Ducks Punch Ticket To Regionals, Prepare for San Antonio
EUGENE, Ore. – Fresh off a Pac-12 Individual Championship from Caroline Inglis and a runner-up finish as a team, the Oregon women’s golf team found out on Monday afternoon that they qualified for their eighth-straight NCAA Regional, earning a spot as the No. 7 seed in the San Antonio Regional, hosted by the University of Texas, San Antonio. UO will begin competition on May 7-9.
The Ducks will be among 18 teams in their regional who will all be aiming to finish in the top six and punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla., from May 22-27. There are four different regional sites - Raleigh, N.C., South Bend, Ind., San Antonio, Texas and St. George, Utah - all of which will host 18 teams and six individuals.
Now in her sixth season at the helm, head coach Ria Scott has guided the Ducks to a perfect 6-for-6 record in qualifying for regionals. In total, the program has qualified for regionals 19 times.
The last time UO qualified to the NCAA Championship as a team out of their regional was in 2013 where they placed 22nd. Under Coach Scott’s direction, Oregon has made the NCAA Championships as a team twice (2010 and 2013) and in total the program has made it on eight occasions (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2010 and 2013).
“I think that they we are playing well enough that we can get through anywhere,” said Scott on their selection. “Right now the seed number is just a number; everything starts over at the regionals.”
The Ducks will be facing familiar Pac-12 opponents at their regional in No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 2 seed Washington and No. 5 seed Arizona State – UO defeated all three recently in the Pac-12 Championships last week. The other top teams in the field will include the No. 3 seed Texas A&M, No. 4 seed Tennessee, No. 6 seed Baylor and No. 8 seed Florida State. The Ducks have already faced the Volunteers earlier this year at the Westbrook Invitational. UO took second at 10-under while Tennessee held on for the title at 13-under.
The San Antonio Regional will take place at Briggs Ranch Golf Course. Ranked as the No. 10 course in the state and the No. 1 course in San Antonio, the Tom Fazio design features wide fairways, numerous bunkers and bent grass greens.
“The greens at Briggs Ranch are bent grass, which we just saw at Boulder Country Club. We have heard the course also has some rolling hills, so we might try to do more uneven lies in practice, luckily there are a few of these at Eugene Country Club. We also played some firm greens all spring (Westbrook, Silverado, Boulder) comparable to what we can expect in San Antonio. We have played such a variety of courses this year, we should be prepared for anything this regional,” said Scott.
For senior Cassy Isagawa, the regional appearance will mark the fourth-consecutive appearance for one of the most decorated players in school history.
“I think it’s a great opportunity that we’ve been able to go to regionals the past four years,” Isagawa said, “We need to keep up the team chemistry, I think that’s what really helped us at Pac-12’s. I think all of us just need to finish strong at regionals every single day. One stroke makes all the difference, so if we can make that one more putt every day, it will get us one step closer.”
If the Ducks were to qualify, they would be facing a new format at the NCAA Championships. First, the 24 teams in the field will play 54 holes of stroke play, Friday – Sunday. The top eight teams will advance to a match play championship bracket, where a victor will be crowned at the end of 72 more holes.
San Antonio Regional
1. UCLA
2. Washington
3. Texas A&M
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona State
6. Baylor
7. Oregon
8. Florida State
9. Auburn
10. Texas Tech
11. Texas
12. Houston
13. Gonzaga
14. Oklahoma
15. Kennesaw State
16. Lamar
17. Boston
18. Alabama State
Individuals:
Madison Talley, Kansas State
Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, Kansas
Marika Liu, Yale
Camino Sardinero, UT-El Paso
Anica Yoo, Oregon State
Manon Molle, New Mexico
