University of Oregon
Eugene C.C.
Little & UO Sweep Duck Invite Titles
03/25/08 | Women's Golf
* Complete final results are available in the LINKS box to the right, and click here for a link to a photo gallery.
EUGENE ? In the 14th annual Duck Invitational, freshman Kendra Little and the No. 43 University of Oregon women's golf team drew the approval of the area golf faithful at the Eugene Country Club Tuesday by holding onto their individual and team leads in final round action.
Little added three strokes to her lead with Tuesday's 1-under 71 on the par-72, 6,052-yard course to claim her first collegiate title by four strokes (70-73-71-214).
Washington State's Amy Eneroth remained in second place (second, 72-72-74-218), ahead of California's Shannon Yocum (third, 77-72-70-219). UC Davis teammates Katie Sisler and Chelsea Stelzmiller followed in a tie for fourth at 223 (Sisler 72-78-73-223 / Stelzmiller 77-74-72).
On the front nine, Little shot a one-under 34 that included a birdie on the par-3 second hole. She added an even-37 on the back nine with pars on the par-4 11th and 17th holes, and bogeys on the par-3 and -4 12th and 15th holes.
In her 24th collegiate round Tuesday, the local product out of Sheldon High School carded her eighth round of par or better. Two weeks ago, she enjoyed a school record 5-under final-round 67 and a par 72 opener in the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational. In the fall, she carded rounds of 3-under 69, 2-under 69, 1-under 71 and par 72 in other tournaments.
The home tournament was the fifth of eight this season when she was UO's top finisher, and she also became the Ducks' sixth tourney winner the past three years.
Junior Cathryn Bristow won the UNLV stop two weeks ago (69-69-70), and two other tourneys her 2005-06 freshman season - the fall OSU Invitational (70-74-73-217), and the spring regular season-ending Illinois Invitational (74-72-146). Sophomore Felicia Eastick opened the 2007-08 season with a win in the Giustina Memorial in Corvallis (74-69-74-217), and former teammate Kim McCready won the Baja Classic in Baja, Calif., to open the spring slate in 2007 (70-75-145).
In the team standings Tuesday, the Ducks won their first-ever home tourney title. UO extended its first-day lead by three strokes (297-309-294-900) with the tourney's low round to win by four strokes over UC Davis (second, 302-305-297-904).
No. 15 California followed in third place (314-301-297-912), ahead of No. 54 Washington (fourth, 309-306-308-923), Idaho (fifth, 310-309-306-925) and No. 50 Washington State (sixth, 304-309-313-926).
Other team results follow: Colorado (seventh, 308-311-308-927), Oregon State (eighth, 316-306-306-928), Wyoming (ninth, 308-325-308-941), Minnesota (10th, 323-314-307-944), Portland State (11th, 318-321-312-951), Texas-San Antonio (12th-tie, 315-322-324-961), Montana (12th-tie, 316-323-322-961), Long Beach State (14th, 327-330-305-962) and the Oregon ?B' team (15th, 326-317-325-968).
The young Duck squad counted three more scores of 76 or better Tuesday, two of which were from top-15 overall finishers ? Bristow (sixth-tie, 75-77-72-224) and Eastick (15th, 75-78-75-228). Freshman Erica Omlid (35th-tie, 77-83-76-236) and sophomore Kate Hildahl (39th-tie, 79-81-77-237) also added top-40 finishes overall.
Bristow's top-10 finish was her fourth of the season after she won the UNLV stop two weeks ago (69-69-70), finished second in the fall-ending San Francisco Invitational (75-72-72), and also placed eighth in Washington's Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational (77-73-71) in October. She has shot scores of par or better in four of her last six rounds and eight times overall in the season's 24 rounds. In those eight tournaments, she has paced UO twice and ranked second in four other stops.
In the final standings, Eastick stood top three for UO for the sixth time in seven tourneys this season, and Omlid ranked fourth for UO for the second time in three spring contests.
Oregon also entered a second team of players in the tourney that included top-30 finisher, junior Blair Ressler (30th-tie, 77-75-82-234), senior Victoria Wenslow (49th, 80-77-84-241), freshman Monika Graf (61st-tie, 80-85-81-246) and Tiffany Schoning (64th-tie, 89-80-79-248) and sophomore Cathleen Ward (80th, 92-94-83-269). Ressler's finish was the second-highest of her collegiate career behind her 2007 fall opener debut, the Giustina Memorial Classic (24th-t, 79-76-76).
Detailed hole-by-hole results from the www.GolfStat.com website at the http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?DB_OEM_ID=500&tournament_id=1139 URL address.
Going back in Duck Invitational history to the first event in 1989, Oregon had finished second four times prior (1990, '99, 2004 and '05) and had placed top five three other times - 1989 (fifth, 971),' 92 (fourth, 945) and '07 (fifth, 943).
Looking ahead, the Ducks spring back into action for the Sacramento State Invitational, next Monday-Tuesday, March 31-April 1 in Lincoln, Calif., the same site that will host the NCAA West Regional, Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10.
HEAD COACH COMMENTS - Shannon Rouillard
“It was a really solid effort by our whole team. Kendra was back and forth under par all day. Cathryn had a couple birdies on the back side to keep the momentum going again today. Felicia had another solid score of 75. Erica came back with a 76 final round, and that's a big stepping stone for a freshman."
“Our team's game plan was similar to the Vegas tourney. It worked there so why change. Let's get relaxed beforehand and be focused on what we need to focus on. Then, once we teed it up there were no expectations. They continued to believe in that approach."
“The Eugene Country Club is one of the finest courses anywhere, so we're thankful to be able host the event here. We've made it a priority to play here often the last two months so that helped raise our comfort level."
“We didn't worry about the other teams. If you focus on what you need to do to be successful, everything else will fall into place. “
“For Kendra, she's been playing so well, I wanted to stay out of her way unless she needed me, and I knew she would ask me to step in if she had any doubts. On a couple approach shots, I checked with her in regards to club selection based on the yardage and the wind. She's a mature player with a lot of experience so she is tested in these situations.”
"This tournament is a great opportunity for our freshmen to play against some of the top West Coast teams, in a familiar environment, and often times in front of their family and friends. This experience will help them continue to blossom as they mature and get older."
“I enjoyed seeing the players continue to play more confidently and watch their potential come through. They've worked hard, and that continued to pay off today. It was fun to observe them stay in the right frame of mind and continue to mature.”
“We've been working on our consistency for a while. We popped a 309 in yesterday's second round, but that was probably partly because it was our first 36-hole day since last November so we weren't as conditioned. We'll be better next time.”
FINAL ROUND RESULTS
Duck Invitational
Eugene Country Club, Par 72, 6,052 yards
University of Oregon - Eugene, Ore.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Team Results ? 1, Oregon, 297-309-294-900. 2, UC Davis, 302-305-297-904. 3, California, 314-301-297-912. 4, Washington, 309-306-308-923. 5, Idaho, 310-309-306-925. 6, Washington State, 304-309-313-926. 7, Colorado, 308-311-308-927. 8, Oregon State, 316-306-306-928. 9, Wyoming, 308-325-308-941. 10, Minnesota, 323-314-308-944. 11, Portland State, 318-321-312-951. 12t, Texas-San Antonio, 315-322-324-961. 12t, Montana, 316-323-322-961. 14, Long Beach State, 327-330-305-962. 15, Oregon, 326-317-325-968.
Individual Results ? 1, Kendra Little, Oregon, 70-73-71-214. 2, Amy Eneroth, Washington State, 72-72-74-218. 3, Shannon Yocum, California, 77-72-70-219. 4t, Katie Sisler, UC Davis, 72-78-73-223. 4t, Chelsea Stelzmiller, UC Davis, 77-74-72-223. 6t, Cathryn Bristow, Oregon, 75-77-72-224. 6t, Jessica Black, Washington State, 75-73-76-224. 8, Dominique Pytlewski, Colorado, 75-74-76-225. 9t, Lauren Archer, Oregon State (Individual), 78-74-74-226. 9t, Bryanna Gregory, UC Davis, 76-76-74-226. 9t, Julianna Uhrik, Oregon State, 77-71-78-226.
Oregon Results ? 1, Kendra Little, 70-73-71-214. 6t, Cathryn Bristow, 75-77-72-224. 15, Felicia Eastick, 75-78-75-228. 35t, Erica Omlid, 77-83-76-236. 39t, Kate Hildahl, 79-81-77-237.
Oregon ?B' Team Results ? 30t, Blair Ressler, 77-75-82-234. 49, Victoria Wenslow, 80-77-84-241. 61t, Monika Graf, 80-85-81-246. 64t, Tiffany Schoning, 89-80-79-248.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
