For senior Erin Tone, her last four years as a regular on the Arizona State women’s golf team have been a bittersweet experience.

Fortunately, two tumultuous seasons as a freshman and sophomore have been followed by better times for Tone, who along with her ASU teammates open play today in the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at Sun River, Ore.

“It’s been a rough four years for me; I’m not going to lie,’’ said the former Gilbert High School standout. “I’ve dealt with a lot of things that I wouldn’t wish on others.’’

Specifically, Tone has gone through three coaches -- Linda Vollstedt, Mickey Yokoi and Melissa Luellen -- and a lot of new teammates, as well as a team rebellion that ended with Yokoi being reassigned to the ASU men’s team in 2002. Along the way, there were lots of setbacks for the once-proud Sun Devils.

“It was hard signing with a coach who retired three months later (Vollstedt), and then ending up with another coach (Yokoi) for my freshman year,’’ said the 21-year-old Tone. “Even playing for Coach Mac (McNamara, Luellen’s maiden name) has been different year to year, because she’s a young coach who has changed a lot, too.’’

As a result, Tone has been ASU’s No. 1 player and its No. 5 player, and every spot in between. That she was No. 1 and No. 2 most of her freshman and sophomore years says a lot about her tenacity. The fact she’s now No. 3 or No. 4 says a lot about the current team, which has risen to No. 5 in the country after winning three times in 2004-05.

“We’re all really interested in how it’s going to go (this week), because it’s the first time in a long time where we’ve had a legitimate chance to win it,’’ Tone explained of the 72-hole event that runs through Friday. “In a lot of ways, this team is really special in that it’s taken four to five years to get here.’’

Four of the five women -- Tone, junior Alissa Kuczka, and sophomores Tiffany Tavee and Charmaine Erasmus -- have all played in at least two national championships, with Tone leading the way with four appearances. But it’s ASU’s sensational freshman, Louise Stahle of Sweden, who is the rookie with the most upside.

Stahle, the No. 1 amateur in the country who announced last week she plans to turn pro this summer, has won three times this season. She will be the favorite to take home medalist honors, although it’s up to Erin and her teammates to set the tone.

“This, finally, is a strong team, where six or seven players could have gone to nationals,’’ Tone noted. “We have the attitude, and if we can get close, we just might prove it. And it might not be like that next year with Louise leaving.’’

Chances are it’s also the curtain call for Tone when it comes to competitive golf. A finance major who spent last summer as an intern on Wall Street in New York, she plans to go an extra year at ASU to pick up a minor in design.

“After my freshman year, my desire to play professionally just went out the door,’’ she said of a season that proved to be a great divide of personalities that finally began healing late in her sophomore year.

“I lost the motivation to practice, and realized that, as hard as it was to travel, well, I was looking for a more permanent life.’’

These days, Tone has it with her boyfriend, Bob Tolar.

“He’s a former swimmer who loves to play golf, and (noncompetitive golf) is fine with me,’’ said Tone, whose father, Dick, was a world-class archer and Olympics coach.

“Swimming was actually my first sport, which I took up at age 3. And even before golf, I had always planned to be an Olympic gymnast, but by the time I was 12, I was too tall.’’

Today, Tone’s 5-foot-9 frame has helped her post a 75.71 scoring average, one top-10, two top-20s, and a tie for 23rd in the recent Pac-10 Championship, where she earned honorable mention. Even more impressive, she is a three-time -- soon to be four-time? -- National Golf Coaches Association All-Academic honoree, with similar academic accolades from the Pac-10.

“Everything is finally in place for Erin . . . school, her job and her boyfriend,’’ Luellen noted. “I think these days, she is very, very happy.

“And even though Erin is now our No. 4 player, that just goes to show you how strong the team has become. Remember, there have been a lot of NCAA titles that have been won out of that No. 4 spot.’’