The Oregon women’s golf team possessed a flair for the dramatic this season.
Saturday was no different.
Starting the final round of the NCAA West Regionals in 10th, the Ducks needed a solid round of golf to have a chance at continuing their impressive 2003-2004 season.
The Ducks got that impressive start and more in the form of a birdie on the second-to-last hole from junior Johnna Nealy, propelling them into a three-way tie with No. 15 Texas and Washington State for the eighth and final spot.
The top eight finishers in the NCAA regionals receive bids to the NCAA Championships.
The Ducks were close.
Oregon lost on the first hole of a playoff at the 6,159-yard, par-72 Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.
Texas played the only hole in the playoff at 2-under, Washington State finished at even and Oregon finished at 1-over par.
The tie for eighth represented Oregon’s best showing at the NCAA Regionals since the Ducks’ seventh place finish in 2000.
Nealy, who is gaining a reputation as a big-time player in big-time events, was the highest finisher for the Ducks. Nealy carded a final round 74, which included five bogeys and three birdies; however, none of these was more important than her final birdie of the day, coming on the 144-yard, par-3 eighth hole. Nealy finished the tournament at an 8-over 224, good for a tie for 25th.
Sophomore Therese Wenslow also shot a 74 on the final day and finished the tournament with a 74-79-74-227, good for a tie for 38th. Fellow sophomore Erin Andrews, who had struggled since her seventh place finish at the Duck Invitational in early March, fired an opening round 74 and seemed to be turning her game around.
Andrews could not maintain her momentum in the final two rounds, firing a 78 and 80, respectively, to
finish at 232, tied for 51st. Sophomore Michelle Timpani closed with a 77 and finished with a 79-74-77-230, good for a tie for 47th. Freshman Kimberly McCready struggled for most of the tournament, finishing tied for 96th with a 245.
As a team, second-ranked and tournament favorite UCLA cruised to a easy victory, finishing seven strokes ahead of No. 3 California at 861. The Bruins jumped out early and were never challenged during any of the three rounds of play.
“We are ready to play nationals,” UCLA head coach Carrie Forsyth said. “It’s a long season and you have this goal of the end in your mind from the beginning and this is what you practice for, what you are playing for and it’s nice to be going next week. We are ready and peaking at the right time.” UCLA’s Hannah Jun won the tournament with a 7-under 209.
Third-ranked California finished behind UCLA for the second straight tournament.
“It’s relieving (to advance), but we took another approach at looking at this region,” California head coach Nancy McDaniel said. “We went about it looking at it like we really want to compete against the top teams. We haven’t been able to stay with UCLA as much we liked, but they have made us a better team and playing with UCLA this week has really helped us.”
The best round of the tournament was delivered by Washington’s Paige Mackenzie, whose 67 in the final round helped Washington end its free-fall in the standings and secured a spot in the championships for the Huskies.
“I’m really proud of Paige,” Washington head coach Mary Lou Mulflur said. “She has really worked hard to come back from injury. A year ago, we didn’t even know if she would be playing again. Her performance was really awesome.”
The rest of the top eight that will advance to the NCAA Championships, set to be held May 18-21 in Auburn, Ala., include Stanford, Georgia, Ohio State, Arizona State and Texas.