots. 2003 Big West Individual champion Beth Allen then led the Matadors to a 19th-place team finish at the NCAA West Regional, finishing 15th individually.
In 2004, the Matadors claimed their second consecutive four-shot victory by defeating UC Irvine with a three-round total of 925. Allen claimed her second straight individual title and Murphy had her second straight Coach of the Year award.
Over the last four seasons, the Matadors have posted 13 top-five finishes including a win in their own Matador Spring Invitational in 2006. Northridge has placed among the top-five teams at the conference championships in seven of eight seasons under Murphy.
In addition to a pair of Big West Coach of the Year awards, the Matadors have produced 12 all-conference golfers and 10 women have been named to the Big West All-Academic team under Murphy's watch. Allen, the most decorated women's golfer in Northridge history has since gone on to earn her LPGA Tour card and is currently competing on the professional tour.
Murphy began her collegiate coaching career as a first-year assistant under Stephanie Martin in 2000-01. That season the Matadors claimed a second place finish at the Big Sky Conference Championships.
A four-year letterwinner for the Matador golf team from 1996-2000, Murphy competed in 69 rounds and took a total 6,182 strokes. Murphy recorded a personal-best 10th place finish at the Princeville Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Kauai, Hawaii in 1998-99. That season, she also received Big Sky Conference All-Academic honors.
A native of Chicago, Ill., Murphy earned her bachelor's degree in liberal studies from Cal State Northridge in December 2000. She has also spent time running a non-profit caddy program for teens in 1998 and has also spent time in the LPGA Teaching and Country Club Professional Program.
