The spring season for Pacific University Golf has started and both men’s and women’s teams have engaged in strong starts to the season.
Both teams impeccable beginnings occurred at the Boxer Spring Opener. The men placed in third and the women placed fourth at the tournament. Ranking high amongst their competitors, the teams look to build upon past season excitement.
During the fall, the women’s team had very strong showings at all four of the invitationals attended. These showings included a sixth place finish at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), fifth place finish at the University of Puget Sound (UPS), fifth place finish at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic and a fifth place finish at the Whitman College Invitational.
The women’s team has a strong returning class, led by senior Janie Kiyokawa, who also led the Boxers in the fall. They currently sport an older team, with a majority of the team being juniors and sophomores.
At the Boxer Spring Opener, the women’s team finished fourth overall, with the University of Victoria taking the title. Standouts for the Boxers at the opener were Briana Finau, who finished eleventh overall, and Janie Kiyokawa, who finished twelfth overall. Morgan Couch saw the most stroke improvement over the two-day event, improving by six whole strokes.
The next invitational for the women’s team is on Saturday, March 9 at the University of Puget Sound Spring Invitational.
The men’s team’s placement in the fall season varied, but overall was worthy of recognition. The Boxers finished tenth at PLU, sixth at Puget Sound, fourth at George Fox University, seventh at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic and sixth at Whitman.
The Men’s team is a younger team, full of mostly freshman and sophomores. However, it is led by senior player Brenden Yen. This youthful energy and veteran leadership paid off at the Boxer Spring Season Opener, where they started the spring season with a strong third place finish.
During the opener, the Boxers were led by Yen, who shot a career best +2 and placed fourth overall in rankings. The Boxers were defeated by Northwest Conference opponents, UPS and Willamette University.
The next tournament for the men is Saturday, March 9 at the University of Puget Sound.
Overall, both teams have started the spring with an abundance of energy and hope, looking to carry this momentum into the rest of the season.
Leave a Reply