Two days of action come to a close as the Viks head home from the Fresno State Lexus Classic, which was held in Fresno, Calif. this past Monday and Tuesday. Head coach Kathleen Takaishi sent five Portland State golfers to the tournament at the Copper River Country Club, including underclassmen standouts Tiffany Schoning and Britney Yada.
Last year the Viks attended the Fresno State Lexus Classic, but failed to place among the top five, finishing ninth among the 14 teams in attendance. The result this time around was much more satisfying, as the Viks placed fourth overall, helping them toward their goal of a first-place finish in the Big Sky conference standings this season. Currently they are in second, trailing Northern Arizona by a small margin.
This year 16 teams competed in the Classic, including Big Sky conference rival Sacramento State. The first day of play included 36 holes of golf and some impressive play from Vikings Tiffany Schoning and Lauren Taylor.
Schoning and Taylor both shot 153 over the course on the day, good enough to split a tie for 11th place going into the final day of competition. The freshman Taylor shot 76 and 77 through the two rounds of 18 holes played on Monday. Taylor finished the day with a team-high seven birdies.
Other impressive performances from the first day of play included senior Kalyn Dodge, who had the best 18 holes on Monday, shooting 75 on her first round.
All of the golfers for the Viks finished in the top 25 after the first 36 holes, and as a team shot 615. Overall leaders after the first day of competition were 18th-ranked UC-Davis, followed by the University Of San Francisco. UC-Davis shot an incredible 601 as a team and held a 14-stroke margin over Portland State.
The Viks went into the final day of competition sitting in fourth place, but the second day of the play proved to be one equally as competitive as the first. Different players stepped up in day two of the classic for Portland State, the biggest boost coming from sophomore Britney Yada.
Yada shot a 69 in her final 18 holes of the tournament, finishing three under par on the day and also matching the lowest round of the entire event. The impressive final 18 holes moved Yada from a tie for 25th place, where she sat after Monday’s action, all the way up to 10th, where she eventually finished the competition.
Tuesday also saw the best total score as a team for the Viks. The group finished with a cumulative score of 301 and ended the classic by shooting a combined 916 for the tournament overall.
However, at the end of the day, UC-Davis went home with the trophy after finishing a staggering 17 strokes ahead of the second place Cal Poly, who finished with a final tally of 910 strokes. Portland State finished only three strokes behind the University of San Francisco, and finished fourth out of 16 teams.
The Fresno State Lexus Classic was the sixth full-field competition in which the team has participated this season. It was the Viks’ second fourth-place finish this season. The team has also managed to finish in third place twice this season, and second place on another occasion.
The Viks’ golf squad has three big tournaments remaining before entering the Big Sky championship, including the Anteater Invitational, hosted by UC Irvine, as well as the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in Chandler, Ariz. Next up for PSU is the Folino Invitational, hosted by Cal State Fullerton on March 21–22. ?