Women’s Golf, Yoo Lead Rose City Collegiate
AURORA, Ore. – It was raining, windy and cold at the 4th Annual Rose City Collegiate on Monday, and that was the perfect combination for the Oregon State women’s golf team as they fired a 5-over 293 to lead by six strokes in a tournament that has been shortened to 36 holes.
Junior Anica Yoo continued her hot play with a 3-under round for the second consecutive tournament, a career-best 69 at the par-72, 6,080-yard Langdon Farms Golf Club, to hold the clubhouse lead by two strokes over a pair of golfers.
There was supposed to be 36 holes of play on Monday but the round didn’t get started until approximately 11:30 a.m. due to all of the rain in the area the past four days. When it did get started, the Beavers responded with all five players within three strokes of par to post a 5-over 293 and lead the 15-team event by six strokes over Gonzaga and UC Irvine. The final 18 holes will be played on Tuesday.
The last time Oregon State won a team title was 2008 at the 10-team Giustina Memorial Classic in Corvallis.
“As a team we had a very solid round today,” Oregon State head coach Risë Alexander said. “They really stuck to their game plans and executed well in difficult weather conditions. Tomorrow we will encourage the same mental toughness and commitment.
“Anica learned from her performance last week and applied that lesson today with a birdie-birdie finish to lead the event after the first round. She has been playing very well and working hard, and we are excited to see that paying off for her.”
Sophomore Ashlee Pickerell and senior Lauren Sewell did their damage on the back nine, as Pickerell went 39-35 for a 2-over 74 and Sewell posted 40-35 for a 3-over 75. Senior Seshia Telles and sophomore Chelsea Saelee each carded a 37-38 to join Sewell with a 3-over 75 and a tie for 10th place.
Yoo shot a 3-under 70 at the Dick McGuire Invitational 10 days ago, which equaled the second-lowest under-par round in school history. The school record is a 4-under 68 by three golfers -- Andrea Hehn (1997), Leah Whiting (2006) and Martha Burkard (2007).
Yoo led the field with six birdies and fired a round in the 60’s for the first time in her Oregon State career.
The last time an Oregon State golfer won a tournament with more than two teams outright was 1997 when Anjeanette Dabbs claimed medalist honors at the Pepperdine Invitational with a 4-over 148.
“Today I was happy with my performance under the conditions that we didn’t know how many holes we were going to play or if we were going to play at all,” Yoo said. “On holes number 18, 1, and 2, I had things going for me that went for my advantage. For instance, I chipped in from behind the green on number 18 to start my birdie train. Since we are competing with such a large group, this is a great opportunity for our team to go out and show what we can do. I was disappointed that I didn’t hit more greens in regulation. I only hit 10 greens so tomorrow my goal will be to improve that number.”
Competing as individuals, freshman Krissy Peterson is tied for 70th with a 13-over 85 and senior Melissa Gibbons is tied for 75th with a 14-over 86.
Team Scores: 1. Oregon State 293 (+5); t2. Gonzaga 299 (+11); t2. UC Irvine 299 (+11); 4. Washington State 304 (+16); 5. San Francisco 308 (+20); 6. Boise State 310 (+22); t7. Montana 311 (+23); t7. Portland State 311 (+23); 9. Sacramento State 313 (+25); 10. Eastern Washington 314 (+26); 11. CSU Fullerton 315 (+27); 12. Cal Poly 317 (+29); 13. Seattle U. 321 (+33); 14. Weber State 326 (+38); 15. Northern Colorado 330 (+42).
Individual Scores: 1. Anica Yoo, Oregon State 69 (-3); t2. Emelie Lundstrom, San Francisco 71 (-1); t2. Luciane Lee, UC Irvine 71 (-1); t4. Samantha Martin, Boise State 73 (+1); t4. Kristen Rue, Washington State 73 (+1); t4. Ciera Min, Gonzaga 73 (+1).
Oregon State Scores: 1. Anica Yoo, Oregon State 69 (-3); t7. Ashlee Pickerell 74 (+2); t10. Lauren Sewell 75 (+3); t10. Chelsea Saelee 75 (+3); t10. Seshia Telles 75 (+3).
Oregon State Individual Scores: t70. Krissy Peterson 85 (+13); t75. 86 (+14).