After Record Vegas Run, Ducks Host Home Stop
EUGENE ? After a history-making appearance last week, the No. 43 University of Oregon women's golf team returns home to welcome many of the West Coast’s top teams to the Duck Invitational, Monday-Tuesday, March 24-25.
The 12th edition of the event returns to Eugene Country Club for the first time since 2004 ? the same site as the 2008 U.S. Women’s amateur this summer.
The Ducks will join 13 other teams on the par 72, 6,052-yard course for two, 18-hole rounds Monday and a final round Tuesday morning. Action starts both days at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.
SIZING UP THE FIELD
No. 15 California is the top ranked team in the field, and seven others rank top 100 ? Oregon (43), Washington State (50), Washington (54), Colorado (56), UC Davis (57), Oregon State (62) and Idaho (81). Other teams in the field include Long Beach State, Minnesota, Montana, Portland State, Texas-San Antonio and Wyoming.
TOURNEY PLAY / RESULTS
Live stats will be available at the www.GolfStat.com website, and complete results will be posted after each round to the www.GoDucks.com website.
POLL POSITIONS
Complete team and individual weekly Golf Week magazine national rankings are available at the www.golfweek.com website.
HITTING PAYDIRT IN VEGAS
Last week in the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational, junior Cathryn Bristow won her third collegiate title, the Ducks broke both the team round and tournament scoring records, and freshman Kendra Little rewrote the single round record in the finale.
Bristow became the first Duck ever to shoot three consecutive under-par rounds in the same tourney (69-69-70-208) and won by two strokes on the par 72, 6,202-yard Boulder Creek Golf Club. Little broke the school single round record with her five-under 67 and finished fifth overall (72-74-67-213). Little’s record final round ? the best of the tourney ? bettered the previous Duck record of 4-under shot by Kim McCready in 2006 (67, -4), Paula Patterson in 1997 (68, -4) and Jerilyn White in 2001 (68, -4).
As a team, the Ducks ended with a three-round school best that was punctuated by a record final round (292-291-286-869) to finish in a third-place tie with No. 48 Texas Tech (292-286-291-869). Washington State tied for the team win (285-289-285-859) with No. 35 BYU (293-284-282-859).
Bristow celebrated her third career victory after she won twice as a freshman in 2005-06 by one stroke ? her collegiate debut, the 2005 OSU Invitational (70-74-73-217), and the spring regular season-ending Illinois Invitational (74-72-146). Other Ducks to score wins the past two seasons include sophomore Felicia Eastick who opened the 2007-08 season with a win in the Giustina Memorial in Corvallis (74-69-74-217), and former teammate Kim McCready who won the Baja Classic in Baja, Calif., to open the spring slate in 2007 (70-75-145).
In the final round, sophomore Kate Hildahl added UO’s third round of par or better on the day and improved to 42nd overall (78-74-72-224), nine places better than her overall ranking after the second round. Sophomore Felicia Eastick and Erica Omlid added final round scores of 77 and finished in ties for 46th (75-74-77-226) and 56th places (76-75-77-228).
Thanks to its opening and previous team season-low rounds of 291 and 292 on Tuesday and Monday, UO enjoyed a three-round tally of 869 that improved upon the previous school record of 885 that it shot once during the 1996-97 and 1999-2000 seasons.
DUCKS TO WATCH
Junior Cathryn Bristow leads the Ducks in this week’s Golfweek national rankings (118th, 74.39), just ahead of freshman Kendra Little (135th, 74.54), and next is sophomore Felicia Eastick (262nd, 76.10).
Bristow’s three under-par scores in Las Vegas gives her six rounds of par or better among her 21 rounds this season. The pair of 69 scores the first two rounds at UNLV each tied her season best from the fall’s Stanford Intercollegiate, although that previous score was on the par 71 Stanford Golf Course. She also shot a pair of 1-under 71’s in the Heather Fall Memorial in Denver last fall.
Altogether, she has paced UO in nine rounds this year, including the last four of the fall slate in the Stanford Intercollegiate (two-under 69) and USF Invitational (second, 75-72-72). The latter stop netted a runner-up finish overall and was one of three top-10 efforts, including the Edean Ihlanfedlt Invitational (eighth, 77-73-71).
Little paced the Ducks in six of her 15 rounds in the fall and had four rounds of 72 or better, including a 3-, 2-, 1-under and par round in various fall tourneys. In the spring, she had a school record 5-under par effort and another par effort among her six rounds.
With her fourth-place finish in Las Vegas, Little enjoyed her second top-five collegiate finish after her fourth-place Edean Ihlanfelt Invitational effort in Seattle last fall. She has three more top-15 placings and another top-25 effort in her seven collegiate tournaments. Among her 21 collegiate rounds, the Eugene, Ore., native and Sheldon High School product has shot six rounds of 72 or better - a 67 (-5), two 69’s (-3, -2), a 71 (-1) and two 72’s (par).
Also a team leader in four rounds last fall, sophomore Felicia Eastick shot a career low three-under 69 en route to a win in the season opening Giustina Memorial Classic in Corvallis (74-69-74) in mid-September.
Sophomore Kate Hildahl has enjoyed a strong spring and has four of her four lowest rounds in the spring’s first two stops (72, 73, 74 (x2)). The Tualatin, Ore., native led the Ducks in the Lady Gator Invitational in the final standings (27th, 77-73-74-224) and in the first and third rounds.
OTHER SPRING ACTION
In early February, the Ducks opened the spring with a ninth-place finish in the Lady Gator Invitational at Gainesville, Fla., against a field that featured seven, top-50 ranked teams. UO climbed four spots in the second round and two spots in the finale (321-295-303). Hildahl shot the Ducks low in the first and third rounds (27th, 77-73-74-224) as was the Ducks’ top finisher overall for the second time in her career. Other Oregon entries included Eastick (44th, 83-71-77-231), Bristow (53rd-t, 80-76-78-234), Omlid (56th-t, 81-75-79-235), Little (60th-t, 85-78-74-237) and Ressler (72nd-t, 88-77-77-242).
OTHER FALL TIDBITS
The Ducks opened the fall season with third-place finishes in two of their first three tourneys ? the Giustina Memorial (299-304-300) and Edean Ihlandfeldt Invitational (307-290-303) in Corvallis, Ore., and Sammamish, Wash., respectively, and also competed in the Heather Fall Memorial (sixth, 038-298-295-901), Stanford Invitational (16th, 310-319-303-932) and USF Invitational (fourth, 308-307-303-918).
DUCK STATS
To see current UO women’s golf statistics, choose the STATISTICS link at the top of the UO women’s golf page or go to the http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=36837&SPID=247&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1283367 URL address.
PRIOR DUCK INVITATIONALS
Going back in history, Oregon has hosted the tournament 12 times since its debut in 1989, and has finished top-five seven times ? 1989 (fifth, 971), ’90 in the spring (second, 940), ’92 (fourth, 945), ’99 (second, 621), ’04 (second, 914), ’05 (second, 909) and ’07 (fifth, 943).
LAST TIME AT EUGENE CC
The Duck Invitational’s last trip to the Eugene Country Club was in March 2004. Washington State’s Kim Welch won her third straight Duck Invitational title and led the Cougars to their second consecutive team title on the par-72, 5,968-yard course. Welch and teammate Maria Kostina both shot final rounds of 1-under 71 to lift the Cougars to a one-stroke victory (913) over host Oregon (second, 914). Portland State was third at 945 and Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State tied for fourth at 959.
Welch (2-over 218) defeated Oregon’s Therese Wenslow and Northridge’s Elizabeth Allen by five shots. The Cougar junior also won in 2001 at Mallard Creek and 2004 at Shadow Hills. Wenslow fired a 2-over 74 final round and her second-place tie (7-over 223) marked a career-best finish for the then-sophomore from Bunkeflostrand, Sweden.
Six Ducks placed top 15 ? junior Johnna Nealy and sophomore Erin Andrews (seventh-tie, 230), unattached entrant and sophomore Michelle Timpani (ninth-tie, 231), junior Jess Carlyon (11th-tie, 234) and freshman Kim McCready (13th-tie, 236). Senior Katie Cunningham competed as an individual and also finished top 30 (29th-tie, 248).
2007 DUCK INVITATIONAL REWIND
In last year’s event at Shadow Hills Country Club in nearby Junction City, the Ducks finished fifth overall (320-315-308-943) even without their top player Kim McCready.
Leading the Ducks, junior and individual entry Victoria Wenslow (76-78-79-233) and Cathryn Bristow (79-77-77-233) tied for 10th place, and three others placed top 25 - Felicia Eastick (13th-tie, 79-80-75-234) and Kate Hildahl (21st-tie, 81-77-79-237) and Therese Wenslow (25th, 81-81-77-239). Sophomore Blair Ressler (63rd-tie, 85-84-87-256) rounded out UO's official team entries, and Cathleen Ward played as an individual (53rd-tie, 82-87-82-251).
Victoria Wenslow's top-10 finish was her first of her Duck career, and Bristow's was the fourth of her career and first of the 2006-07 campaign. Wenslow and Bristow shot UO's low scores in the first two rounds (76 / 77), respectively, and Eastick paced the squad the final round (75).
Overall, No. 38 San Francisco held on to its opening round lead and bested the 14-team field by three strokes (299-316-304-919), and was followed by No. 46 Washington State (second, 306-312-304-922), Oregon State (third, 313-319-301-933), Idaho (fourth, 315-311-311-937) and Oregon. On the individual side, Washington State's Amy Eneroth carded the best score of the final round (73-77-72-222) and won in a playoff over San Francisco's Jessica Potter (second, 71-77-74-222).
TOP DUCK
In 2007-08, Duck head coach Shannon Rouillard returns for her eighth season at the helm and guided Oregon to 11th place in the 2000 NCAA Championships, while UO regional-qualifying squads just missed return NCAA trips three of the past seven seasons. As a player, she was a Pac-10 honorable mention all-conference honoree for UO in 1995 and took seventh in the 1993 Pac-10 Championships to help the squad to a fourth-place finish. She was tabbed twice as the team’s most improved player and was a team captain and MVP her senior season after she took 29th in the NCAA Championships that season.
After her collegiate career, Rouillard was a 1999 Women's U.S. Open qualifier and a medalist in the Lake Merced (Calif.) qualifying tournament. Before she returned to the Duck program as a coach, she played on the Players West Golf Tour (1995-96) and served as an assistant women's golf coach at California (1997).
Earlier this past fall, Rouillard was again busy as a player in the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur, held in Carefree, Ariz., after she tied for 35th in stroke play qualifying (80-81-161). A month before, she claimed medalist honors in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am qualifier at Oswego Lake Country County Club in late August, and won the single-round event by two strokes with her 74.
JONES JOINS IN
The Duck coaching staff is rounded out by first-year assistant Meredith Jones. The Eugene native was one of Baylor’s top players from 2003-06, and an All-Big 12 Tournament selection and top 15 conference championships finishers all three seasons. She enjoyed a seventh-place Big 12 placing as a sophomore, followed by 12th- and 14th-place efforts as a junior and senior, and also played on Baylor’s first-ever NCAA tournament qualifiers. As a prep, the three-time state champion helped Marist High School to five championships.
Off the course, she was honored as an Academic All-American, Academic All-Big-12, Commissioners Honor Roll and NCGA Scholar selection.
Her family enjoys strong ties to the Duck athletic department. Her father Dr. Donald Jones is a UO team doctor, and her brother-in-law Peter Sirmon was an All-Pac-10 linebacker for the Ducks.
PRIOR DUCK INVITATIONAL RESULTS
2007 - Shadow Hills Country Club, Junction City, Ore. (72, 6,096 yards)):
TOP TEAM FINISHERS (1, San Francisco, 299-316-304-919. 2, Washington State, 306-312-304-922. 3, Oregon State, 313-319-301-933. 4, Idaho, 315-311-311-937. 5, Oregon, 320-315-308-943.
TOP INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS: 1, Amy Eneroth, Washington State, 73-77-72-222 (won in 1-hole playoff). 2, Jessica Potter, San Francisco, 71-77-74-222. 3, Kristin Nichols, San Francisco, 73-76-78-227. 4t, Katie Street, Boise State, 72-78-80-230. 4t, Tracy Broders, Washington State, 76-76-78-230.
2006 (Emerald Valley Country Club, Creswell, Ore. (par 72, 6,191 yards)
TOP TEAM FINISHERS: 1, San Jose State, 307-305-306-918. 2, Oregon State, 310-305-304-919. 3, Idaho, 300-315-308-923. 4, Washington State, 306-313-305-924. 5, Fresno State, 311-309-312-932. 6, Oregon, 318-306-309-933.
TOP INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS: 1, Jessica Potter, San Francisco, 78-72-71-221. 2, Anastasia Kostina, Washington State, 71-77-73-221. 3t, Laura Luethke, Fresno State, 71-74-77-222. 3t, Jennifer Tucker, Idaho, 70-76-76-222. 5, Leah Whiting, Oregon State, 74-75-77-226.
2005 (Shadow Hills Country Club, Junction City, Ore. (par 72-6,103 yards
TOP TEAM FINISHERS: 1, California, 310-296-302, 908. 2, Oregon, 309-291-309, 909. 3, Stanford, 315-294-304, 913. 4, Washington State, 306-294-317, 917. 5, Long Beach State, 309-302-308, 919. (17 Teams).
TOP INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS: 1, Kay Hoey, Long Beach State, 75-70-73, 218. 2, Kim Welch, WSU, 73-70-76, 219. 3t, Sofie Anderrsson, California, 74-72-74, 220. 3t, Kim McCready, Oregon, 75-69-76, 220. 3t, Laura Luethke, Fresno State, 70-74-76, 220.
2004 (Eugene Country Club, Eugene, Ore. (par 72-6,103 yards
TOP TEAM FINISHERS: 1, Washington State, 308-309-296-913. 2, Oregon, 315-298-301-914. 3, Portland Staet, 319-315-311-945. 4t, Long Beach State, 325-317-317-959. 4t, CS Northridge, 324-317-318-959. 6, Santa Clara, 320-333-324-977. 7, Idaho, 330-331-319-980. 8, British Columbia, 39-336-330-1005. 9, Portland, 344-346-353-1043. (Nine Teams).
TOP INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS: 1, Kim Welch, WSU, 73-74-71-218. 2, Therese Wenslow, 77-72-74-223. 2t, Elizabeth Allen, CS Northridge, 73-74-76-223. 4, Maria Kostina, WSU, 77-79-71-227. 5, Bolee Kim, Long Beach, 81-77-77-229. 5t, Aana Kostina, WSU, 77-79-71-227. 7t, Johnna Nealy, Oregon, 77-77-76-230. 7, Erin Andrews, Oregon, 80-75-75-230. 9t, Sarah Tiller, PSU, 78-78-75-231. 9t, Michelle Timpani, Oregon-Individual, 74-76-81-231.
INDIVIDUAL DUCK SEASON BEST SCORES / FINISHES
Individual Victories
Duck, Year, Fall Tournament Rounds Average
Felicia Eastick, So., Giustina Memorial Classic 74-69-74-217 72.3 ? Third Career Win
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 69-69-70-208 69.3 - School Record
Additional Top-10 Finishes
Duck, Year, Fall Tournament, Place Rounds Average
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., USF Invitational, 2nd 75-72-72-219 73.0
Kendra Little, Fr., Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, 4th-tie 76-69-75-220 73.3
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Edean Ihlanfeldt, Inv., 8th-tie 77-73-71-221 73.7
Kendra Little, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational, 5th-t 72-74-67-213 71.0
Additional Top-25 Finishes
Duck, Year, Fall Tournament, Place Rounds Average
Kendra Little, Fr., Heather Fall Memorial Classic, 11th-t 78-71-72-221 73.7
Kendra Little, Fr., Giustina Memorial Classic, 12th-t 73-79-75-227 75.7
Kendra Little, Fr., USF Invitational, 13th-t 76-74-78-228 76.0
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Giustina Memorial Classic, 16th-t 73-80-76-229 76.3
Blair Ressler, Jr., Giustina Memorial Classic, 24th-t 79-76-76-231 77.0
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Heather Fall Memorial, 24th-t 77-71-77-225 75.0
Kendra Little, Fr., Stanford Intercollegiate, 26th-t 69-78-76-223 74.3
Individual Best Tournament Scores (Par 72 unless otherwise noted)
Duck, Year, Fall Tournament, Place Rounds-Score Avg.
>Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 69-69-70-208 69.3 - School Record
Kendra Little, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational, 5th-t 72-74-67-213 71.0
Felicia Eastick, So., Giustina Memorial Classic, 1st 74-69-74-217 72.3
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., USF Invitational, 2nd (par 71) 75-72-72-219 73.0
Kendra Little, Fr., Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, 4th-t 76-69-74-220 73.3
Kendra Little, Fr., Heather Fall Memorial, 11th-t 78-71-72-221 73.7
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, 8th-t 77-73-71-221 73.7
- Kendra Little, Stanford Intercollegiate, 26th-t (par 71) 69-78-76-223 74.3
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Heather Fall Memorial, 24th-t 77-71-77-225 75.0
Low Rounds (Overall Score)
Duck, Year, Fall Tournament Score Round
Kendra Little, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 67 (-5) 3rd Round - School Record
Felicia Eastick, So., Giustina Memorial Classic 69 (-3) 2nd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational 69 (-3) 2nd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 69 (-3) 1st Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 69 (-3) 2nd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Stanford Intercollegiate 69 (-2) 1st Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Stanford Intercollegiate 69 (-2) 3rd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 70 (-2) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational 71 (-1) 3rd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Heather Fall Memorial 71 (-1) 2nd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Heather Fall Memorial 71 (-1) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Heather Fall Memorial 72 (-) 3rd Round
Kate Hildahl, So., Heather Fall Memorial 72 (-) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 72 (-) 1st Round
Kate Hildahl, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 72 (-) 3rd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., USF Invitational 72 (+1) 2nd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., USF Invitational 72 (+1) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Giustina Memorial Classic 73 (+1) 1st Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Giustina Memorial Classic 73 (+1) 1st Round
Felicia Eastick, So., Lady Gator Invitational 71 (+1) 2nd Round
Low Rounds (By Par)
Duck, Year, Fall Tournament Score Round
Kendra Little, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 67 (-5) 3rd Round - School Record
Kendra Little, Fr., Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational 69 (-3) 2nd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 69 (-3) 1st Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 69 (-3) 2nd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Stanford Intercollegiate 69 (-2) 1st Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Stanford Intercollegiate 69 (-2) 3rd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 70 (-2) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational 71 (-1) 3rd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Heather Fall Memorial 71 (-1) 2nd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Heather Fall Memorial 71 (-1) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Heather Fall Memorial 72 (-) 3rd Round
Kate Hildahl, So., Heather Fall Memorial 72 (-) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 72 (-) 1st Round
Kate Hildahl, Fr., UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational 72 (-) 3rd Round
Felicia Eastick, So., Lady Gator Invitational 71 (+1) 2nd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., USF Invitational 72 (+1) 2nd Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., USF Invitational 72 (+1) 3rd Round
Kendra Little, Fr., Giustina Memorial Classic 73 (+1) 1st Round
Cathryn Bristow, Jr., Giustina Memorial Classic 73 (+1) 1st Round
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