No. 1 UW Settles For Fourth At Stanford
October 19, 2014 | Women's Golf
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 1 Washington closed well to finish fourth at the Stanford Intercollegiate hosted by Condoleezza Rice. The Dawgs shot a final round of 1-over 285 to finish the championship at 1-under 851.
"I am really happy with the week," said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. "I keep coming back to the word grit, but I think that describes this team. They just keep grinding away and letting the negatives roll off their backs. I am not just talking about a few players, I am talking about the whole team."
Pac-12 rivals No. 6 USC, No. 4 Stanford and No. 10 UCLA battled for the team title down to the final hole, each finishing within a single stroke of each other. The Trojans and host Cardinal tied for the title at 15-under, while the Bruins finished at 14-under.
"Those teams played some phenomenal golf," said Mulflur. "Those are all national championship caliber teams."
The Dawgs fell back into fifth place early in the day, but battled back with some solid golf over the final nine holes. Each of the five Huskies in the lineup scored par or better on the back nine to move the Dawgs back into fourth place, giving the conference another dominant performance with the top four spots in the overall standings.
Bronte Law of UCLA took the individual title at 8-under, while the Dawgs had three players in the top-20.
SooBin Kim led Washington, finishing in a tie for ninth at 3-under, although the senior's score did not count towards the team total. Kim played as an individual after back tightness caused her to opt out of the lineup should she have to withdraw. Kim finished with an even-par 71 for her second top-10 in as many starts this season.
"SooBin held up fine," said Mulflur. "She wasn't feeling any problems and it was nice for her to go play with no pressure of counting for the team."
The top Husky whose score counted was Cyd Okino who tied for 12th at 2-under 211. Okino closed with a 1-over 72 that included three bogeys and two birdies. She was six shots off the lead, completing an outstanding tournament for the junior that was not in the Dawgs lineup for most of last season.
"I am really excited for Cyd," said Mulflur. "She is a lot more relaxed this year. She is playing stress-free and not worried about anything she can't control. She plays her best golf when she is like that."
Also with a top-20 was fellow Hawaiian Eimi Koga. Koga finished with a 1-under 70 to finish the week at 1-under 212 in a tie for 16th. Koga had a solid round of three birdies and two bogeys to help the Dawgs to a strong team finish.
Finishing tied for 24th was senior Jennifer Yang with a round of 1-over 72. Yang tied for 24th at 1-over for the tournament.
Ying Luo was also at par on Sunday, finishing with an ever-par 70 to place tied for 31st on the weekend. Luo birdied three of the final five holes to finish with four birdies on the day.
Finally, Charlotte Thomas bounced back from a rough second round with a 1-over 72. She finished tied for 61st at 12-over for the championship.
The Dawgs have one remaining tournament this spring, the Pac-12 Preview at Nanea Golf Club on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Washington will face each of the Pac-12 schools in a showdown of the top conference in women's college golf at the exclusive course that will host the event for the second-straight season.
"I am have no idea which five we are going to take to Hawai'i," said Mulflur. "It's a nice position to be in, but I wish we could take all seven. I really can't make a bad choice with whoever we bring."
Players Mentioned
