The Portland State women’s golf team capped off an impressive season Saturday at the Western Regionals, where it held its own against such nationally ranked teams as Pepperdine, Oklahoma State and the University of Southern California.
The event teed off Thursday morning on the 6,256-yard, par-72 Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. Fifth-ranked USC, which went on to win the top slot, taking control early with a day-one score of 279. The next lowest score came from third-ranked Oklahoma State with 288, followed closely and somewhat unexpectedly by 27th-ranked Arizona State with 290.
Portland State ended the day in the 16th spot with 313, despite having been only ranked 20 out of 21 teams competing prior to the tournament. Viking junior Rebecca Randolph led the team at 3-over par.
Senior standout Taya Battistella came through Friday for the Vikings when she shot a team-best 76. Sarah Tiller also had a solid day at 77, a score that put her in a tie for 47th with teammate Randolph. Collectively, the Vikings were able to defend their 16th place slot with a two-day score of 627.
The Vikings were not able to climb out of 16th place Saturday and ended the regionals in a tie with the University of Denver at a 54-hole score of 936.
However, the Vikings did outplay Nevada, Cal State Northridge and Oral Roberts University – three teams that were ranked significantly higher nationally than PSU going into the competition.
Individual Viking finishes included Randolph at 231 (48th), Battistella at 233 (56th), Sarah Tiller at 236 (67th), Jeanna Lee at 236 (67th) and Bobbie Dunn at 249 (99th).
Out of the 107 golfers competing in the event, UNLV’s Sunny Oh came in first with a score of 211. She bested USC’s Tanya Dergal and Washington State’s Kim Welch by two strokes.
USC, Oklahoma State, UCLA and Pepperdine took the top four spots. Joining them at the NCAA Championships on May 20-23 in Indiana will be Arizona State, Ohio State, Washington State and Stanford – which rounded out the top eight finishes.