The No. 7 Oregon men’s golf team, once on the precipice of elimination from the NCAA Championships earlier in the week, narrowly defeated No. 5 UCLA 3-2 in quarterfinal match play on Friday in Los Angeles to move on to the semifinals against No. 1 Texas.
Fittingly, it was Pac-12 Player of the Year and All-American Eugene Wong who sealed the deal for the Ducks on Friday, seizing a one-stroke lead over UCLA’s Anton Arboleda with a birdie on the sixteenth hole and holding on to win by the same margin when Arboleda’s birdie putt on the eighteenth hole fell short.
Though Wong’s late surge was the difference maker, seniors Daniel Miernicki and Andrew Vijarro also played key roles, winning two-up and three-and-two respectively. Vijarro’s win came first, officially putting the Ducks on the board, and Miernicki followed with a win to knot the match up at two (both freshman Jonathan Woo and junior Robbie Ziegler lost their matchups). Wong’s victory later in the afternoon sealed the deal.
Oregon will face a difficult test tomorrow against Texas — the nation’s No. 1 team. The Longhorns cruised to a 5-0 victory over Washington in quarterfinals on Friday.