University of Washington
Pac-12 Championships
Dawgs Finish Third At Pac-12 Championships
April 22, 2015 | Women's Golf
Live Scoring | Pac-12 Championships Central
BOULDER, Colo. – No. 7 Washington battled for the Pac-12 title to the last few holes at the Boulder Country Club, but in the end came up just short, finishing third in what turned into a four-team battle. The Dawgs finished Wednesday's final round at 1-over 285 to complete the week at 9-over and eight shots back of eventual champion, No. 6 Arizona.
It was the third top-three finish in program history for the Huskies who also finished second in 2013 and third in 1988.
“I am really proud of our team,” said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. “They really battled hard just like they have all year. We just didn't play the par fives well enough this week. Today, we were just even on par fives and that isn't going to get it done against the teams in this conference.”
The Dawgs played with the Wildcats over the final round and saw Arizona shoot the day's best score, a 5-under 279 to get to 1-over for the championship. The Wildcats held off No. 28 Oregon who finished second at 6-over, while No. 3 UCLA was also in the mix, finishing fourth at 10-over.
“The team has gone through their share of adversity this year, but they never stop fighting,” said Mulflur. “I am proud of the fight they showed.”
Host school Colorado placed fifth at 16-over, but was never really a threat to win on the final day. Top-ranked USC was well back at 24-over, while No. 16 Stanford placed seventh at 26-over. Oregon State (+29), No. 18 Arizona State (+30), California (+36) and Washington State (+49) rounded out the rest of the leaderboard.
Caroline Ingis of Oregon took the individual Pac-12 title, carrying the Ducks to a high team finish. She shot a final round of 4-under 67 to get to 7-under for the championship and win by two. Lindsey Weaver of Arizona and Bronte Law of UCLA shared second place at 5-under, while Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State placed fourth at 4-under.
Washington had only one player in the top-10, but was also the only team to put all five players in the top-25.
The Dawgs top finisher was Ying Luo who shot a 2-under 69 on Wednesday to finish tied for 10th. Luo was red hot over the first nine holes, playing the front at 4-under 31, but two bogeys on the back gave her a 69 on the card. She finished the week at 1-over 214 as the lone Husky in the top-10.
Cyd Okino matched Luo's 69 in the final round to help her team stay in the title hunt for most of the day. After having her score discarded the first two days, Okino made four birdies and just two bogeys to climb to a tie for 23rd at 7-over for the tournament.
“Ying and Cyd played really well today,” said Mulflur. “Both could have easily been several more under par.”
The Dawgs next best final round score came from Eimi Koga who closed with a 2-over 73. The sophomore made two birdies and four bogeys to finish tied for 21st at 6-over for the tournament.
Washington's top-two players over the first two rounds both shot a 3-over 74 to close the championship. Charlotte Thomas made a birdie and four bogeys to finish tied for 13th at 3-over, while Jennifer Yang made three birdies, but four bogeys and a double to finish in a tie for 16th at 4-over.
The Dawgs will now await their fate for the NCAA Regionals that will be announced on Monday. After hosting last season, Washington will be sent to one of the three sites hosting this year.
“NCAA Regionals and Finals are both blank slates,” said Mulflur. “Everyone starts at zero, so we just need to be ready to go.”
Players Mentioned
