Tuesday, May 20
Carlsbad, CA
2:05 PM
University of Oregon
vs
Northwestern
Oregon's NCAA Run Ends In Semifinals
05/20/25 | Women's Golf
CARLSBAD, Calif. – A historic season for the Oregon women's golf team came to an end on Tuesday evening as the Ducks came up just short in a 3-2 loss to Northwestern in the match-play semifinals of the NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.
With the match tied at two points apiece and the Wildcats 2 up with two holes to play in the final pairing, sophomore Kiara Romero made par at No. 17 to stay alive going to the 18th. But after putting her approach shot in the bunker on the backside of the green and needing to just barely get the ball onto the fringe to allow it to roll down towards the pin, Romero was twice unable to do so before conceding the hole and the match.
It was the second year in a row and third time in the last four seasons that Oregon reached the national semifinals, doing so with a five-player lineup comprised entirely of underclassmen.
"I'm so incredibly proud of this team," head coach Derek Radley said. "They fought this entire week and left absolutely everything they had out there on that golf course. This is such a special group and the things they've been able to accomplish this season are truly amazing. They played for each other every step of the way and have nothing to hang their heads about. It's an honor to be their coach."
How it Happened: After advancing to the semifinals with a dramatic 3-2 win over Texas earlier in the day that ended with freshman Tong An win in extra holes, Oregon appeared to be in the driver's seat early on against Northwestern.
The Ducks were tied or leading in all five matches as the action turned to the back nine, but momentum slowly began to turn towards the Wildcats.
Freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham won at holes 11 and 13 to take a 1 up lead against Ashley Yun, but Yun answered on No. 14 to pull all square. After tying the 15th, Yun won the next two holes to secure the first point of the match for the Wildcats.
It was a similar story for Ting-Hsuan Huang. The Oregon sophomore was 2 up through 12 against Elise Lee, but Lee won the next three holes to take a 1 up lead. Huang made par at 16 to halve the hole but was unable to answer a birdie by Lee at 17 as Northwestern put a second point on the board.
Oregon got on the board courtesy of An, who once again provided dramatics at No. 17 after making the winning putt there against Texas in a second playoff hole. Holding a 2 up lead against Hsin Tai Lin, An chipped in for birdie to end any chance of Lin extending the match.
Sophomore Karen Tsuru was in control the entire afternoon against Lauryn Nguyen, winning the first hole and never trailing on her way to a 3&2 win. Nguyen won back-to-back holes at holes 8 and 9 to pull all square and kept it there through 13, but Tsuru ripped off wins at the next three holes to win and send the match to the final pairing.
That put the pressure on Romero, who fell 2 down early against Dianna Lee but clawed back to pull even through seven holes. Romero again tied the match with a birdie at No. 10 before back-to-back wins by Lee put Romero in a 2 down hole.
Romero remained 2 down through 15, and was unable to get a birdie putt to drop at the par-3 16th. Putts for birdie and par at No. 17 for Lee didn't go, and Romero converted a short par putt to extend the match to the 18th.
The tee on the par-5 18th was moved up for the semifinals, playing at just over 400 yards. Both players pulled driver, with Romero finding the middle of the fairway and Lee just in the right rough. Lee played first, coming up short of the green, and Romero got aggressive with a 7 iron but went just long of the green into the bunker.
After her first attempt out of the bunker landed in the rough and trickled back in, Romero needed to try and hole-out to stay alive but once again came up short.
What it Means: Oregon has established itself as one of the elite teams in women's college golf, reaching the final four or better three times in the last four seasons. The Ducks earned another invite to the prestigious East Lake Cup in the fall as a result of making it to the semifinals, and appear poised to make another run on the national stage next spring.
NCAA Semifinals – No. 3 Northwestern def. No. 2 Oregon, 3-2
Ashley Yun (Northwestern) def. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham (Oregon), 2&1
Tong An (Oregon) def. Hsin Tai Lin (Northwestern), 2&1
Elise Lee (Northwestern) def. Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon), 2&1
Karen Tsuru (Oregon) def. Lauren Nguyen (Northwestern), 3&2
Dianna Lee (Northwestern) def. Kiara Romero (Oregon), 2 up
With the match tied at two points apiece and the Wildcats 2 up with two holes to play in the final pairing, sophomore Kiara Romero made par at No. 17 to stay alive going to the 18th. But after putting her approach shot in the bunker on the backside of the green and needing to just barely get the ball onto the fringe to allow it to roll down towards the pin, Romero was twice unable to do so before conceding the hole and the match.
It was the second year in a row and third time in the last four seasons that Oregon reached the national semifinals, doing so with a five-player lineup comprised entirely of underclassmen.
"I'm so incredibly proud of this team," head coach Derek Radley said. "They fought this entire week and left absolutely everything they had out there on that golf course. This is such a special group and the things they've been able to accomplish this season are truly amazing. They played for each other every step of the way and have nothing to hang their heads about. It's an honor to be their coach."
How it Happened: After advancing to the semifinals with a dramatic 3-2 win over Texas earlier in the day that ended with freshman Tong An win in extra holes, Oregon appeared to be in the driver's seat early on against Northwestern.
The Ducks were tied or leading in all five matches as the action turned to the back nine, but momentum slowly began to turn towards the Wildcats.
Freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham won at holes 11 and 13 to take a 1 up lead against Ashley Yun, but Yun answered on No. 14 to pull all square. After tying the 15th, Yun won the next two holes to secure the first point of the match for the Wildcats.
It was a similar story for Ting-Hsuan Huang. The Oregon sophomore was 2 up through 12 against Elise Lee, but Lee won the next three holes to take a 1 up lead. Huang made par at 16 to halve the hole but was unable to answer a birdie by Lee at 17 as Northwestern put a second point on the board.
Oregon got on the board courtesy of An, who once again provided dramatics at No. 17 after making the winning putt there against Texas in a second playoff hole. Holding a 2 up lead against Hsin Tai Lin, An chipped in for birdie to end any chance of Lin extending the match.
Sophomore Karen Tsuru was in control the entire afternoon against Lauryn Nguyen, winning the first hole and never trailing on her way to a 3&2 win. Nguyen won back-to-back holes at holes 8 and 9 to pull all square and kept it there through 13, but Tsuru ripped off wins at the next three holes to win and send the match to the final pairing.
That put the pressure on Romero, who fell 2 down early against Dianna Lee but clawed back to pull even through seven holes. Romero again tied the match with a birdie at No. 10 before back-to-back wins by Lee put Romero in a 2 down hole.
Romero remained 2 down through 15, and was unable to get a birdie putt to drop at the par-3 16th. Putts for birdie and par at No. 17 for Lee didn't go, and Romero converted a short par putt to extend the match to the 18th.
The tee on the par-5 18th was moved up for the semifinals, playing at just over 400 yards. Both players pulled driver, with Romero finding the middle of the fairway and Lee just in the right rough. Lee played first, coming up short of the green, and Romero got aggressive with a 7 iron but went just long of the green into the bunker.
After her first attempt out of the bunker landed in the rough and trickled back in, Romero needed to try and hole-out to stay alive but once again came up short.
What it Means: Oregon has established itself as one of the elite teams in women's college golf, reaching the final four or better three times in the last four seasons. The Ducks earned another invite to the prestigious East Lake Cup in the fall as a result of making it to the semifinals, and appear poised to make another run on the national stage next spring.
NCAA Semifinals – No. 3 Northwestern def. No. 2 Oregon, 3-2
Ashley Yun (Northwestern) def. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham (Oregon), 2&1
Tong An (Oregon) def. Hsin Tai Lin (Northwestern), 2&1
Elise Lee (Northwestern) def. Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon), 2&1
Karen Tsuru (Oregon) def. Lauren Nguyen (Northwestern), 3&2
Dianna Lee (Northwestern) def. Kiara Romero (Oregon), 2 up
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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