Ducks Close Fall Season At Pac-12 Preview
KAILUA KONA, Hawaii - The Oregon women's golf team will wrap up its fall schedule at the annual Nanea Pac-12 Preview, which begins Monday at Nanea Golf Club.
The No. 6 Ducks are competing on short rest after playing in the prestigious East Lake Cup last week, finishing with a 2-1-2 loss to UCLA on Wednesday. Oregon was back in Eugene for just two days before turning around and heading to Hawaii.
2022 Nanea Pac-12 Preview
Dates: Monday, Oct. 31 - Wednesday, Nov. 2
Location: Kailua Kona, Hawaii
Course: Nanea Golf Club
Par/Yards: 73/6,449
Format: Three rounds of stroke play, 18 holes each day
How To Follow
Live scoring for the Nanea Pac-12 Preview will be available at Golfstat.com. Live updates will be provided throughout the tournament on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.
Live Scoring: https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=27248
The Field
No. 1 Stanford, No. 6 Oregon, No. 13 Arizona, No. 19 USC, No. 22 Arizona State, California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Oregon State, UCLA, Washington, Washington State
Teeing Off For The Ducks (Scoring Avg.)
1. Briana Chacon (73.50)
2. Ashleigh Park (72.57)
3. Ching-Tzu Chen (74.00)
4. Brittany Shin (73.00)
5. Minori Nagano (76.00)
Pac-12 Preview History
This is Oregon's eighth appearance at the Nanea Pac-12 Preview. The Ducks matched their best-ever finish in the event last season, led by the since-graduated Tze-Han (Heather) Lin in a tie for third overall. Ching-Tzu Chen shot 3 over to place 16th individually, and Briana Chacon was one stroke behind in a tie for 17th. Oregon also finished fourth at the 2016 Pac-12 Preview, and the Ducks have placed in the top five in five of eight appearances.
Ducks Drop Nail-Biter At East Lake Cup
The Ducks gained experience last week that will prove to be valuable when the NCAA Championships come around in the spring. Earning a spot at the prestigious East Lake Cup as a reward for its NCAA runner-up finish last season, Oregon got to simulate the NCAA Championships format while competing on national TV on Golf Channel. The Ducks fared well in the single round of stroke play, shooting 1 over to earn the No. 2 seed in match play. No. 6 Oregon squared off with No. 24 Auburn in the semifinals, and both Briana Chacon and Ashleigh Park put points on the board for the Ducks with wins in their matches. The deciding point came down to reigning individual Pac-12 champion Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, who ended up going to a 19th hole after Auburn's Casey Weidenfeld stormed back from 2 down with four holes to play. The Tigers ended up winning the match on the 19th hole, but it was tremendous experience for the Ducks as they look to get back to the NCAA final. Oregon played a consolation match with UCLA on Wednesday, falling 2-1-2 with two matches unable to be extended into extra holes due to travel schedules.
Park, Shin Lead Ducks At Windy City Classic
The Ducks were led by a pair of newcomers their last time out at the Windy City Classic, earning their first top-five finish of the season in third overall behind impressive showings from Ashleigh Park and Brittany Shin. Park was 6 over through two rounds before firing a 3-under 69 to tie for seventh overall at 3 over, putting together her second straight impressive outing and first top-10 finish as a Duck. Shin matched Park in a tie for seventh for her first top-10 finish at Oregon, fueled by a 1-under 71 in the second round. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu tied for 12th for the second straight tournament at 5 over, and Ching-Tzu Chen tied for 24th at 8 over.
Ducks Improve Each Round In Fall Opener
Oregon opened the 2022-23 season on Sept. 12-14 at the Annika Intercollegiate in Minnesota, placing sixth in an elite 12-team field. The Ducks got better each round, closing with a 3-under 285 in the final round to move up two spots and finish sixth at 2-over par overall. Oregon ran out a lineup consisting of three returners from last year's Pac-12 championship and NCAA national runner-up team; Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu and Chen tied for the team's top individual finish in a tie for 12th at 1-over par, and Briana Chacon tied for 35th at 6 over. Texas transfer Ashleigh Park was terrific in her Oregon debut, matching Lu and Chen in a tie for 12th overall after firing a 1-under 71 in round two and a 2-under 70 in the final round. Freshman Anika Varma also impressed in her collegiate debut, tying for 29th (+5) with an even-par 72 in the second round and a 1-under 71 in round three.
Historic 2021-22 Season
It was a magical run for the Ducks in 2021-22, as they shattered nearly every program record, won their first Pac-12 Championship and NCAA Regional title, and advanced through match play to the national title match. Oregon was paced by a lineup of five all-Pac-12 selections and four all-Americans, led by individual Pac-12 champion Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu. The Ducks were ranked No. 2 in the nation for the entire spring season, and came up just short to top-ranked Stanford in the title match. With Tze-Han (Heather) Lin and Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen moving on from the program, Oregon still returns three of its five players from the historic season in Lu, Ching-Tzu Chen and Briana Chacon. Lu was a second-team all-American last year as a sophomore, while Chacon earned all-American honors for the second time in her career.
Radley Adds Reinforcements
Needing to replace the production of both Lin and Nielsen, head coach Derek Radley used recruiting and the transfer portal to reload the roster. Ashleigh Park joined the Ducks as a junior transfer from Texas, bringing more NCAA Championships experience to Oregon's lineup. Radley also signed two-time JUCO national champion Minori Nagano, and added a highly-touted freshman in Anika Varma. The Ducks also return Brittany Shin, the 2021 Big West Player of the Year for Cal State Fullerton, as well as sophomore Baylee Hammericksen.