Jerilyn White slipped a little, the rest of the Oregon women’s team got up, and the end result was that the Ducks moved up a spot heading into the final day at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in Tempe, Ariz.
Oregon moved up from ninth to eighth at the Karsten Golf Course Tuesday. White, the Ducks’ senior captain, shot a two-over par 74 to slip from fourth to eighth-place in the individual race. Oregon seniors Claire Hunter and Dawn Berry improved on their first-round performances to finish in a tie for 29th.
Home-state powers Arizona and Arizona State took over ASU’s course Tuesday, and now share the lead. Stanford is second, three strokes behind the co-leaders, while California and Southern California round out the top five teams. Washington stands in sixth and UCLA is seventh.
That White is pacing the Ducks comes as no surprise, but the fact that she isn’t contending for the title is a shock. The Salem native is coming off her first individual win, at the Peg Barnard Classic in Palo Alto, Calif., last weekend. White shot rounds of 68 and 72 to win that tournament. She has paced the Oregon team at every tournament the Ducks have played in 2001.
Hunter and Berry both improved their position at the Pac-10s Tuesday, moving up from 34th and 45th, respectively, to their current position in 29th. Hunter stayed consistent in the second round, matching her 77 from Monday, while Berry dropped her score from 79 to 75. Berry’s round was the second-best outing for the Ducks Tuesday.
Other Duck finishers were junior Kathy Cho (159, 48th), freshman Lacy Erickson (160, 51st) and sophomore Megan Heckeroth (162, 53rd).
Oregon may be too far back to catch UCLA, and may have trouble behind them. The Bruins are 10 strokes ahead of the Ducks, while ninth-placed Oregon State is only one stroke behind Oregon.
The final round of the Pac-10 Championships will take place today in Tempe.