If you were to wander into La Perla restaurant on Tuesday night, less than 12 hours before the final round of the women’s golf Pacific-10 Conference Championships, you would have never guessed that such an important day lay ahead of the Ducks.
The team and family members gathered at one long table at the restaurant on the corner of East 13th Avenue and Pearl Street, and the feeling around the room was not tense, but relaxed and jovial. Perhaps that is part of the reason the team finished third overall on Wednesday, the best finish in school history.
“Everyone was just relaxed and positive and enjoying each other,” head coach Ria Quiazon said. “I’ve never seen so many parents at one dinner at the same time.”
Junior Kendra Little, who led the way for the Ducks with a tie for third place overall, agreed wholeheartedly.
“It kind of relaxed us a bit,” Little said. “Just getting everybody together and keeping things in perspective, and we all got really excited.”
The Ducks, ranked No. 34 in the nation, finished with an overall score of 889 (25-over par), behind only No. 7 Arizona and No. 1 UCLA. Oregon finished two strokes ahead of No. 5 USC, and easily edged No. 14 Stanford, No. 24 California, and No. 38 Washington.
No. 2 Arizona State was not able to finish the tournament after a bout of sickness spread throughout the team.
Though golf is widely considered an individual game, Quiazon stressed that it was teamwork that gave the Ducks the momentum they needed.
“Everyone just really came together (on Wednesday),” Quiazon said. “The energy was great; you could just feel the love and support they had for each other on the golf course, and it was neat to see them hit shots when it counts.”
The players made sure to give credit to the coaches as well, who are largely responsible for keeping the team together emotionally.
“We’ve stayed positive throughout the week,” senior Kate Hildahl said. “I think the coaches have really given us so much confidence in ourselves. They knew we could do it.”
Indeed, the Ducks also took advantage of playing “at home,” so to speak. The tournament was held at Eugene Country Club, just minutes away from campus. Given the amount of time Oregon has spent practicing at this course, it was no wonder the team came in with so much confidence.
“We know the course better than anyone else,” Little said. “So that was to our advantage. We practiced quite a bit on this course, all fall and all spring, and really just wanted to take advantage of things that we knew about the course that other teams really didn’t.”
Little also mentioned the weather throughout the tournament, which was largely unpredictable.
“Obviously, the teams from down south aren’t really used to the rain as much as we are, and we were kind of prepared for it,” Little said.
Little finished with a score of 219 (three-over par) for the tournament, just five strokes behind the leaders. Junior Erica Omlid and sophomore Ashley Edwards followed with scores of 225 (nine-over par) and tied for 18th, while Hildahl tied for 23rd with a 227 (11-over par). Freshman Cheyenne Hickle’s score of 229 (13-over par) was good for 27th place.
Sophomore Carlota Ciganda of Arizona State won the individual title in a playoff against teammate Juliana Murcia. Before the playoff hole, both players were deadlocked with scores of 214 (two-under par). This is the second straight year Ciganda has won the tournament. She and Murcia were the only players to break par overall.
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