Women's Golf Places 13th at NCAA West Regional - Oregon State University Athletics

AUBURN, Wash. – The Oregon State women’s golf team finished the NCAA Women’s West Regional, hosted by Washington, in 13^th place on Saturday.

The Beavers shot a 306 on the final round at the par-72 Washington National Golf Club and a 920 (306/313/306) for the tournament. Purdue won the tournament with 881 (289/294/298). UCLA finished second with 887 (288/303/296) and Washington 3^rd with 888 (288/303/297). The top eight teams will advance to the NCAA Championships in Ohio on May 23-26.

“They played better today, but we still finished 13^th. We were trying to make something happen, but yesterday was the problem.” Head coach Rise Lakowske said after the tournament “They did well they gained a lot of experience. I think they’re excited about the opportunity to come back next year and build on this. They’re going to go to a lot of summer events and will come back strong next fall. I know the girls are disappointed that the season is ended, which is a good sign. That will make them work harder this summer. It’s nice to have a team who really loves to play golf. We had a lot of support at this tournament. I was real appreciative of that kind of support for this kind of event, it’s real important to the team. We’re becoming more competitive and people are coming to watch us. I want to thank all the parents and people who came out and supported.”

“Leah (Whiting) really turned things around for us this year.” Lakowske said about the team’s only senior. “It was her attitude, they way she talked to the other players and the way she led by experience that really helped turn us around this spring. She’s been a good role model and led this team, not just by her scoring but also by her character.”

Jillian Ferrante was OSU’s top finisher, placing in a tie for 17^th. Ferrante scored a 1-over-par 73 in Saturday’s final round and a 225 (77/75/73) for the tournament. Julianna Uhrik tied for 25^th with a 226 (72/78/76). Senior Leah Whiting played in her last tournament as a Beaver, finishing in a tie for 59^th with a three round total of 235 (79/76/80). Jessi Gebhardt improved her score by seven strokes from Friday to shot a 77 on Saturday’s round. Gebhardt placed 76^th with 239 (78/84/77). Martha Burkard finished tied for 103^rd with a 254 (86/87/81).

Paige Mackenzie of Washington finished the tournament with an 8-under-par 208 (68/69/71) to take home individual medalist honors. Mackenzie was also the individual medalist at the Pac-10 Championships. Rachel Newren of BYU came in second with an even-par 216 (71/73/72).

Team Scores: 1. Purdue (289/294/298) 881; 2. UCLA (288/303/296) 887; 3. Washington (288/303/297) 888; 4. Stanford (303/295/298) 896; 5. Georgia (296/302/302) 900; 6. UNLV (304/301/299) 904; 7. Arizona (303/300/307) 910; 8. Arkansas (299/307/305) 911; 9. UC Irvine (301/312/300) 913; 10. BYU (307/302/308) 917; 11. Georgia State (308/308/303) 919; 12. San Jose State (305/309/306) 920; 13. Oregon State (306/313/306) 925; 14. New Mexico (307/318/301) 926; 15. New Mexico State (303/320/318) 941; 16. Denver (323/312/309) 944; 17. Long Beach State (307/325/318) 950; T18. Washington State (320/318/313) 951; T18. Oral Roberts (317/311/323) 951; 20. Montana (330/319/310) 959; 21. Bradley (326/319/322) 967

Individual Leaders: 1. Paige Mackenzie, Washington (68/69/71) 208; 2. Rachel Newren, BYU (71/73/72) 216; 3. Christel Boeljon, Purdue (72/72/73) 217; 4. Da Sol Chung, UNLV (73/74/71) 218; T5. Maria Hernandez, Purdue (71/75/74) 220; T5. Joanna Klatten, Georgia State (74/73/73) 220; T5. Susie Matthews, UCLA (71/77/72) 220; T5. Jane Park, UCLA (73/71/76) 220; T5. Amber Prange, Washington (69/77/74) 220

OSU Scores: T17. Jillian Ferrante (77/75/73) 225; T24. Julianna Uhrik (72/78/76) 226; T59. Leah Whiting (79/76/80) 235; T76. Jessi Gebhardt (78/84/77) 239; T103. Martha Burkard (86/87/81) 254