Saturday, February 3
Los Angeles, CA
All Day
University of Oregon
5
vs
0
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Mississippi State
Ducks Split Pair of Top-25 Matches
02/03/24 | Women's Golf
LOS ANGELES — The No. 7 ranked Oregon women's golf team opened its 2024 spring season with a 5-0 win over No. 25 Mississippi State at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge before closing the day with a tight 3-2 loss to No. 6 South Carolina at Palos Verdes Golf Club.
The first day of competition was moved up from Sunday to Saturday due to expected weather in the Los Angeles area this weekend, and the format was changed from stroke play to match play. That meant the Ducks arrived in Los Angeles less than 24 hours before teeing it up for the first time this spring – and had to do so without the benefit of a practice round – but Derek Radley's team more than held their own against top-tier competition.
"I am very proud of the way our team came out and competed today after all of the adversity that was thrown their way," Radley said. "It's not easy to lose your practice round and have the whole format changed on you last minute like that, but they did a great job of maintaining a positive attitude and they performed well. This is an elite field here and having the opportunity to get some match play experience under our belt will pay dividends for us down the road. I'm excited to see what the rest of the weekend holds."
The Ducks will face another top-25 opponent on Sunday, going against No. 19 San Jose State beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT.
How it Happened: Oregon opened the weekend with a clean sweep of No. 25 Mississippi State, controlling the match for the majority of the day.
Senior Ching-Tzu Chen posted a dominant 4&3 victory, winning three straight holes to seize control after sitting in a tie at the turn. Freshman Kiara Romero was tied through six holes before winning three of the next seven on her way to a 3&2 win.
Senior Ashleigh Park never trailed in her opening match, cruising to a 2&1 victory. Senior Minori Nagano and freshman Ting-Hsuan (Tiffany) Huang both won 1 up to secure the sweep, with each Duck winning crucial holes late in their rounds to clinch.
Oregon then had a short turnaround before squaring off with No. 6 South Carolina, which opened its day with a 3-2 victory over Arizona.
Chen was in control once again in her second match of the day, racing out to a 5 up lead through 11 holes on her way to a 5&4 win. Huang also never trailed, halving her first hole before winning her next four and cruising to a 4&3 win.
South Carolina matched the Ducks with two points as Romero and Park fell in their matches, bringing the final point down to Nagano's match against Vairana Heck. Nagano was 1 up through 12 holes, but Heck won the next two to seize the lead. Heck was 1 up with one hole to play when play was called due to darkness, giving the Gamecocks the 3-2 victory.
#7 Oregon 5, #25 Mississippi State 0
Kiara Romero (Oregon) def. Julia Lopez Ramirez (MSU), 3&2
Ashleigh Park (Oregon) def. Avery Weed (MSU), 2&1
Minori Nagano (Oregon) def. Chiara Horder (MSU), 1 up
Ching-Tzu Chen (Oregon) def. Samantha Whateley (MSU), 4&3
Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon) def. Surapa Janthamunee (MSU), 1 up
#6 South Carolina 3, #7 Oregon 2
Hannah Darling (SC) def. Kiara Romero (Oregon), 5&4
Louise Rydqvist (SC) def. Ashleigh Park (Oregon), 6&4
Vairana Heck (SC) def. Minori Nagano (Oregon), 1 up
Ching-Tzu Chen (Oregon) def. Mia Sandtorv Lussand (SC), 5&4
Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon) def. Sophia Burnett (SC), 4&3
The first day of competition was moved up from Sunday to Saturday due to expected weather in the Los Angeles area this weekend, and the format was changed from stroke play to match play. That meant the Ducks arrived in Los Angeles less than 24 hours before teeing it up for the first time this spring – and had to do so without the benefit of a practice round – but Derek Radley's team more than held their own against top-tier competition.
"I am very proud of the way our team came out and competed today after all of the adversity that was thrown their way," Radley said. "It's not easy to lose your practice round and have the whole format changed on you last minute like that, but they did a great job of maintaining a positive attitude and they performed well. This is an elite field here and having the opportunity to get some match play experience under our belt will pay dividends for us down the road. I'm excited to see what the rest of the weekend holds."
The Ducks will face another top-25 opponent on Sunday, going against No. 19 San Jose State beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT.
How it Happened: Oregon opened the weekend with a clean sweep of No. 25 Mississippi State, controlling the match for the majority of the day.
Senior Ching-Tzu Chen posted a dominant 4&3 victory, winning three straight holes to seize control after sitting in a tie at the turn. Freshman Kiara Romero was tied through six holes before winning three of the next seven on her way to a 3&2 win.
Senior Ashleigh Park never trailed in her opening match, cruising to a 2&1 victory. Senior Minori Nagano and freshman Ting-Hsuan (Tiffany) Huang both won 1 up to secure the sweep, with each Duck winning crucial holes late in their rounds to clinch.
Oregon then had a short turnaround before squaring off with No. 6 South Carolina, which opened its day with a 3-2 victory over Arizona.
Chen was in control once again in her second match of the day, racing out to a 5 up lead through 11 holes on her way to a 5&4 win. Huang also never trailed, halving her first hole before winning her next four and cruising to a 4&3 win.
South Carolina matched the Ducks with two points as Romero and Park fell in their matches, bringing the final point down to Nagano's match against Vairana Heck. Nagano was 1 up through 12 holes, but Heck won the next two to seize the lead. Heck was 1 up with one hole to play when play was called due to darkness, giving the Gamecocks the 3-2 victory.
#7 Oregon 5, #25 Mississippi State 0
Kiara Romero (Oregon) def. Julia Lopez Ramirez (MSU), 3&2
Ashleigh Park (Oregon) def. Avery Weed (MSU), 2&1
Minori Nagano (Oregon) def. Chiara Horder (MSU), 1 up
Ching-Tzu Chen (Oregon) def. Samantha Whateley (MSU), 4&3
Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon) def. Surapa Janthamunee (MSU), 1 up
#6 South Carolina 3, #7 Oregon 2
Hannah Darling (SC) def. Kiara Romero (Oregon), 5&4
Louise Rydqvist (SC) def. Ashleigh Park (Oregon), 6&4
Vairana Heck (SC) def. Minori Nagano (Oregon), 1 up
Ching-Tzu Chen (Oregon) def. Mia Sandtorv Lussand (SC), 5&4
Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon) def. Sophia Burnett (SC), 4&3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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