The Oregon women’s golf team swings into action today at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. Juniors Therese Wenslow and Kim McCready lead the Ducks as they look to compete against four of the nation’s top five teams in No. 1 Duke, No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Pepperdine.
The tournament is made up of 16 ranked teams, including eight from the Pacific-10 Conference. The other teams in competition are No. 6 Auburn, No. 8 USC, No. 9 Arizona State No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 12 UNLV, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 15 Washington, No. 16 Stanford, No. 18 Arizona, No. 21 California, No. 23 New Mexico, Nevada and the currently No. 28 Ducks.
“Our players are looking forward to a tremendous field,” Oregon coach Shannon Rouillard said in a University press release. “We played decent there last year, so a lot of our returnees feel comfortable heading into this tournament. In practice this week, we’ve already had two of our three qualifying rounds, and we’ve had good scores and should head in with a good attitude.”
The Ducks finished 10th at last year’s event.
The Ducks currently boast three golfers in Golf Week’s Top 200.
Oregon freshman Cathryn Bristow earned the 96th ranking by leading the Ducks in scoring average this fall with 74.8 strokes per round. Although she is a freshman, Bristow comes to the Ducks as a 20-year-old with tournament experience.
Juniors Wenslow and McCready are ranked 101st and 152nd, respectively. Wenslow, who redshirted last year due to a leg injury, ranked second on the team with a 74.9 scoring average.
McCready led the squad in two of its four tournaments this fall. She managed a top-25 finish at this event last year, scoring an 8-over 224, which was good for a tie at 24th overall.
Seniors Erin Andrews and Michelle Timpani finished 37th and 64th last year at the Wildcat Invitational. Andrews was fourth on the team in scoring average during the fall with 77.1 strokes per round.
The team plays two 18-hole rounds today and a final round on Tuesday.
The Ducks should have an advantage with the 36 holes played the first day, said Rouillard She noted that the first round gives the Ducks an opportunity to either gain momentum or an idea of what improvements are needed.