Women's Golf Opens Spring At Therese Hession Regional Challenge

PALOS VERDES, Calif. - The Oregon women's golf team will kick off its 2023 spring season this Sunday, Feb. 12, with the first of three rounds at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club.

The No. 5 Ducks return to action after a solid fall season that ended with a second-place showing at the Pac-12 Preview in Hawaii. Oregon is looking to get its spring season off to a strong start as the Ducks begin their road back to the NCAA Championships following last season's national runner-up finish.

Oregon is one of 10 top-25 teams in the 16-team field, and the third-highest ranked behind only No. 1 Stanford and No. 3 San Jose State.

2022 Therese Hession Regional Challenge
Dates: Sunday, Feb. 12 - Tuesday, Feb. 14
Location: Palos Verdes, Calif.
Course: Palos Verdes Golf Club
Par/Yards: 71/6,017
Format: Three rounds of stroke play, 18 holes each day

How To Follow
Live scoring for the Therese Hession Regional Challenge will be available at Golfstat.com. Live updates will be provided throughout the tournament on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.

Live Scoring: https://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=26555

The Field
No. 1 Stanford, No. 3 San Jose State, No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Texas, No. 12 UCLA, No. 15 Arizona, No. 18 Baylor, No. 21 SMU, No. 23 USC, No. 24 Kentucky, Florida, Georgetown, Illinois, Ohio State, Pepperdine, Washington

Teeing Off For The Ducks (Fall Scoring Avg.)
1. Ching-Tzu Chen (74.40)
2. Ashleigh Park (71.90)
3. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu (72.86)
4. Briana Chacon (72.71)
5. Minori Nagano (75.33)

Ducks At The Therese Hession Regional Challenge
Formerly known as the Northrop Grumman Challenge, the Ducks are looking to defend their title at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge after winning by seven strokes at last spring's event. It was one of a program-record five wins for Oregon during the 2021-22 season. After being tied for second through 18 holes, the Ducks took a one-stroke lead following round two before running away with the win thanks to a 2-under 282 in the final round. Oregon's entire lineup finished in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard, with Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu and Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen tying for fourth at 1-under par. Briana Chacon (+1) tied for sixth, Ching-Tzu Chen (+2) tied for eighth, and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin (+4) tied for 12th. This is UO's fourth all-time appearance at the event, finishing 10th in 2020 and tying for ninth in 2013.

Park, Ducks Close Fall With Runner-Up Finish
Oregon capped its fall season with a strong showing at the Pac-12 Preview in November, shooting 8-under par across three rounds to finish second overall. Ashleigh Park put an exclamation point on what was a tremendous first fall season as a Duck, finishing at 8 under on her own to come in as the individual runner-up. Park put up an impressive 70-69-72 line during the week, finishing second only to Stanford's Rose Zhang (-11), the No. 1 ranked women's amateur in the world and the reigning individual NCAA champion. Park was Oregon's top player throughout the fall, maintaining a stellar 71.90 scoring average and climbing all the way up to No. 8 in the individual Golfstat national rankings.

Battle On The Big Stage
The Ducks gained experience in the fall that will prove to be valuable when the NCAA Championships come around later on this spring. Earning a spot at the prestigious East Lake Cup as a reward for its NCAA runner-up finish last season, Oregon got to simulate the NCAA Championships format while competing on national TV on Golf Channel. The Ducks fared well in the single round of stroke play, shooting 1 over to earn the No. 2 seed in match play. Oregon squared off with No. 24 Auburn in the semifinals, and both Briana Chacon and Ashleigh Park put points on the board for the Ducks with wins in their matches. The deciding point came down to reigning individual Pac-12 champion Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, who ended up going to a 19th hole after Auburn's Casey Weidenfeld stormed back from 2 down with four holes to play. The Tigers ended up winning the match on the 19th hole, but it was tremendous experience for the Ducks as they look to get back to the NCAA final.

Park, Shin Lead Ducks At Windy City Classic
The Ducks were led by a pair of newcomers their last time out at the Windy City Classic, earning their first top-five finish of the season in third overall behind impressive showings from Ashleigh Park and Brittany Shin. Park was 6 over through two rounds before firing a 3-under 69 to tie for seventh overall at 3 over, putting together her second straight impressive outing and first top-10 finish as a Duck. Shin matched Park in a tie for seventh for her first top-10 finish at Oregon, fueled by a 1-under 71 in the second round. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu tied for 12th for the second straight tournament at 5 over, and Ching-Tzu Chen tied for 24th at 8 over.

Ducks Improve Each Round In Fall Opener
Oregon opened the 2022-23 season on Sept. 12-14 at the Annika Intercollegiate in Minnesota, placing sixth in an elite 12-team field. The Ducks got better each round, closing with a 3-under 285 in the final round to move up two spots and finish sixth at 2-over par overall. Oregon ran out a lineup consisting of three returners from last year's Pac-12 championship and NCAA national runner-up team; Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu and Chen tied for the team's top individual finish in a tie for 12th at 1-over par, and Briana Chacon tied for 35th at 6 over. Texas transfer Ashleigh Park was terrific in her Oregon debut, matching Lu and Chen in a tie for 12th overall after firing a 1-under 71 in round two and a 2-under 70 in the final round. Freshman Anika Varma also impressed in her collegiate debut, tying for 29th (+5) with an even-par 72 in the second round and a 1-under 71 in round three.

Historic 2021-22 Season
It was a magical run for the Ducks in 2021-22, as they shattered nearly every program record, won their first Pac-12 Championship and NCAA Regional title, and advanced through match play to the national title match. Oregon was paced by a lineup of five all-Pac-12 selections and four all-Americans, led by individual Pac-12 champion Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu. The Ducks were ranked No. 2 in the nation for the entire spring season, and came up just short to top-ranked Stanford in the title match. With Tze-Han (Heather) Lin and Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen moving on from the program, Oregon still returns three of its five players from the historic season in Lu, Ching-Tzu Chen and Briana Chacon. Lu was a second-team all-American last year as a sophomore, while Chacon earned all-America honors for the second time in her career.

Radley Adds Reinforcements
Needing to replace the production of both Lin and Nielsen, head coach Derek Radley used recruiting and the transfer portal to reload the roster. Ashleigh Park joined the Ducks as a junior transfer from Texas, bringing more NCAA Championships experience to Oregon's lineup, and was Oregon's top performer during the fall. Radley also signed two-time JUCO national champion Minori Nagano, and added a highly-touted freshman in Anika Varma. The Ducks also return Brittany Shin, the 2021 Big West Player of the Year for Cal State Fullerton, as well as sophomore Baylee Hammericksen.