Viks tee off, tie for 11th

The Portland State women’s golf team finished their third competition of a four-tournament fall season on Tuesday, tying the University of Hawaii for 11th place in the Heather Farr/Colorado Memorial golf tournament.

The University of Colorado hosted the three-round, two-day long event that featured 104 golfers from 20 teams competing at the Colorado National Golf Club. Five Vikings competed and, as a team, shot 301-317-318=936 in the 54-hole competition.

However, it was Texas Tech—the only squad to shoot under 300 in each round—that won the tournament, with a team score of 882. They also took first place in individual scoring, with Red Raider Alex Gibson finishing six under par at 213.

Although the Portland State squad’s 11th place tie seems a disappointing finish to an event the school won in 2003, the competition did highlight several bright spots. The Vikings’ finish was the first of the five Big Sky teams in the tournament, and at least 31 shots under the other conference squads.

Portland State’s first round score of 301 was the team’s best since shooting 298 in the first round of the Fresno State Lexus Classic on Feb. 23.

Portland State head coach Kathleen Takaishi understands the squad’s finish is not exactly reason to celebrate.
“Clearly, our expectations were better than what our scores reflected,” she said.

“Obviously there are things we can learn from and improve on,” Takaishi said. “We did a lot of good things.”
Among the good was the performance of sophomore Tiffany Schoning. In her first tournament since transferring from the University of Oregon, she was the leader on the Viking board—tying for 48th place by scoring 235—and the only member of the squad to shoot all three rounds in the 70s.

Before jumping aboard the Vikings’ ship, Schoning took part in two tournaments as a Duck and averaged 81.7 strokes-per-round. After her play at the Colorado Memorial, she dropped to 78.3 strokes-per-round, becoming Portland State’s scoring leader this fall.

Speaking on the performance of her new transfer, Takaishi said, “She definitely helped us and I expect her to play well.”

Freshman Britney Yada also turned heads in a big way with her opening round score of 73. Not only was it the lowest score recorded by the Vikings in the competition, it would also be the best 18-hole score for the squad so far this year.

Yada finished just one stroke above Schoning and demonstrated her ability by sinking four birdies in the first round, finishing the tournament with a team-leading eight.

“She’s a freshman and she shot 73,” coach Takaishi said. “That’s really good, and I anticipate her to continue to get better.”

The entire Vikings squad finished within 4 strokes of each other. Danielle Ranallo and Alexia Brown tied for 53rd with a score of 238, and Justine Hix tied for 64th at 239 strokes.

On Monday, tournament officials suspended the second round of the tournament due to weather.  “The conditions were pretty bad and pretty tough out there. It was windy, rainy,” Takaishi said. “[Tuesday’s] round, it was cold in the morning but the conditions were no longer as bad.”

Going into their last fall tournament later this month, Takaishi said she is going to work with her squad on their short game. “I feel we’re close to playing well,” she said. “There are good things to take from Tuesday.”

The Portland State women’s golf finishes their fall season in Las Cruces, N.M., at the New Mexico State Prices Give ‘Em Five Tournament on Oct. 12–14.