No. 33 Ducks Ready to Wrap Regular Season in Waco
*Career and season statistics are available via the link above.
EUGENE – The No. 33-ranked University of Oregon women’s golf team looks ahead to its final stop of the regular season this week in the Baylor Spring Invitational in Waco, Texas, Monday-Tuesday, April 12-13.
Two rounds will be held on Monday, and a final round follows on Tuesday with shotgun starts both days at 8:30 a.m. Central Time (6:30 a.m. PT).
Live stats will be available at the www.Golfstat.com website at the http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=1736 URL address, and final results will also be posted each day at the Baylor University www.BaylorBears.com website.
WOMEN’S FIELD PREVIEW
This week, the Ducks were tabbed No. 33 and No. 36 nationally by Golfstat and Golfweek compared to 31st and 37th two weeks ago before their last event in Austin.
UO is the highest ranked squad in the 16-team field and is followed by No. 47 / 48 Texas Tech, No. 53 / 53 Baylor, No. 58 / 70 Oral Roberts, No. 69 / 73 Arkansas-Little Rock, No. 80 / 74 Oklahoma, No. 85 / 85 Texas-San Antonio, No. 90 / - Texas State, No. 95 / 94 Kansas State and No. 98 / 92 North Texas.
Other teams slated to play include Boise State, McLennan CC, Oklahoma City, SMU, Texas A&-Corpus Christi and Wichita State.
LITTLE LOOMS LARGE IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
On the individual front this week, Duck junior Kendra Little ranks 43rd and 45th in the Golfstat and Golfweek national rankings (74.14 / 72.36). Sophomore Ashley Edwards also stands top 250 in the GS and GW editions (246th, 76.53; 180th, 74.77). In the Golfweek standings, freshman Cheyenne Hickle (261st, 75.68) and junior Erica Omlid (398th, 76.98) improved 58 and 99 spots the past two weeks, and senior Kate Hildahl (240th, 75.45) also climbed four positions.
RECENT DUCK ACTION
AUSTIN, Texas (3/26-28/10) – Two weeks ago, then-No. 31 Oregon took eighth (299-302-320-921) in the 17-team Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational field that featured 14 top-50 ranked teams. UO posted head-to-head wins against six other top-50 teams in the field - No. 22 New Mexico (ninth, 925), No. 41 Chattanooga (10th, 927), No. 40 Notre Dame (11th, 930), No. 39 Northwestern (12th, 934), No. 30 Washington (13th-t, 938), No. 24 UC Davis (13th-t, 938), No. 42 Tulsa (15th, 946).
Freshman Cheyenne Hickle ended in a tie for 23rd place overall (73-73-81-227) and paced UO in the final standings for the first time in her seventh collegiate tournament. Two other Ducks placed top 30 overall – junior Kendra Little (26th-t, 77-74-78-229) and Erica Omlid (29th-t, 76-75-79-230) – and UO’s other entries included senior Felicia Eastick (63rd-t, 77-80-82-239) and sophomore Ashley Edwards (73rd-t, 73-82-87-242).
FURTHER ON UP THE ROAD
In two weeks, UO kicks off the championship season by hosting the Pacific-10 Conference Championships, Monday-Wednesday, April 19-21 at the Eugene Country Club. Two weeks later, the NCAA Regionals will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 6-8 in Columbus, Ind., Greenville, S.C., and Stanford, Calif. The NCAA Championships follow in Wilmington, N.C., Tuesday-Friday, May 18-21.
CAREER PLAYER OVERVIEWS
Ranked top 50 individually all season long, junior Kendra Little has led UO in 38 of her 88 career rounds; has shot par or better in 26 career rounds; is a four-time tourney champion; and overall has paced UO in 14 of her 30 collegiate tournaments. Similar career stats (and ’09-10 totals in ()) for other UO players follow:
- Felicia Eastick, Sr. – Led UO in 15 rounds (1), 3 tourneys (0), 4 under/at par rounds (0), career low 3- 69 (1+ 73), best finish – 1st (10th)
- Kate Hildahl, Sr. – Led UO in 14 rounds (5), 4 tourneys (1), 6 under/at par rounds (0), career low 2- 70 (1+ 73x2), best finish – 3rd (14thx2)
- Monika Graf, Jr. – Led UO in 7 rounds (1), 1 tourney (0), 1 under/at par round (0), career low 2- 70 (1+ 73), best finish 3rd ( 35th)
- Erica Omlid, Jr. – Led UO in 3 rounds (1), 0 tourneys, 0 under/at par rounds, career low 2+ 74 (3+ 75), best finish 14th (14th)
- Ashley Edwards, So. – Led UO in 7 rounds (1), 1 tourney (1), 4 under/at par rounds (2), career low 1- 71x2 (1- 71), best finish – 5thx2 (5th)
- Cheyenne Hickle, Fr. – Led UO in 4 rounds, 1 tourney, 1-under/at par round (1), career low 2- 70 (2- 70), best finish – 3rd (3rd)
DUCKS WELCOME PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS
In 2010, the 24th edition of the Pacific-10 Championships will be hosted Monday-Wednesday, April 19-21, by the University of Oregon at the Eugene Country Club – the same site of the 1991 and 2000 editions. UO finished fourth (946) and seventh (912) at those events, respectively, while the tourney winners were UCLA (894) and Arizona (883).
OREGON PAC-10 HISTORY
UO’s highest finish in the league finale came in 1991 and 1993 when it tied for fourth place in the events held in Eugene and Walla Walla, Wash., respectively. In that same time period, the Ducks added fifth-place finishes in 1992, ’94, ’95 and ’97 to go along with a sixth-place finish in ’96. UO’s all-time Pac-10 finishes follow: 1987 - 9th, 1675; 1998 - 7th, 1313; 1989 - 7th, 1015; 1990 - 6th, 939; 1991 - 4th-t, 946; 1992 - 5th, 916; 1993 - 4th-t, 934; 1994 - 5th, 957; 1995 - 5th, 898; 1996 - 6th, 912; 1997 - 6th, 5th, 901; 1998 - 8th, 928; 1999 - 8th, 919; 2000 - 7th, 912; 2001 - 9th, 914; 2002 - 10th, 966; 2003 - 10th, 943; 2004 - 8th, 947; 2005 - 8th, 922; 2006 - 10th, 945; 2007 - 9th, 972; 2008 – 7th, 916; 2009 – 7th, 901.
SPRING RECAP
UO played the same five-some of Felicia Eastick, Ashley Edwards, Cheyenne Hickle, Kate Hildahl and Kendra Little the first three tournaments this spring – the Peg Barnard Invitational (third, 305-302-607), Arizona Wildcat Invitational (13th, 309-310-619) and Bruin Wave Invitational (10th, 295-307-303-905). In its last stop, the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational (eighth, 299-302-320-921), Erica Omlid was inserted for Hildahl when the latter became sick before the event. Since January UO has steadily climbed in the Golfstat/Golfweek rankings from 38th and 45th, respectively, to highs of 31st / 36th.
Four different Ducks have led UO in those tournaments – Edwards (fifth-t, 76-74-150) at the Peg Barnard, Hildahl at the Arizona Wildcat (14th, 75-73-148), Little at the Bruin Wave (21st-t, 74-76-71-221) and Hickle at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn (23rd-t, 73-73-81-227). Oregon counted two more top-10 finishes in the Barnard stop at Stanford from Little (seventh-tie, 75-76-151) and senior Felicia Eastick (10th-t, 79-73-152).
In the spring’s 10 rounds, Hildahl and Hickle have both led UO four times, and Little and Edwards have paced the team three and one times, respectively.
Hickle and Little staked UO’s first under-par 72 rounds (70 / 71) in the Bruin Wave Invitational first and third rounds. Among other low rounds this spring, Eastick and Hildahl shot two-over scores of 73 at Stanford and Arizona, Hickle had consecutive 1-over 73’s to open the Rawls stop, and sophomore Ashley Edwards logged a one-over 73 in the Austin opener, and a pair of two-over 74 scores at L.A.
FALL RECAP
Team-wise, the Ducks won September’s Giustina Memorial Classic (296-302-298-896) by 25 strokes – their second event of the fall. UO placed fifth in its season opener, the Branch Law Firm Invitational (297-293-295-885), and finale, the Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitational (292-303-301-896), and also took eighth in the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational (326-315-314-955).UO opened the season ranked 25th and 35th nationally by Golfstat and Golfweek, then improved to 22nd in the former category the following week.
Junior Kendra Little kicked off the fall with two straight wins in the Branch Law Firm / Dick McGuire Invitational (71-68-68-207) and Giustina Memorial Classic (73-69-72-214). The former event’s 12-under score was also a school record tourney total (breaking Cathryn Bristow’s former mark by five strokes). The win in Corvallis also stood as the fourth of her career after she won the 2008 Giustina event (69-73-73-215) and the 2008 Oregon Duck Invitational (70-73-72-214).
The Ducks used three different lineups among the four fall events, and Little paced UO in eight of the season’s 12 rounds and in the final standings in all four events. Senior Kate Hildahl, juniors Monika Graf and Erica Omlid, and sophomore Ashley Edwards each paced the team once in the remaining four rounds.
Besides Little’s two individual wins, freshman Cheyenne Hickle added UO’s other top-five finish with her Giustina effort (third, 73-78-73-224) in her second collegiate appearance. UO’s three other top-15 fall finishes came in the Giustina event, courtesy of Hildahl (14th-t, 79-76-78-233), Omlid (14th-t, 79-79-75-233) and Edwards (14th-t, 74-73-77-224).
DUCK SEASON PREVIEW
First-year head coach Ria Quiazon inherited a Duck squad that is one of its most balanced ever and returns six of last year’s top seven players. … Junior Kendra Little was an All-Pac-10 Second Team pick in 2008 and ’09 – only the second Duck ever to achieve multiple honors. … On the national front the past two summers, Little and senior Kate Hildahl competed in the 2009 and 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur, respectively. … Senior Felicia Eastick’s win in the 2007 Giustina Memorial Classic makes her one of two current Ducks with collegiate tournament titles to their credit with Little who has won events four times (junior – twice, sophomore once, freshman once). … Sophomore Ashley Edwards was the team’s top newcomer in 2008-09 and led UO in six rounds – second-most among Duck returnees behind Little (14) – and ranked top three on the squad in six of her seven tourneys, including the 2009 Pac-10 Championships (25th overall). … Juniors Monika Graf and Erica Omlid were two of Oregon’s most improved players in 2008-09, and topped their preseason low round (76 / 75) eight and five times, respectively, and carded UO’s low rounds six and two times, each. … Graf and Little led UO in six tourney’s final standings in 2008-09 (once / five times). … UO’s two newcomers – freshmen Cheyenne Hickle (Gilbert, Ariz.) and Avery Sills (Portland, Ore.) – combined for two state prep tourney wins among their nine, top-10 state individual finishes. … As a team, UO ended the 2008-09 season ranked 35th and 39th nationally in the Golfweek and Golfstat rankings, respectively, after a 12th-place finish in the NCAA West Regional – two places higher than its seeding. The Ducks also placed seventh in the Pac-10 Championships to tie its best finish since 1996.
A NEW ERA TEES OFF
With the arrival of first-year Duck head coach Ria Quiazon (pron. REE-ah KEY-ah-zahn), Oregon is one of the most talked-about teams on the West Coast. In her prior coaching stint, the 2009 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year charted the ascent of the San Francisco Dons into the national elite the prior two seasons.
In 2008-09, the Dons spent much of the spring ranked top 30 nationally en route to a school-record 300.19 scoring average – an impressive 4.29 strokes better than the previous program best. The team featured three All-West Coast Conference players and four top 10 WCC tourney finishers, including conference player of the year Danielle Cvitanov who ended the year ranked 43rd nationally in the Golfstat rankings after she posted a school-record season average (74.06).
Before her coaching stint, Quiazon played professionally on the Duramed Futures, Canadian Women's, West Coast Ladies Golf, Orient Masters China Golf and Ladies Asian Golf tours. Other professional highlights include appearances in the 2006 Women's World Cup in South Africa and the 2004 U.S. Women's Open. Among various national and international events, she qualified for six USGA Championships – one U.S. Women's Open, two U.S. Girl's Junior, and three U.S. Women's Amateur events. In addition, she competed for the Philippine National Team (1997-2002), and earned a gold medal in the 1997 Southeast Asian Games and a pair of bronze medals in the 1998 and 2002 Asian Games. She also played in two World Amateur Team Championships in 1998 (Chile) and 2000 (Germany) for the Philippine National Team.
As a senior co-captain for the University of California, she led the team in the 2003 NCAA Championships (28th overall), and was a 2003 All-Pac-10 and 2002 All-Region Second Team honoree. Her final season, she helped the Bears win a school record seven tournaments, capture Pac-10 and regional titles, and rank as high as second nationally. The two-time Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention selection also won the 2003 Anna Espenschade Award, presented to the top graduating female student-athlete at Cal.
UO REGIONAL HISTORY
Looking ahead a month to potential action in the regional, UO’s highest finish in regional play came in 1995 (fourth, 898). Among its eight other top-10 placings, Oregon took sixth in ’97 (885), seventh in ’00 (895), eighth in ’04 (913), ninth in ’93 (885) and ’01 (923), and 10th in ’94 (912), ’98 (912) and ’05 (913).
Past Duck NCAA Women’s Golf Regional Championships Results
Year Top UO Individual Place Score Team Score
1993 C Mack/S. Maier T29th 221 9th 885
1994 Karly Mills T22nd 224 10th 912
1995 Shannon Hare T29th 301 4th 898
1996 Christel Tomori T54th 242 16th 974
1997 Paula Patterson T5th 213 6th 885
1998 Kylie Wilson T23rd 226 T10th 912
1999 J. White/A. Rizzo T39th 231 T12th 932
2000 J. White/A. Heuser T21st 223 7th 895
2001 J. White T16th 224 9th 923
2002 K. Cho T63rd 237 --- ---
2004 Johnna Nealy T25th 224 T8th 913
2005 Johnna Nealy T6th 220 10th 913
2008 Kendra Little T17th 220 13th 901
2009 Cathryn Bristow T9th 215 12th 890
DUCK NCAA HISTORY
Last year, Cathryn Bristow joined former Ducks Johnna Nealy (85th, 307, 2005) and Leigh Hornung (82nd-t, 320, 1992) as the third Duck to qualify individually for the collegiate finale. Six Oregon squads have also qualified, and their placings follow – seventh (1997), 11th (2000), 13th (1995), 14th (1994, ’98) and 17th (1993).
TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD
For the second straight season, junior Kendra Little has opened the fall campaign with an individual win. On September 19-20, 2009, The Eugene, Ore., native won the Dick McGuire/Branch Law Firm Invitational (71-68-68-207 (-12, par 73)) by one stroke en route to a two-stroke tournament record and four-stroke UO tourney record. Likewise in ’08, she claimed a four-stroke victory in the Giustina Memorial Classic (69-73-73-215) at Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis, Ore. The year prior in 2007-08, she added UO’s second-ever victory in its Duck Invitational by a similar four-stroke margin (70-73-71-214). Two weeks before, recent graduate Cathryn Bristow claimed the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational (69-69-70) in March 2008 with UO’s first-ever tourney with all-under par scores on the par-72 course. Earlier in the campaign, senior Felicia Eastick kicked off the 2007 fall campaign with a two-stroke win in the Giustina event (74-69-74-217). Bristow also added a one-stroke win in the same event as a freshman in the fall of 2005 (70-74-73-217), then took the Illini Spring Classic later that spring (74-72-146) by one stroke. Going back to the 2007 spring opener, former Duck Kim McCready added UO’s seventh title the last five seasons with her five-stroke win in the Baja Classic (70-75-145) in Baja, California.
JONES HAPPY TO GO GRAY
Returning for her third year as an assistant coach with the program, Meredith (Jones) Gray resumes her prior title after serving as the interim head coach during the 2009 spring season. Last April and March, she guided UO to 12th in the West Regional – two spots higher than its pre-tourney seeding – and seventh in the Pac-10 Championships to tie for its best placing since taking sixth in ’96.
As one of Baylor’s top players from 2003-06, the Eugene native Gray was an All-Big 12 Tournament selection and a top-15 conference finisher 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 selected 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 and now a graduate assistant coach for the Duck football team.
DUCK PRESEASON PROFILES
- At the end of the 2008-09 season, junior Kendra Little ranked top 100 in both national individual rankings (Golfstat 78th; Golfweek 89th). During the summer of ‘09, she finished second in the Oregon Amateur and PNGA Amateur and also competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur and advanced to the opening round of match play. Last April, she finished 12th in the Pac-10 Championships (76-73-70-219) and became the second Duck ever to earn multiple All-Pac-10 honors with her second-team honors in 2008 and ’09. She notched her second career victory last September to open the season in the Giustina Memorial Classic (69-73-73-215) in Corvallis, with her other win in the 2008 Duck Invitational (70-73-71-214).
- Senior Felicia Eastick tied for 18th place in her first action as a junior in the 2008 Edean Ihlanfeldt (77-76-80-233), then added her seventh career top-20 finish in the 2009 Duck Invitational in mid-March (19th-t, 78-77-76-231). She is one of two Ducks with collegiate titles to her credit after her sophomore win in the Giustina Memorial Classic (74-69-74-217) to open the fall of 2007. At the end of the 2008 spring slate, the Queensland, Australia native was the third-highest Duck in the Golfstat national rankings (247th / 239th) after she led UO in nine of her 33 season rounds that included a career best 69 that came in her Giustina Memorial Classic win. In spring action in '09, she shot a season low par 72 round in the final round of the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational in early March, then repeated the same final round score in the West Regional and ranked third for the team in the event’s final standings (74-77-72-223).
- Senior Kate Hildahl finished ninth in the 2009 Duck Invitational last March (77-76-74-227) and also posted a third-place finish in the 2008 Giustina Memorial Classic (71-70-79-220) that September. Her four-stroke tourney best in the latter event included her collegiate best in the second round (2-under 70) and UO’s third-best ever score for 36 holes (71-70-141). The Tualatin, Ore., native finished second in the 2009 PNGA Public Links last August (72-69-141) at the Trysting Tree Golf Course in Corvallis. In the summer of ’08, she won the 2008 Oregon Amateur and PNGA Public Links titles, and her third-place U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier finish netted an invite to the national event hosted by the Eugene Country Club.
- Junior Monika Graf paced UO in a career-best six rounds in 2008-09 – the first such honors of her collegiate career. She led UO in the final standings for the first time in the 2008 Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational (third-tie, 226) that October with UO’s best scores in the first and final rounds. The East Wenatchee, Wash., product entered her sophomore season with a collegiate low of 76, and topped that mark 10 times (70, 72x2, 73x2, 74, 75x4) and tied it in another round, with her collegiate best (2-under 70) in the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational final round in early March.
- Junior Erica Omlid made her 2008-09 season debut in the Edean Ihlanfeldt that October, and tied her career best round (3-over 75) en route to a career-best overall placing (28th, 78-75-83-236). She nearly matched that placing in last March’s 2009 Duck Invitational (31st-tie, 77-82-79-238). Overall in her breakthrough sophomore fall swing, the Springfield, Ore., native equaled or topped her preseason round best (75) in five of her nine rounds (75x2, 74x2), and led UO for the first time in the Ihlanfeldt stop with her second-round 75 in wet, blustery conditions. She opened the spring of ’09 with another Duck daily low in the Kiawah Island Classic second round (77) and ranked third among Duck finishers in the final standings (57th-t, 233).
- Sophomore Ashley Edwards enjoyed her first top-five career finish in the 2009 Duck Invitational last March (fifth overall, 73-75-76-224), and paced UO in the first and second rounds. A month later in her sixth collegiate tourney, she stood third on the team in the Pac-10 Championships (24th-t, 79-72-74-225) and scored her third, top-25 placing of the season. In early March, she led UO in the second round of the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational (29th-t, 80-74-73-227), and overall led the team in six of her 21 collegiate rounds, including four of her last 12 in the spring. Altogether, the Oakley, Calif., native posted scores of 73 or better in seven collegiate rounds (71, 72x2, 73x3).
- Freshman Cheyenne Hickle (Gilbert, Ariz.) ranked 43rd in the American Junior Golfers Association early signee class in 2009-10 and won the Future Collegians ASU Classic in Tempe last November (74-72-146) by two shots. After the event, she was tabbed the Golfweek Player of the Week, and was later ranked second among Arizona prep seniors and 56th nationally by the magazine. In the Arizona 5A Girls Division 1 State Championships, she took 10th as a senior (76-76-152) and junior (72-78-150), third as a sophomore (72-68-140) and sixth as a freshman (73-74-147).
- Freshman Avery Sills (Portland, Ore.) won the 2009 6A Oregon state title as a junior (74-73-147) and sophomore (78-84-162) and tied for third as a senior (73-76-149). She also played in the 2008 Junior America’s Cup in San Diego, won the 2008 Oregon Junior Stroke Play event (73-72-73-218), and advanced to the match play round in the Oregon Amateur in 2008 and ’09.
PAC-10 RULES PRESEASON RANKINGS
Like the past, the Pacific-10 Conference dominated the Golf Week 2009-10 preseason rankings and featured the top three teams in the nation - No. 1 Arizona State, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC. No. 35 Oregon was one of four more teams ranked top 40 with No. 17 Arizona, No. 25 California and No. 26 Stanford, and the other three Pac-10 teams’ rankings included No. 41 Washington, No. 65 Oregon State and No. 71 Washington State.
To see the complete preseason rankings, go to the www.Golfweek.com website http://www.Golfweekrankings.com/ellington/default.asp?t=wt&page=0 URL address.
Oregon also stood 25th in the preseason Golfstat poll.
OTHER 2009-10 TOURNEY RECAPS
BRANCH LAW FIRM / DICK MCGUIRE INVITATIONAL
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (9/19-20) – In the fall season opener, junior Kendra Little broke the school tournament scoring record by five strokes and held on to win the individual title with her 12-under 207 (71-68-68). The Eugene, Ore., native Little kept her one-stroke advantage over New Mexico’s defending champion Jodi Ewart (second, 69-71-68-208) that she owned entering the final round.
Little’s five-under first and second round 68’s also tied the second-best score in school history, and were only two strokes off former teammate’s Cathryn Bristow school record 7-under mark (65) from 2008. UO’s other entries included sophomore Ashley Edwards (24th-t, 74-73-77-224), senior Kate Hildahl (45th-t, 76-76-75-227), freshman Cheyenne Hickle (50th-t, 76-76-76-228) and junior Erica Omlid (62nd-t, 77-78-76-231).
In the team standings on the par-73 University of New Mexico Championship course, UO logged three sub-300 totals for a nine-over final score of 885 (297-293-295). On the overall team leaderboard, No. 14 Pepperdine won by seven strokes (288-287-284-859) over No. 22 New Mexico (second, 294-286-286-866). Final results are available via the www.Golfstat.com website at the http://www.Golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=1676 link.
GIUSTINA MEMORIAL CLASSIC
CORVALLIS, Ore. (9/28-29/09) – Junior Kendra Little and then-No. 22 Oregon ran away with individual and team victories in the Oregon-State hosted event. The Ducks carded the three lowest scores of the tourney en route to a 25-stroke won (296-302-298-896) over Washington State (second, 309-312-300-921), Wyoming (third, 304-313-309-926) and Oregon State (fourth, 305-315-309-929) in the 10-team field.
On the par-72, 6,282-yard Trysting Tree Golf Course, Little carded the low scores in the second and third rounds as she posted a nine-stroke win (73-69-72-214) over Wyoming’s Juanita Rico (second, 72-75-76-223). After two tournaments this young season, the Eugene native Little has now shot rounds of 73 or better in all six of her rounds, including a pair of 5-under 68’s that ranked second-best in school history, a 2-under 71 and a 1-under 71. Freshman Cheyenne Hickle improved a position in the final round to tie for third place overall (73-78-73-224) in her second collegiate tourney, and was joined by three other Ducks in the top 15 overall – senior Kate Hildahl (14th-tie, 79-76-78-233), sophomore Ashley Edwards (14th-tie, 71-81-81-233) and junior Erica Omild (14th-tie, 79-79-75-233).
UO’s tournament victory was its highest in six trips to OSU-hosted events and also marked its first overall victory since the Ducks won the 2008 Oregon Duck Invitational at the Eugene Country Club (297-309-294-900) over UC Davis by four strokes.
EDEAN IHLANFELDT INVITATIONAL
SAMMAMISH, Wash. (10/5-7/09) – In its annual trip north to the Washington-hosted event, then-No. 32 UO took eighth (326-315-314-955) in the Sahalee Country Club-hosted event besieged by foul weather. Junior Kendra Little led UO in the final standings for the third straight event and also paced the team all three rounds (28th overall, 82-78-76-236). In her first action of the fall, junior Monika Graf (35th-t, 86-76-77-239) finished a stroke ahead of senior Kate Hildahl (37th-t, 84-79-77-240), and other UO entries included junior Erica Omlid (45th, 79-82-84-245) and freshman Cheyenne Hickle (59th-t, 81-84-87-252). In her first action of the fall, Graf posted a team-best six birdies thanks to her hat trick the final two rounds, and other birdie counts for the tourney follow: Hildahl (4), Hickle (3), Little (3), Omlid (1).
TURTLE BAY COLLEGIATE
KAHUKU, Hawai’i (11/2-4/09) – Then-No. 41 Oregon women’s golf team climbed two positions in final round action to place fifth overall (292-303-301-896), behind No. 27 UC Davis (first, 281-290-297-868), No. 1 UCLA (second, 292-289-296-877), No. 8 USC (third, 291-290-298-879) and No. 10 California (fourth, 290-287-306-883). Individually on the par-72 6,535-yard Turtle Bay Resort course, junior Kendra Little led UO in the overall standings for the third straight day (seventh-tie, 71-71-75-217). Sophomore Ashley Edwards logged her third straight top-25 finish of the fall (19th-t, 74-73-76-223) and senior Kate Hildahl claimed her second similar honor (23rd, 73-79-73-225). Juniors Erica Omlid (51st-t, 76-80-77-233) and Monika Graf (61st-t, 74-81-80-235) rounded out the Duck contingent. Hildahl’s team-best, 1-over 73 third round was the first time that she has led UO this season and 10th time overall in her collegiate career. Little led UO in the birdie standings for the tourney (8) thanks to her seven the first two rounds, and was followed in the three-round tally by Edwards (6), Hildahl (6), Graf (4) and Omlid (2).
PEG BARNARD INVITATIONAL
STANFORD, Calif. (2/13-14/09) – Then-No. 33 Oregon placed third in the 12-team field (305-302-607) behind then-No. 24 Stanford (first, 304-292-596) and No. 10 California (second, 296-301-597), and beat four teams ranked ahead of it - No. 35 Washington (fourth, 304-305-609), No. 22 UC Davis (fifth, 310-305-615) and No. 36 San Jose State (sixth, 315-307-622) and No. 32 Texas (seventh, 312-315-627). For the first time in her career, sophomore Ashley Edwards led the Ducks in an event’s final standings (fifth-tie, 76-74-150), and tied her career high overall placing from last year’s Oregon Duck Invitational. The Oakley, Calif., native was followed by two more top-10 overall finishers – junior Kendra Little (seventh-tie, 75-76-151) and senior Felicia Eastick (10th-t, 79-73-152) – and UO’s other entries were freshman Cheyenne Hickle (32nd–t, 75-83-158) and senior Kate Hildahl (44th, 83-79-162). Eastick’s final round led UO for the first time this season, and Hickle’s and Little’s first round topped UO for the ninth and second time in 2009-10.
ARIZONA WILDCAT INVITATIONAL
TUCSON, Ariz. (2/22-23) – Then-No. 33 Oregon scored a 13th-place finish (309-310-619) in the 16-team field that was comprised entirely top-50 teams. Senior Kate Hildahl improved eight places in the final round for her second top-15 finish of the season (14th, 75-73-148). She carded UO’s low round for the third time this season and 12th time in her career in the finale, and also led UO in the final standings in a tournament for the first time this season and third time in her career. UO’s other entries included junior Kendra Little (50th-t, 75-81-156), sophomore Ashley Edwards (53rd-t, 78-79-157), freshman Cheyenne Hickle (72nd-t, 85-77-162) and senior Felicia Eastick (72nd-t, 81-81-162), while individual entry and sophomore Erica Omlid tied for 84th overall (81-85-166) on the par 71, 6,166-yard Arizona National Golf Club course.
BRUIN WAVE INVITATIONAL
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (3/1-3/10) - The then-No. 33 Ducks opened March with its lowest round of the spring en route to a 10th-place finish (295-307-303-905) against a 16-team field that featured 10, top-50 ranked squads. Three different Ducks – freshman Cheyenne Hickle, senior Kate Hildahl and junior Kendra Little - led UO in the first, second and third rounds (70 / 75 / 71), and Little finished 21st overall (74-76-71-221) for her fifth top-25 finish of the season and 22nd overall of her career. Other Duck results follow: sophomore Ashley Edwards (33rd, 74-77-74-225), freshman Cheyenne Hickle (40th-t, 70-81-76-227), senior Kate Hildahl (57th-t, 77-75-82-234) and senior Felicia Eastick (72nd, 81-79-82-242).
2008-09 DUCK YEAR IN REVIEW
Last year in its 14th regional appearance in school history, UO placed 12th (299-298-293-890) in the 21-team field at the Arizona State-hosted event. The Ducks combined on their third sub-300 score in the same tournament for the first time in the spring that included a spring-best final round (293). Oregon ended two spots higher than its pre-meet seeding and 11 strokes behind eighth place, the final NCAA team qualifying position. The final round also stood as UO’s fifth straight sub-300 round of the spring and 15th in 30 overall in 2008-09 including the fall. Two weeks before, UO featured a pair of top-12 Pac-10 Championships finishers in then-senior Cathryn Bristow and Kendra Little (10th / 12th) who shot 1-under final rounds of 70, and helped UO place seventh as a team against the nation’s toughest conference that featured six top-30 nationally-ranked squads. Bristow’s placing was UO’s highest since Jerilyn White took ninth in 2001, and the pair became UO’s first pair of same-season All-Pac-10 picks when they were chosen to the second team.
Earlier in the campaign, UO finished second in three events – the Giustina Memorial Classic (906), Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational (921) and Oregon Duck Invitational (902). In the national rankings, UO stood top 40 all season long in the Golfweek rankings and top 50 in the Golfstat editions with season high rankings of 26th and 25th, respectively, entering the spring slate. UO’s year-end stroke average of 300.8 was a program best and improved upon the previous record of 301.78 from the season prior in 2007-08.
Little carded the team’s lone victory of the season in the Giustina Memorial Classic – one of six, top-five individual finishes (and 11, top-10 efforts) during the year. Little and Bristow tied for the lowest tourney score of the season (215) with their scores from the Giustina and West Regional events.
Bristow had the team season low round (4-under 68) in the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational third and final round – one of her five rounds of par or better. Others with par or better rounds included Kendra Little (6), Felicia Eastick (2), Ashley Edwards (2), Monika Graf (2) and Kate Hildahl (2).
Individual Ducks’ scoring averages, and season low rounds and tourney scores follow: Cathryn Bristow (74.8 / 68 / 215), Kendra Little (74.6 / 69 / 216), Ashley Edwards (75.5 / 71 / 220), Felicia Eastick (77.5 / 72 / 227), Monika Graf (78.1 / 70 / 224), Erica Omlid (78.2 / 74 / 227), Kate Hildahl (78.2 / 70 / 220), Blair Ressler (81.0 / 79 / 241).
A FOND FAREWELL
The Ducks’ losses to graduation from last season included Cathryn Bristow and Blair Ressler. Bristow ended her career with her NCAA Championships debut (96th, 78-79-79-80-316) after she earned her invite two weeks before after she tied for ninth in the West Regional (74-75-70-76-295) and won a one-hole playoff.
Before the collegiate finale, Bristow had led UO in 11 of 27 rounds, and 45 altogether in 114 career rounds. Tournament-wise, she had paced UO in 17 of her 40 collegiate events. She owned three of UO’s under-par rounds last season (4-under 68, 3-under 69, 1-under 70), and two more rounds of par, with three of those five rounds of par or better in the West Regional (69 (3-), 72 (par)) and Pac-10 Championships (70 (1-)) the final month.
Ressler saw her most extensive action as a collegian as a junior in 2007-08, and played seven events and 21 rounds. She notched her first top-30 finish last March in the 2008 Duck Invitational (30th, 77-75-82-234), and nearly achieved the same feat in the San Francisco Invitational in the fall of ’07 (33rd, 239). The Bellingham, Wash., native played two events in 2008-09 – the Oregon Duck Invitational (42nd, 241) and Giustina Memorial Classic.
COMPLETE 2010 SPRING RESULTS
Peg Barnard Invitational
Stanford Golf Course, Stanford, Calif., Par 71, 6,092 yards, Saturday-Sunday (2/13-14/10)
Team Results – 1, Stanford, 304-292-596. 2, California, 296-301-597. 3, Oregon, 305-302-607. 4, Washington, 304-305-609. 5, UC Davis, 310-305-615. 6, San Jose State, 315-307-622. 7, Texas, 312-315-627. 8, Long Beach State, 318-315-633. 9, Hawai’i, 313-321-634. 10, Santa Clara, 3240-320-644. 11, Fresno State, 324-321-645. Top Individuals – 1t, Joanne Lee, California, 74-70-144. 1t, Sally Watson, Stanford, 73-71-144. 3, Rebecca Durham, Stanford, 77-70-147. 4, Anya Alvarez, Washington, 72-77-149. 5t, Ashley Edwards, Oregon, 76-74-150. 5t, Corie Hou, Hawai’i, 73-77-150. 7t, Kendra Little, Oregon, 75-76-151. 7t, Miki Ueoka, Santa Clara, 78-73-151. 7t, Alice Kim, UC Davis, 77-74-151.10t, Felicia Eastick, Oregon, 79-73-152. Four others tied for 10th at 152. Oregon Player Results – 5t, Ashley Edwards, 76-74-150. 7t, Kendra Little, 75-76-151. 10t, Felicia Eastick, 79-73-152. 32t, Cheyenne Hickle, 75-83-158. 44, Kate Hildahl, 83-79-162.
Arizona Wildcat Invitational
Arizona National, Tucson, Ariz., Par 71, 6,166 yards, Monday-Tuesday, (2/21-22/10)
Team Results – 1, Arizona State, 290-286-576. 2, Arizona, 294-294-588. 3, Stanford, 293-302-595. 4, California, 302-294-596. 5, Duke, 296-303-599. 6, New Mexico, 301-300-601. 7, Pepperdine, 295-307-602. 8, Auburn, 308-297-605. 9, Denver, 304-303-607. 10, Oklahoma State, 304-304-608. 11, Tennessee, 307-309-616. 12, USC, 308-310-618. 13, Oregon, 309-310-619. 14, Washington, 315-307-622.15, UNLV, 314-312-626. 16, Tulane, 312-315-627. Top Individuals – 1, 1, Caroline Hedwall, Oklahoma State, 70-66-136. 2t, Juliana Murcia, Arizona State, 74-67-141. 2t, Alison Whitaker, Duke, 69-72-141. 4t, Cydney Clanton, Auburn, 74-70-144. 4t, Jodi Ewart, New Mexico, 72-72-144. 4t, Jennifer Johnson, Arizona State, 73-71-144. 7t, Carlota Ciganda, Arizona State, 71-74-145. 7t, Taylore Karle, Pepperdine, 68-77-145. 7t, Margarita Ramos, Arizona, 73-72-145. 10t, Jaclyn Sweeney, Arizona State, 72-74-146. 10t, Sally Watson, Stanford, 71-75-146. Oregon Player Results – 14, Kate Hildahl, 75-73-148. 50t, Kendra Little, 75-81-156. 53t, Ashley Edwards, 78-79-157. 72t, Cheyenne Hickle, 85-77-162. 72t, Felicia Eastick, 81-81-162. Oregon Individual Entry – 84t, Erica Omlid, 81-85-166.
Bruin Wave Invitational
Robinson Ranch Valley Course, Santa Clarita, Calif., Par 72, 6,282 yards, Monday-Wednesday (3/1-3/10)
Team Results – 1, USC, 286-294-286-866. 2, Arizona State, 294-288-286-868. 3, UCLA, 286-290-296-872. 4, Pepperdine, 288-292-293-873. 5, Arizona, 283-299-293-875. 6, New Mexico, 295-300-288-883. 7, Washington, 292-300-292-884. 8, Stanford, 292-295-298-885. 9, San Francisco, 312-291-297-900. 10, Oregon,295-307-303-905. 11, UNLV, 294-301-311-906. 12, San Diego State, 302-309-306-917. 13, Oregon State, 310-311-320-941. 14, Long Beach State, 308-312-325-945. 15t, Cal State Northridge, 317-303-343-963. 15t, BYU, 323-315-325-963. 17, New Mexico State, 320-333-315-968. 18, Washington State, 330-325-321-976. Top Individuals – 1, Danielle Kang, Pepperdine, 67-72-69-208. 2, Jodi Ewart, New Mexico, 69-74-68-211. 3, Stephanie Kono, UCLA, 70-68-74-212. 4, Lizette Salas, USC, 72-71-71-214. 5t, Molly Aronsson, Washington, 67-73-75-215. 5t, Carlota Ciganda, Arizona State, 72-71-72-215. 7t, Jennifer Johnson, Arizona State, 74-69-73-216. 7t, Guilia Molinaro, Arizona State, 73-74-69-216. 7t, Belen Mozo, USC, 68-76-72-216. 10t, Three players tied at 217. Oregon Individual Results – 21t, Kendra Little, 74-76-71-221. 33t, Ashley Edwards, 74-77-74-225. 40t, Cheyenne Hickle, 70-81-76-227. 57t, Kate Hildahl, 77-75-82-234. 72, Felicia Eastick, 81-79-82-242.
Betsy Rawls Long Invitational
University of Texas Golf Club, Austin, Texas, Par 72, 6,255 yards, Friday-Sunday, (3/26-28/09)
Team Results – 1, UCLA, 295-290-299-884. 2, Arizona, 301-285-304-890. 3, Texas A&M, 299-290-308-897. 4, TCU, 298-301-302-901. 5, Texas, 296-306-305-907. 6, Stanford, 302-300-307-909. 7, Vanderbilt, 300-302-311-913. 8, Oregon, 299-302-320-921. 9, New Mexico, 305-300-320-925. 10, Chattanooga, 315-301-311-927. 11, Notre Dame, 303-310-317-930. 12, Northwestern, 301-314-319-934. 13t, Washington, 305-315-318-938. 13t, UC Davis, 311-313-314-938. 15, Tulsa, 317-319-310-946. 16, Texas ‘B’, 310-316-321-947. 17, Oklahoma, 313-317-323-953.Top Individuals – 1, Sarah Zwartynski, Texas A&M, 70-72-71-213. 2, Marina Alex, Vanderbilt, 73-70-76-219. 3t, Brianna Do, UCLA, 75-73-72-220. 3t, Stephanie Kono, UCLA, 71-71-78-220. 5t, Julia Boland, Texas A&M, 74-72-75-221. 5t, Sydnee Michaels, UCLA, 75-74-72-221. 5t, Kristina Wong, Stanford, 71-72-78-221. 8t, Alejandra Llaneza, Arizona, 75-71-76-222. 8t, Sherlyn Popelka, Arizona, 77-71-74-222. 10, Three players tied at 223. Oregon Individual Results – 23t, Cheyenne Hickle, 73-73-81-227. 26t, Kendra Little, 77-74-78-229. 29t, Erica Omlid, 76-75-79-230. 63t, Felicia Eastick, 77-80-82-239. 73t, Ashley Edwards, 73-82-87-242.
COMPLETE 2009 FALL RESULTS
Branch Law Firm / Dick McGuire Invitational
University of New Mexico Championship Course, Albuquerque, N.M., par-73, 6,187 yards, Saturday-Sunday (9/19-20/09)
Team Results – 1, Pepperdine, 288-287-284-859. 2, New Mexico, 294-286-286-866. 3t, UNLV, 291-292-300-883. 3t, TCU, 291-291-301-883. 5, Oregon, 297-293-295. 6, UC Davis, 302-295-290-887. 7, Northwestern 297-294-297-888). 8, Indiana, 297-296-301-894. 9, UC Irvine, 304-294-300-898. 10, Colorado, 310-296-297-903. 11, . 12t, Texas A&M, 303-303-298-904. 12t, Arkansas, 300-303-305-908. 14, San Francisco, 295-311-304-910). 15, Oklahoma, 306-303-305-914. 16, Colorado State, 304-304-307-915. 17, UTEP, 308-301-308-917. 18, Wyoming, 306-312-316-934. Top Individual Results – 1, Kendra Little, Oregon, 73-68-68-207. 2, Jodi Ewart, New Mexico, 69-71-68-208. 3, Taylore Karle, Pepperdine, 71-71-69-211. Oregon Player Results – 1, Kendra Little, Oregon, 73-68-68-207. 24t, Ashley Edwards, 74-73-77-224. 45t, Kate Hildahl, 76-76-75-227. 50th-t, Cheyenne Hickle, 76-76-76-228. 62, Erica Omlid, 77-78-76-231.
Giustina Memorial Classic
Trysting Tree Golf Course, Corvallis, Ore., Par 72, Yardage 6,282, Monday-Tuesday (9/28-29/09)
Team Results – 1, Oregon 296-302-298-896. 2, Washington State, 309-312-300-921. 3, Wyoming, 304-313-309-926. 4, Oregon State, 305-315-309-929. 5, Nevada, 303-321-307-931. 6, Cal Poly, 308-317-310-935. 7, Hawai’I, 321-314-317-952. 8, Boise State, 312-320-321-953. 9, Portland, 320-320-316-956. 10, USC Upstate, 329-335-335-999. Top Individual Finishers – 1, Kendra Little, Oregon, 73-69-72-214. 2, Juanita Rico, Wyoming, 72-75-76-223. 3t, Cheyenne Hickle, Oregon, 73-78-73-224. 3t, Cara Freeman, Oregon State, 74-76-74-224. 5, Ali Thompson, Washington State, 79-72-75-226. Oregon Player Results – 1, Kendra Little, Oregon, 73-69-72-214. 3t, Cheyenne Hickle, Oregon, 73-78-73-224. 14t, Kate Hildahl, 79-76-78-233. 14t, Ashley Edwards, 71-81-81-233. 14t, Erica Omlid, 79-79-75-233.
Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational
Sahalee Country Club, Sammamish, Wash., Par 72, 6,136 yards, Monday-Wednesday, (10/5-7/09)
Team Results – 1, California, 296-303-298-897. 2, Stanford, 308-301-303-912. 3, Pepperdine, 311-302-304-917. 4, San Francisco, 301-313-307-921. 5, San Jose State, 309-311-314-934. 6, Washington, 310-314-315-939. 7, Oregon State, 324-317-310-951. 8, Oregon, 326-315-314-955. 9, Idaho, 321-321-323-965. 10, Washington State, 333-315-318-966. 11t, BYU, 320-330-318-968. 11t, Long Beach State, 322-329-317-968. 13, New Mexico State, 333-350-332-1015. Top Individual Finishers – 1, Katrina Delen Briones, San Jose State, 73-75-71-219. 2, Natasha Podmore, San Francisco, 72-76-72-220. 3, Emily Childs, California, 73-74-74-221. 4t, Joanne Lee, California, 75-74-74-223. 4t, Sally Watson, Stanford, 77-72-74-223. 6t, Cara Freeman, Oregon State, 80-75-69-224. 6t, Pia Halbig, California, 73-73-78-224. 8t, Danielle Cvitanov, San Francisco, 76-74-77-227. 8t, Kaitlin Drolson, Pepperdine, 77-75-75-227. 10t, Four tied at 228. Oregon Player Results – 28t, Kendra Little, 82-78-76-236. 35t, Monika Graf, 86-76-77-239. 37t, Kate Hildahl, 84-79-77-240. 45, Erica Omlid, 79-82-84-245. 59t, Cheyenne Hickle, 81-84-87-252.
Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitational
Turtle Bay Resort, Kahuku, O’ahu, Hawai’I, Par 72 (George Fazio Course, 6,261 yards; Arnold Palmer Course, 6,361 yards), Monday-Wednesday (11/2-4/09)
Team Results – 1, UC Davis, 281-290-297-868. 2, UCLA, 292-289-296-877. 3, USC, 291-290-298-879. 4, California, 290-287-306-883. 5, Oregon, 292-303-301-896. 6, San Jose State, 288-297-314-899. 7t, Long Beach State, 296-295-311-902. 7t, Tulsa, 298-303-301-902. 9, Oral Roberts, 303-294-306-903. 10, Washington, 312-300-299-911. 11, San Diego State, 297-301-314-912. 12t, Hawai’i, 301-305-320-926. 12t, Toledo, 305-306-315-926. 14, Gonzaga, 306-311-322-939. 15, BYU, 308-306-326-940. 16, New Mexico State, 310-324-309-943. 17t, Oregon State, 314-313-321-948. 17t, Santa Clara, 313-315-320-948. Top Individual Finishers – 1, Lizette Salas, USC, 71-67-70-208. 2t, Cristina Corpus, San Jose State, 68-71-74-213. 2t, Amy Simanton, UC Davis, 74-71-68-213. 4, Stephanie Kono, UCLA, 71-67-76-214. 5t, Tiffany Lua, UCLA, 70-74-72-216. 5t, Kristina Merkle, Tulsa, 72-74-70-216. 7t, Alice Kim, UC Davis, 67-76-74-217. 7t, Kendra Little, Oregon, 71-71-75-217. 7t, Crystal Reeves, Oral Roberts, 78-69-70-217. 10t, Two players tied at 218. Oregon Player Results – 7t, Kendra Little, 71-71-75-217. 19t, Ashley Edwards, 74-73-76-223. 23, Kate Hildahl, 73-79-73-225. 51t, Erica Omlid, 76-80-77-233. 61t, Monika Graf, 74-81-80-235.
MORE ONLINE GOLF INFORMATION
Pacific-10 Conference – www.Pac-10.org
NCAA – www.NCAA.org / www.NCAAsports.com
National Golf Coaches Association - www.ngca.com
Golfstat - www.Golfstat.com
Golfweek - www.Golfweek.com
Junior Golf Scoreboard - www.njgs.com
USGA - www.usga.org
PNGA - www.thepnga.org
OGA - www.oga.org
OREGON GOLF MEDIA
Daily Emerald Student Newspaper: www.dailyemerald.com
Eugene Register Guard: www.registerguard.com
Oregonian: www.oregonlive.com
KEZI-TV (ABC): www.kezi.org
KMTR-TV (NBC): www.kmtr.org
KVAL-TV (CBS): www.kval.org
KUGN-590 AM (Radio): www.kugn.com
Duck News (Online): www.DuckNews.com
MEDIA SERVICES INFORMATION
Assistant Ath. Director, Media Services: Dave Williford
Assistant (W Golf Contact): Geoff Thurner, (541) 346-2250
E-mail: gthurner@uoregon.edu
Department web site: www.goducks.com
Address: 2727 Leo Harris Parkway, Eugene, Ore. 97401
Office Phone: 541/346-5488
Office FAX: 541/346-5449
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