The Vikings’ Women’s Golf team took the title of the Rose City Collegiate Championship at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, OR on Oct. 2, breaking a nine-year drought of victories in tournaments hosted by Portland State.
The Vikings team garnered a narrow and closely-contested victory, beating out second-place Grand Canyon University by a mere three points and both Northern Colorado and Boise State—who tied for third—by four.
The Vikings were led by a career performance from Valerie Hernandez, a PSU junior hailing from Bogotá, Colombia, after trailing by multiple points at the final turn of the third round of the tournament. Hernandez golfed three under par in the final round of play, beating out ten visiting teams in a come-from-behind win.
Hernandez, a two-time All Big Sky Conference selection during her tenure at PSU, placed second overall as an individual in the tournament, scoring a 213—an eleven-point improvement over her most recent performance at Colonel Wollenburg Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, CO—setting herself apart as one of only two individuals who golfed under par for two of their three rounds.
Both Hernandez and the Vikings’ Women’s Golf team will try to keep their momentum going into the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational in Las Cruces, NM, on Oct. 8–10.
I am a Senior in the Applied Linguistics Bachelor of Arts program at PSU. I currently work as a linguistic grader with WeLocalize, an international localization firm. I am excited to start Vanguard’s brand new sports section, and I hope to cultivate it in a manner that best serves and represents PSU’s various student athletes. When I am not at work or at school, I spend my time obsessing over the Portland Trail Blazers—and the NBA in general—with my wife, Maggie.
