Wednesday, May 10
Westfield, Ind.
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
NCAA Westfield Regional
Season Ends At NCAA Westfield Regional
05/10/23 | Women's Golf
WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Oregon women's golf team's 2022-23 season came to a close on Wednesday with a 10th place finish at the NCAA Westfield Regional at The Club at Chatham Hills.
The No. 8 Ducks produced their best round of the week with an even-par 288, fueled by a stellar 6-under 66 from junior Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, but were unable to make up the deficit from the previous two rounds while finishing at plus-9 overall. No. 5 Mississippi State (19), Oregon State (-18), No. 17 Vanderbilt (-17), No. 25 Virginia (-15) and Tulsa (-9) earned the five qualifying spots to the 2023 NCAA Championships next week at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
"We're obviously disappointed to see our season end and not have the opportunity to go back to Grayhawk for the NCAA Championships," head coach Derek Radley said. "It was a tough week for us, but our ladies never stopped fighting and never gave up. I'm extremely proud of all of the hard work they put in this season and am thankful for the dedication they've shown to each other and to our program. We will be back."
How it Happened: Lu was phenomenal from start to finish in what could be her final collegiate round, if the talented junior opts to enter the professional ranks this summer. She opened her round with back-to-back birdies on holes 11-12, and followed with her second eagle of the week on the par-5 13th. Lu made a bogey at No. 16, but bounced right back with a birdie to make the turn at 4 under.
The three-time all-Pac-12 selection stayed hot on her final nine, making seven pars and adding birdies at No. 4 and No. 7 to match Minori Nagano for the best round by a Duck this season with a 6-under 66. It was Lu's 10th career round in the 60s and 39th of par-or-better.
Lu finished as the top Duck on the leaderboard in a tie for ninth overall at 5-under par, earning the 10th top-10 showing of her career and second of the season.
Senior Briana Chacon capped a solid week with a third straight 1-under 71, carding her sixth consecutive par-or-better round and team-leading 13th of the season. Chacon was 1 under at the turn before making two birdies and two bogeys on the final nine, finishing in a tie for 17th overall at 3-under par.
Ashleigh Park came in with a 3-over 75, and both Nagano and Ching-Tzu Chen finished with a 4-over 76 to round out the counting scores.
What it Means: Oregon's season comes to a disappointing end after finishing as the national runners-up last spring. Still, the Ducks had some highlights while maintaining a top-10 ranking throughout the year. Oregon won the Therese Hession Regional Challenge to open the spring for its seventh tournament win under Radley and assistant coach Monica Vaughn, and the Ducks posted an impressive runner-up showing at the Pac-12 Championships last month. Lu and Ashleigh Park each earned first-team all-Pac-12 honors – with Lu becoming the first three-time selection in program history – and both Chacon and Nagano earned honorable mention.
Oregon is expected to return the bulk of its lineup next season, with Chacon and Chen each expected to utilize the extra year of eligibility from the COVID year and spend a fifth season in Eugene. Lu will have a decision to make as to whether or not she turns pro, but Oregon is expected to return both Park and Nagano for their senior seasons, and Anika Varma will be coming off an impressive true freshman campaign. UO has also signed two talented incoming freshmen in Kiara Romero and Karen Tsuru, and could be active in the transfer portal as well.
Notable: Oregon's 177 pars for the week were just two shy of Vanderbilt for the most in the tournament, but its 35 total birdies were the third-fewest … Lu was one of just three players in the field to make two eagles this week, and she is now fifth all-time at Oregon with six in her career … Virginia's Amanda Sambach and Mississippi State's Julia Lopez Ramirez were the co-champions individually at 13-under par.
Team Standings:
Top 5 teams advance to NCAA Championships
1. #5 Mississippi State – 280-275-290 – 845 (-19)
2. Oregon State – 286-277-284 – 847 (-17)
3. #17 Vanderbilt – 287-282-279 – 848 (-16)
4. #25 Virginia – 287-284-278 – 849 (-15)
5. Tulsa – 279-292-284 – 855 (-9)
6. #20 Iowa State – 286-288-286 – 860 (-4)
T7. Tennessee – 288-294-281 – 863 (-1)
T7. Xavier – 289-285-289 – 863 (-1)
9. Michigan – 283-294-289 – 866 (+2)
10. #8 Oregon – 294-291-288 – 873 (+9)
11. Morehead State – 296-302-293 – 891 (+27)
12. Lipscomb University – 299-301-296 – 896 (+32)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T9. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 73-72-66 – 211 (-5)
T17. Briana Chacon – 71-71-71 – 213 (-3)
T53. Minori Nagano – 77-74-76 – 227 (+11)
T56. Ashleigh Park – 73-80-75 – 228 (+12)
NA. Anika Varma – 77-74-DNC – 151 (+7)
NA. Ching-Tzu Chen – DNC-DNC-76 – 76 (+4)
The No. 8 Ducks produced their best round of the week with an even-par 288, fueled by a stellar 6-under 66 from junior Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, but were unable to make up the deficit from the previous two rounds while finishing at plus-9 overall. No. 5 Mississippi State (19), Oregon State (-18), No. 17 Vanderbilt (-17), No. 25 Virginia (-15) and Tulsa (-9) earned the five qualifying spots to the 2023 NCAA Championships next week at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
"We're obviously disappointed to see our season end and not have the opportunity to go back to Grayhawk for the NCAA Championships," head coach Derek Radley said. "It was a tough week for us, but our ladies never stopped fighting and never gave up. I'm extremely proud of all of the hard work they put in this season and am thankful for the dedication they've shown to each other and to our program. We will be back."
How it Happened: Lu was phenomenal from start to finish in what could be her final collegiate round, if the talented junior opts to enter the professional ranks this summer. She opened her round with back-to-back birdies on holes 11-12, and followed with her second eagle of the week on the par-5 13th. Lu made a bogey at No. 16, but bounced right back with a birdie to make the turn at 4 under.
The three-time all-Pac-12 selection stayed hot on her final nine, making seven pars and adding birdies at No. 4 and No. 7 to match Minori Nagano for the best round by a Duck this season with a 6-under 66. It was Lu's 10th career round in the 60s and 39th of par-or-better.
Lu finished as the top Duck on the leaderboard in a tie for ninth overall at 5-under par, earning the 10th top-10 showing of her career and second of the season.
Senior Briana Chacon capped a solid week with a third straight 1-under 71, carding her sixth consecutive par-or-better round and team-leading 13th of the season. Chacon was 1 under at the turn before making two birdies and two bogeys on the final nine, finishing in a tie for 17th overall at 3-under par.
Ashleigh Park came in with a 3-over 75, and both Nagano and Ching-Tzu Chen finished with a 4-over 76 to round out the counting scores.
What it Means: Oregon's season comes to a disappointing end after finishing as the national runners-up last spring. Still, the Ducks had some highlights while maintaining a top-10 ranking throughout the year. Oregon won the Therese Hession Regional Challenge to open the spring for its seventh tournament win under Radley and assistant coach Monica Vaughn, and the Ducks posted an impressive runner-up showing at the Pac-12 Championships last month. Lu and Ashleigh Park each earned first-team all-Pac-12 honors – with Lu becoming the first three-time selection in program history – and both Chacon and Nagano earned honorable mention.
Oregon is expected to return the bulk of its lineup next season, with Chacon and Chen each expected to utilize the extra year of eligibility from the COVID year and spend a fifth season in Eugene. Lu will have a decision to make as to whether or not she turns pro, but Oregon is expected to return both Park and Nagano for their senior seasons, and Anika Varma will be coming off an impressive true freshman campaign. UO has also signed two talented incoming freshmen in Kiara Romero and Karen Tsuru, and could be active in the transfer portal as well.
Notable: Oregon's 177 pars for the week were just two shy of Vanderbilt for the most in the tournament, but its 35 total birdies were the third-fewest … Lu was one of just three players in the field to make two eagles this week, and she is now fifth all-time at Oregon with six in her career … Virginia's Amanda Sambach and Mississippi State's Julia Lopez Ramirez were the co-champions individually at 13-under par.
Team Standings:
Top 5 teams advance to NCAA Championships
1. #5 Mississippi State – 280-275-290 – 845 (-19)
2. Oregon State – 286-277-284 – 847 (-17)
3. #17 Vanderbilt – 287-282-279 – 848 (-16)
4. #25 Virginia – 287-284-278 – 849 (-15)
5. Tulsa – 279-292-284 – 855 (-9)
6. #20 Iowa State – 286-288-286 – 860 (-4)
T7. Tennessee – 288-294-281 – 863 (-1)
T7. Xavier – 289-285-289 – 863 (-1)
9. Michigan – 283-294-289 – 866 (+2)
10. #8 Oregon – 294-291-288 – 873 (+9)
11. Morehead State – 296-302-293 – 891 (+27)
12. Lipscomb University – 299-301-296 – 896 (+32)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T9. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 73-72-66 – 211 (-5)
T17. Briana Chacon – 71-71-71 – 213 (-3)
T53. Minori Nagano – 77-74-76 – 227 (+11)
T56. Ashleigh Park – 73-80-75 – 228 (+12)
NA. Anika Varma – 77-74-DNC – 151 (+7)
NA. Ching-Tzu Chen – DNC-DNC-76 – 76 (+4)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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