Women?s Golf Ready for Pac-10 Championships
EUGENE, Ore. ? The championship season begins Monday for the Oregon women’s golf team when it travels to Pleasanton, Calif., for the 2005 Pac-10 Championships. California will host the tournament for the first time ever as teams will play three rounds -- one each day -- at the par-72, 6,315-yard Ruby Hill Golf Club.
Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com beginning each day at 8 a.m. and a one hour recap of the championships will be broadcast May 8 on Fox Sports Net.
Oregon is one of nine Pac-10 teams ranked among this week’s Golfweek/Sagarin top 33. In order, those squads are No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 Arizona State, No. 8 Washington, No. 17 Arizona, No. 18 Stanford, No. 20 USC, No. 22 Washington State, No. 27 California and No. 33 Oregon. Oregon State is not among the top 50.
"We’re emphasizing the fundamentals; the little things that can make a difference that each individual needs to focus on to play well," said Oregon coach Shannon Rouillard. "This is our first final exam and we’re excited to move into the next phase of our season."
The Ducks will have the same lineup for the fifth straight week. Senior Johnna Nealy leads Oregon with a 74.9 scoring average and has three top-10 finishes in her last six tournaments. What’s more, Nealy has finished 31st or better in eight consecutive events. Plus, the Grants Pass, Ore., native has an excellent track record in Pac-10 competition, tying for 12th as a sophomore in 2003 and tying for 19th last year.
Sophomore Kim McCready has pushed Nealy for Oregon’s top spot all season long, and has five top-25 finishes in her last six tournaments. She comes into the championships with a 75.2 scoring average and will be playing a course a little over an hour away from her home in Placerville, Calif.
"Johnna continues to impress me as her senior year winds down and seems to get better and better each tournament," said Rouillard. "And Kim has really elevated her game this season."
Juniors Erin Andrews and Michelle Timpani and freshman Victoria Wenslow round out the Ducks’ five. Andrews has been a consistent No. 3 this season with a 76.5 average. Timpani (79.6) and Wenslow (80.2) could be the keys to a high finish for Oregon if they can consistently keep their scores in the 70s.
"Erin has been a solid No. 3 and her game is starting to come into its own," said Rouillard. "Michelle and Victoria have given us some good rounds this spring, like Michelle’s 77 at Stanford and Victoria’s 74 at ASU, and I’d like to see those two use those rounds as springboards as we go into Pac-10s and the (NCAA) Regionals."
Last year at UCLA, the host Bruins won the Pac-10 title, defeating Cal by 18 strokes. Oregon finished eighth at 947, 45 shots back of UCLA. Defending Pac-10 medalist Charlotte Mayorkas of UCLA returns, but may face a stiff challenge from the nation’s No. 1 player, Louise Stahle of Arizona State.
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