Vikings claim championship in local golf tourney

The Vikings’ Women’s Golf team took the title of the Rose City Collegiate Championship at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, OR on Oct. 2, breaking a nine-year drought of victories in tournaments hosted by Portland State.

The Vikings team garnered a narrow and closely-contested victory, beating out second-place Grand Canyon University by a mere three points and both Northern Colorado and Boise State—who tied for third—by four.

The Vikings were led by a career performance from Valerie Hernandez, a PSU junior hailing from Bogotá, Colombia, after trailing by multiple points at the final turn of the third round of the tournament. Hernandez golfed three under par in the final round of play, beating out ten visiting teams in a come-from-behind win.

Hernandez, a two-time All Big Sky Conference selection during her tenure at PSU, placed second overall as an individual in the tournament, scoring a 213—an eleven-point improvement over her most recent performance at Colonel Wollenburg Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, CO—setting herself apart as one of only two individuals who golfed under par for two of their three rounds.

Both Hernandez and the Vikings’ Women’s Golf team will try to keep their momentum going into the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational in Las Cruces, NM, on Oct. 8–10.