University of Oregon
Eugene Country Club
Little and No. 34 Ducks Enjoy Best-Ever Pac-10 Finishes
04/22/10 | Women's Golf
EUGENE – In a Pacific-10 Conference Championships marked with drama, the No. 34 University of Oregon women's golf team maintained its composure and was rewarded with best-ever team and individual finishes in final round action Wednesday at the Eugene Country Club.
With three players ending in the top 20 overall against the nation's toughest conference, the Ducks improved a position in the team standings for the third straight day. This time, UO celebrated a two-over final round of 290 – its best score of the spring after it turned the same trick in Monday's opening round (292).
The Ducks' previous best-ever league finishes were fourth-place efforts in the 1991 and 1993 in the events held in Eugene and Walla Walla, Wash., respectively.
UO's three-round, 25-over score of 889 (292-307-290-889) was also its second-best in 2009-10 behind its nine-over 885 from its season opener, the Branch Law Firm Invitational (par 73) near Las Vegas in September.
“Coming in, I was really happy with our preparation, and it definitely showed,” Oregon head coach Ria Quiazon said. “We took it one shot at a time and adjusted the goals as we went on. There can be a lot of distractions in a championship environment, especially if it's at home, so our players did a great job of being focused on playing well and shaking off things out of their control.”
Overall in the team standings Wednesday, No. 7 Arizona shot the second-best score of the tourney – an even 288 – and made up a three-stroke pre-round deficit to win its seventh league title in the event's 24th edition. Second-day leader and No. 1 UCLA followed three strokes back in second place (289-298-294-881).
The next two teams - No. 5 USC (fourth, 284-318-289-891) and No. 38 Washington (fifth, 296-314-296-906) - each improved a position Wednesday, while No. 24 California dropped three spots to sixth place (287-305-317-909).
No. 12 Stanford (seventh, 301-316-311-928), Washington State (eighth, 317-330-318-965) and Oregon State (ninth, 317-329-321) rounded out the field.
With three players among the top seven individuals, No. 2 Arizona State still fell short of defending its Pac-10 title after Jennifer Johnson and Giulia Molinaro missed Tuesday's and Wednesday's rounds because of illness.
On the individual front for Oregon, junior and two-time All-Pac-10 honoree Kendra Little's even final round 72 Wednesday helped her improve five spots in the overall standings (third-tie, 72-75-72-219) en route to UO's highest individual league finish ever. The previous honor belonged to Karly Mills who tied for fourth place in 1995.
Little posted four birdies on the day on the par-5 sixth, eighth and 16th holes and par-4 15th hole, added par scores on 11 holes, and overcame bogeys on the par-3 second and fifth holes and a double-bogey on the par-4 14th.
“It was an awesome week, especially to have the honor to play in front of so many important people in your life like your family and friends,” Little said. “I couldn't be more proud of my teammates, especially Kate (Hildahl) who is a senior and shot a 68 on her final round on this course. For me, a key point was on 14 when I was on my fifth shot and in the rough still 80 yards away. That shot landed a foot away from the pin, and even though it was a double-bogey it was still critical. Overall, my putting was better today, and it was to fun to watch all the other Ducks score well – watching them succeed was contagious.”
Sophomore Ashley Edwards (73-76-76) and junior Erica Omlid (71-78-76) remained top-20 for the third straight day and tied for 18th place at 225. The duo's Pac-10 finishes were career bests, improving on last year's 24th and 49th-place finishes in the Stanford-hosted event.
On Wednesday, the duo each carded a pair of birdies – Omlid on the par-4 10th and 17th holes and Edwards on the par-5 eighth and par-3 12th hole – and added par scores on 10 and 11 holes, respectively.
Entering the day in 34th place, senior Kate Hildahl made one of the day's biggest jumps and finished in a tie for 23rd place (81-78-68-227) after she tied the tourney's second-lowest round (68) Wednesday.
The Tualatin, Ore., native Hildahl easily eclipsed owned her previous career best - a 1-under 70 (from the Pac-10 Championships in '08 – along with her season best was a 1-over 73 from the Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitational last fall in Hawai'i. Her previous best round in tourney play on the Eugene Country Club course was a 77 as a sophomore in the Oregon Duck Invitational, and she also shot a 78 in the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur.
Hildahl led UO in a round for the sixth time this season and 16th time in her career. Glancing at her scorecard, she logged birdies on the par-4 third, 15th, 17th and 18th holes and par-5 eighth holes, turned in par scores on 12 holes, and had only one bogey on the par-three 12th hole.
“I was at two-under after the birdie on 15,” Hildahl said, “and I kind of knew in the back of my mind where I was as at (score-wise). It was also important not to try and protect that number. I looked at my best score in practice here from last fall – a 67 - and said to myself that I've done it before and can do it again. I had been steady the whole round and felt comfortable in the position, and tried hard to continue taking it one hole at a time.”
Freshman Cheyenne Hickle (27th, 76-79-74) also posted her best score of the tourney Wednesday and improved a place. The Gilbert, Ariz., native opened the day with a birdie on the par-4 first and par-five eighth holes, added par scores on 11 holes, and bogeyed four holes (#2, 7, 16, 18).
“I was so proud of everyone's play,” Quiazon said. “Kate started a little slow and so badly wanted a strong finish which doesn't make it easier. She came out ready to let it happen, and her putts fell. The birdies on 15 and 18 are particularly noteworthy since those are tough holes. Kendra really competed well and put herself in a good position the next few weeks. Erica plays so well here and it's great to see her mature as a consistent contributor. Ashley is an intense competitor and shook off a rough tourney last week by showing that she will do whatever it takes to help her team. Cheyenne only hit four greens today so she was an up and down queen – she should be very proud of that and what she accomplished in the tourney. We still have things to work on for regionals, and we're looking forward to getting ready the next few weeks.”
Overall on the individual leaderboard, Arizona State sophomore Carlota Ciganda (71-72-71-214) sank a six-foot birdie putt to win a one-hole playoff on the par-4 10th hole over teammate Juliana Murcia (68-77-69-214).
Little finished in a four-way tie for third place at 219 with Jennifer Song of USC (70-76-73), Jaclyn Sweeney of Arizona State (72-75-72), Tiffany Lua of UCLA (73-72-74-219) and Margarita Ramos of Arizona (76-71-72). Joanne Lee of Cal (67-77-76) tied with Stephanie Kono of UCLA (70-73-77) for eighth place at 220.
Hole-by-hole results are posted at the www.Golfstat.com website at the http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=1731 URL address, and more Pac-10 tourney history is available at the www.Pac-10.org website.
Looking ahead to next Monday, April 26, the NCAA will announce the fields for the three, 24-team NCAA Regionals, set for Thursday-Saturday, May 6-8 in Columbus, Ind., Greenville, S.C., and Stanford, Calif. At those events, the top eight team finishers and two individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championships set for Wilmington, N.C., Tuesday-Friday, May 18-21.
THIRD ROUND FINAL RESULTS
24th Annual Pac-10 Women's Golf Championships
Par 72, 6203 yards
Eugene Country Club, Eugene, Ore.
Wednesday, April 20, 2010
Team Standings – 1, Arizona, 293-297-288-878. 2, UCLA, 289-298-294-881. 3, Oregon, 292-307-290-889. 4, USC, 284-318-289-891. 5, Washington, 296-314-296-906. 6, California, 287-305-317-909. 7, Stanford, 301-316-311-928. 8, Washington State, 317-330-318-965. 9, Oregon State, 317-329-321-967. No Score – Arizona State (283-NS-NS).
Top Individuals – Champion – Carlota Ciganda, Arizona State, 71-72-71-214 (one-hole playoff – hole 10 (birdie)). 1t, Juliana Murcia, Arizona State, 68-77-69-214. 3t, Kendra Little, Oregon, 72-75-72-219. 3t, Tiffany Lua, UCLA, 73-72-74-219. 3t, Margarita Ramos, Arizona, 76-71-72-219. 3t, Jennifer Song, USC, 70-76-73-219. 3t, Jaclyn Sweeney, Arizona State, 72-75-72-219. 8t, Stephanie Kono, UCLA, 70-73-77-220. 8t, Joanne Lee, California, 67-77-76-220. 10t, Three players tied at 221.
Oregon Individual Results – 3t, Kendra Little, 72-75-72-219. 18t, Ashley Edwards, 73-76-76-225. 18t, Erica Omlid, 71-78-76-225. 23t, Kate Hildahl, 81-78-68-227. 27, Cheyenne Hickle, 76-79-74-229.
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Players Mentioned
