Sept. 13, 2007

STANFORD, Calif.- The Stanford women's golf team opens the 2007-08 campaign this weekend with an appearance at the challenging Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn.

The Cardinal, coming off a fifth-place finish last year at NCAA Championships, is a fixture in the national polls again this season. Stanford is ranked as high as No. 9 in the Golf World/Nike Preseason Coaches poll.

The fall season kicks off Sept. 14-16 with this weekend's Mason Rudolph Championship, hosted by Vanderbilt University. The 54-hole event will be played over three days.

Stanford, which finished sixth overall at last year's event, joins a loaded tournament field that includes the top nine teams in the country according to GolfWeek. Participating this weekend are the following: defending tournament champion and No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 USC, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 Auburn, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Purdue, No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 9 Arizona.

Stanford's tentative lineup for the weekend includes senior Saana Rapakko, junior Mari Chun, sophomore Catherina Wang and freshmen Piper Miller and Rebecca Durham.

Tee times begin between 5 a.m.-7 a.m. PST on Friday, with Stanford slated to begin at 5:45 a.m. PST.

Live statistics will be available at www.golfstat.com.