It has been a long time coming, but the Oregon women’s golf team has begun its final regular season competition.
The Ducks begin the first of a three-day tournament at the Ping/ASU Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., today. The teams will play 18 holes each day on the par 72 course, and according to Oregon head coach Shannon Rouillard, if the women break 308 as a team every day, they will be successful.
“This team has made huge strides from fall to spring,” Rouillard said. “We can only worry about ourselves and not everyone else and play our game. And if we focus on that we will do what we need to do to play well.”
Momentum is key for the Ducks right now, as they have come off strong finishes in all of their recent tournaments. The Ducks finished 12th at the Spartan Invitational in San Jose, Calif., in early March and then shot 925 to earn a strong 8th in the final of the UCLA Bruin Classic on March 12. Oregon also had strong rounds at the Duck Invitational over spring break.
“We are looking to keep that momentum going and striving toward our team goals,” Rouillard said.
A host of many strong teams — including 10 of the nation’s top 25 schools — will all be in competition in the 15-team field. The Ducks have high hopes this time around after they finished 11th in last year’s Ping/ASU Invitational. Individual standings from last year had sophomore Lacy Erickson tied for 15th and senior Kathy Cho tied for 52nd.
Both Erickson and Cho are expected to lead the way as the only two veterans this year. Three other freshmen will round out the Oregon rotation — Jess Carlyon, Johnna Nealy and Jaime Seefried — with junior Kim Melrose competing as an individual.
After their last regular season competition, the women will prepare for the Pac-10 championships, to be held in Walla Walla, Wash., April 22 through 24 . If they play well, they expect to advance to NCAA Regionals in June.
“We have got something special going on right now,” Rouillard said.