Women’s Golf wraps up their fall season
The nine Northwest Conference men’s and women’s golf teams wrapped up their short autumn season this past weekend, teeing off bright and early on Sunday morning at Pumpkin Ridge. Lying just outside the outskirts of Forest Grove, this prestigious course has been called “home” by the Boxers for the past three years.
But surprisingly for the Boxer Women’s Golf team, it was actually their worst performance yet. They placed at a still impressive third overall, as opposed to their previous second place finishes in earlier competitions.
At the Bearcat Invite in Salem, the women shot a two-round score of 646. Sophomore Faith Sampson shot a 159, finishing in fourth place overall, followed by Senior and 2026 NWC Women’s Golfer of the Year Bead Boonta, finishing with a 160 in fifth place. Boonta also sunk her first collegiate hole-in-one to eagle on hole 15!
At the Pacific Lutheran Invite the following weekend, the women were just a few strokes away from reaching out and touching the school record, as the team shot an impressive 314 on Monday, finishing just two strokes off the single-day school record. They followed with a 320 for a tournament total of 634, just three strokes shy of the program record. Again, Boonta and Sampson provided vital support in the Boxers’ success, alongside Senior Makena Tsyue, Senior Kayla Speers, Junior Brynn Yonemori, and Sophomore Mielle Kavran.
But, at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic this weekend, the Boxers fell just short of their usual second place finish, taking third place with a two-day score of 663.
“Overall, the fall went well,” , Tsyue commented, “even though I think we could have done better at the Fall Classic, which took place at our home course. But saying that, I am most looking forward to playing there again in March for the Pacific Invitational. I think our team has a lot of potential, and I hope we can follow through on it. I think everyone on the team is excited to build upon this fall season and compete in the spring as we aim to turn that potential into stronger results.”
The team returns almost all of their players this spring, excluding winter graduate Kayla Speers, who has been a strong addition to the program as a transfer student her sophomore year. In her time at Pacific, Speers has been regionally ranked within the top 100 and has consistently placed within the top 20 at every tournament she has competed in. Her loss will be felt, but with a roster of competitive women, Tsyue is confident they will be able to play into each other’s strengths in the spring.
“I think my teammates are very reliable; I am confident each week that everyone completes practice logs, goes to mental training, and attends team workouts. On top of that, everyone brings different ideas, experiences, and skills to the table that help others improve.” She says the team’s current weakness is communication, which they recently discussed ways to improve and continue to work on in the off-season. In her final statement Tsyue says,
“Our team has demonstrated that we are consistently competitive, regularly placing in the top three. Our next challenge is turning that consistency into a first-place finish and breaking through that final ceiling.”
With a few months till their next competitive tee time, the women’s golf team is closer than ever to having a breakthrough season. Their spring schedule, along with the men’s, is set to be published in early October, on Scoreboard Live or GoBoxers.com.
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