2006-07 Women's Golf Season Review
WOMEN'S GOLF
THE
STREAK ENDS AT THREE: Pacific's string of Northwest Conference
women's golf championships ended at three as a relatively young Boxers'
squad finish fifth in the conference's point standings.
The Boxers finished the year with a total of 16.5 points in the system scored from the team's finishes at the NWC Fall Classic, Spring Classic and Championships tournaments. Puget Sound collected their first conference crown, attaining 31 points in the three tournaments.
With the loss of a number of the team's most experienced golfers, including Molly Lindbloom, Kelly Curtan and Sarah Shelton, the remainder of the squad struggled to find their groove as the season progressed. The season started strong enough as the Boxers won their fall opener, the Pacific Five-Way Tournament, led by an individual victory by Jasmine Ching in her first collegiate tournament.
The team struggled, however, when it came to the counting tournaments. The Boxers tied with Pacific Lutheran for fifth in the NWC Fall Classic despite top-10 finishes by Ching and Kelly Hartley. Pacific showed marked improvement at the NWC Spring Classic, moving up to a fourth place team finish behind another top-10 finish by Hartley. At the NWC Championships, the Boxers finished fifth behind a top-five finish from Ching and a 10th place finish from Hartley.
Head Coach Richard Warren acknowledged that the team struggled in 2006-07, but made note that he does not expect the Boxers to be down for long. "This isn't Pacific University's women's golf team falling off the face of the earth," he said. "We're taking a one year break and we'll be back strong as ever."
CHA-CHING: Freshman Jasmine Ching lived up to her potential as one of the top recruits in Richard Warren's tenure over the program, leading the Boxers through most of the season with a flurry of top-five finishes.
The Hilo, Hawaii, native earned First Team All-Northwest Conference honors thanks to a fifth place finish at the NWC Championships tournament. Ching mounted a valiant comeback to earn her plaque, rebounding from 12th place on the first day to turn in the fourth best round on the second day with a round of 81.
The effort capped a spring that saw Ching struggle early. In the fall, however, Ching showed glimpses of dominance that will benefit the Boxers greatly over the next three years. Ching opened her Pacific career by winning the fall Pacific Five-Way Tournament, bettering fellow Hawaii player Whitney Ueno of Willamette by two strokes. Ching finished no worse than fourth in all but one of the team's fall tournaments, including a fourth place finish at the NWC Fall Classic.
YOU
GOTTA HAVE HART(LEY): While not repeating her All-Northwest Conference
finish from the year before, Kelly Hartley still played a key role as one
of the team's most consistent players over the entire season. The team's
veteran as a junior, Hartley shot only one round over 90 during the fall
season and placed ninth at the NWC Fall Classic.
While Hartley's scores increasing a bit during the spring, she kept her tournament placings from inflating. Hartley finished no worse than 10th in nearly every spring tournament she competed in. Hartley finished 10th at the NWC Spring Classic, carding a low round of 87 on the first day, and tied for 10th at the NWC Championships. Hartley opened the NWC Championships in seventh place.
A YOUNG TEAM: With the loss of three seniors, the Boxers found themselves with a very young lineup. With no seniors, juniors Ashley Billingsley and Kelly Hartley found themselves in the role of the team's veteran players. Three sophomores, Lindsey Huston, LeAnna Nash and Lauren Yoshimura returned to the squad to compliment two freshman newcomers, Jasmine Ching and Kari Schroeder.