Pop quiz: Which is the only Oregon team currently ranked No. 1 in the nation?
Track and field? Close, but no.
Baseball? Nope.
Softball? Not quite.
All right, enough guessing — it’s the men’s golf team.
Bonus question: Which team just punched its ticket to the NCAA championships for the first time in 10 years?
I’ll save you the guesses. It’s the women’s golf team.
What both the men and women have accomplished this year has been nothing short of remarkable, and the fun is just getting started. The men will compete at the NCAA Regional with a top seed next week, and the women took sixth place at their own regional last weekend.
I have to admit: When I found out in the spring that I would be covering golf this year, I wasn’t exactly jumping out of my seat. Throughout most of my life, I’ve had trouble paying attention to professional golf, let alone at the collegiate level.
But my lack of excitement was merely a product of my own ignorance regarding the talent and heart of these teams.
After an up-and-down fall season, the men came out with a vengeance this spring, winning four tournaments and earning top-five finishes in four more. Head coach Casey Martin took home Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors, Eugene Wong was named Pac-10 player of the year as just a sophomore, and fellow sophomore Daniel Miernicki was also named to the All-Pac-10 First Team.
The more I talked to Martin and his players, the more impressed I became by their steadfast desire to win every tournament. It’s a well-known sports cliché to say, “We want to win every time we take the course.” But you got the impression that this team truly believed in that mantra. The power of confidence can never be underestimated, and this young group of players is living proof of that.
Speaking of confidence and belief in one another, what the women’s team has done as the season winds down has been just as remarkable.
The Ducks had never finished better than fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference Championships going into this year. First-year head coach Ria Quiazon knew that, but she hadn’t come to Oregon with the intention of reinforcing the status quo.
No, she had a hunch that this year would be different. The conference championships took place on home turf at the Eugene Country Club, and this was the time to make a statement if ever there was one.
The team bought into that mentality and took third place at the Pac-10 Championships. Then, two weeks later, the Ducks earned a spot in the NCAA championships with another strong showing at the NCAA Regional.
All the while, they supported each other at every hole. That, more than anything else, is what strikes me about this particular group. The bond they have developed is palpable, and you have to give Quiazon her fair share of credit for this. To cultivate such a tight-knit bond between players is difficult for any coach, let alone one in her first year.
It’s that combination of talent, chemistry and belief that will likely take both the men and women deep into the postseason. Do yourself a favor and keep up with these teams.
You might not be able to watch them in prime time or even listen on the radio. But you need not be a golf fan to appreciate the motivation and desire these kids showcase on a daily basis.
[email protected]