The Oregon women’s golf team put itself into uncharted territory on Tuesday.
The Ducks find themselves fifth after climbing four spots up the leader board from Monday and are poised for their first top-five finish ever at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, played at the par-72, 5,953-yard Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash.
A top-five combined finish, with a win at the Lady Vandal Fall Invitational earlier, would keep the Ducks flying high in the early stages of the season.
“We held it together today and then watched the field fall behind us,” Oregon coach Shannon Rouillard said. “We’re executing all the things we talked about going into this tournament, and I couldn’t be prouder. It was fun to watch today.”
The highest flyer of them all, sophomore Erin Andrews, shot a 1-over 73 Tuesday. Andrews, a Las Vegas, Nev., native who won last week’s Lady Vandal Fall Invitational in Moscow, Idaho, was tied for 12th overall with a 5-over 149. She helped the Ducks shoot a second-round team score of 304, which was the fourth-best round of the day.
The Ducks are chasing four other teams. California leads the way with the Golden Bears dropping seventeen shots after posting a tournament record 3-under 285 on Monday. They are currently holding a scant one-shot lead over Arizona and UCLA, which shot second-round scores of 293 and 295, respectively.
USC, which is trying to win its fourth-consecutive Ihlanfeldt title, shot 308 on Tuesday and is 10 strokes back heading into Wednesday.
As for the rest of the Ducks, freshman Kimberly McCready, playing in only her second collegiate tournament, shot a second-round 75 and is tied for 15th overall at 7-over. Sophomore Therese Wenslow was tied for 28th overall with a 10-over 154, and junior Johnna Nealy was tied for 46th at 158. Michelle Timpani, playing as an individual, is also tied for 46th.
Brian Smith is a freelance reporter for the Emerald.