You look at the stat sheet and see that the Oregon women’s golf team finished ninth at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships in Tempe, Ariz., Wednesday.
Failure.
Then you look at the Ducks’ score, a three-round total of 914, and realize it was the best three-round total for Oregon this season.
Success.
“We were focused and played hard and really came through,” Oregon head coach Shannon Rouillard said.
The Ducks dropped a spot on the final day of the Pac-10s at the Karsten Golf Course, beating out only Washington State at the conference final. Oregon was led by the play of senior captain Jerilyn White, who finished ninth overall in the individual race.
“That’s a really great accomplishment because there are so many good golfers in the Pac-10,”said Rouillard in regard to White.
Second-ranked Arizona won the tournament by three strokes over Stanford. Host Arizona State, which had been tied with Arizona headed into the final round, dropped to third, 10 strokes behind the Wildcats.
The most thrilling competition came from the individual race, where Arizona teammates Lorena Ochoa and Natalie Gulbis ended in a tie for first after all the holes had been played. The two Wildcats went into a playoff, where Ochoa took the title from Gulbis.
White finished only seven strokes behind the leaders. Oregon seniors Claire Hunter and Dawn Berry also turned in strong performances, finishing in a tie for 31st. Kathy Cho, Megan Heckerothand Lacy Erickson finished tied for 42nd.
The Oregon golfers now await their fate concerning the NCAA Regionals. The Ducks could compete at one of three sites: Corvallis, West Lafayette, Ind., or Chapel Hill, N.C. Wherever they may take place, the regionals will occur May 10-12.