Portland State Women's Golf opens its spring schedule later this week with a dual match and a tournament in the Valley of the Sun.
The Vikings will compete against Utah Valley University in an unofficial 18-hole match featuring a Ryder Cup format on Thursday at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. The teams will play the O'odham Course, which will also host the Big Sky Conference Championship later in April. The match will consist of six holes each of foursomes, fourball and individual play.
Then on Saturday, the Vikings move over to the 54-hole Grand Canyon Invitational, hosted by Grand Canyon University. They will play 36 holes on Saturday, then 18 holes on Sunday in the 14-team event.
The GCU Invitational will be the first of five tournaments leading up to the Big Sky Championship on Apr. 20-22. Talking Stick Resort will be a new championship venue for the league which is sure to impact the outcome of the tournament.
The Vikings are led by seniors
Valerie Hernandez and
Jasmine Cabajar. Hernandez and Cabajar are likely the best "recruiting class" in PSU golf history (2016) as they rank second and fourth respectively in career scoring average. So far this season, Hernandez has a 73.33 scoring average, which is a school-record pace. Cabajar is close behind at 74.33 as they have competed in four fall tournaments.
Juniors
Windy Huang (77.00),
McKenna Vanko (78.58) and
Iliana Telles (missed fall due to injury, but now ready to play), and freshman
Katie Harris (78.83) round out the Viking squad as they prepare for spring play.
All six Vikings will play in the match with Utah Valley. Cabajar, Hernandez, Vanko, Huang and Harris will start in the Grand Canyon Invitational, with Telles playing as an individual.
Portland State's team scoring average through the spring was 301.0, which is one stroke per round better than last season and currently ranks as second-best in school history.
Portland State is a seven-time Big Sky Conference Champion, winning titles in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011 and in 2014 under current Head Coach
Kailin Downs.
UTAH VALLEY DUAL MATCH
Date: Feb. 20
Course: Taking Stick Resort – O'odham Course
Par/Yardage: 70/TBA
Format: Ryder Cup style
Holes 1-6 Foursomes - alternate shot matches
Holes 7-12 Fourball matches
Holes 13-18 Individual Matches
Match 1:
Valerie Hernandez and
McKenna Vanko vs. Kaylee Shimizu and Keila Baladad
Match 2:
Jasmine Cabajar and
Iliana Telles vs. Victoria Estrada and
Lauren Taylor
Match 3:
Windy Huang and
Katie Harris vs. Katherine Williamson, Bailey Henley, and Nathalie Irlbacher (These 3 are going to switch off throughout the round).
GRAND CANYON INVITATIONAL
Date: Feb. 22-23
Course: Grand Canyon University Golf Course
Par/Yardage: 72/6,088 yards
Host: Grand Canyon University
Play: 36 holes on Saturday, 18 holes on Sunday. Each day begins with a shotgun start at 8 a.m.
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=19850
Teams competing (14, with golfstat ranking): Grand Canyon (122), Portland State (136), CSU Bakersfield (249), Utah Valley (155), Seattle (118), Eastern Washington (123), UTEP (121), Southern Utah (156), Hawai'i (162), North Dakota State (113), Northern Arizona (143), California Baptist (NA), UC Riverside (188), Montana State (202)
TAP-INS
• SCORING AVERAGES:
Valerie Hernandez, 73.33;
Jasmine Cabajar, 74.33;
Windy Huang, 77.00;
McKenna Vanko, 78.58;
Katie Harris, 78.83
• BIRDIE LEADERS (through four tournaments, 12 rounds): Valerie Hernandez, 32;
Jasmine Cabajar, 28;
Katie Harris, 21;
Windy Huang 19,
McKenna Vanko 15
FALL SEASON
Sept. 9-10, Hobble Creek Fall Classic, hosted by Utah Valley, 9th of 17 teams, 301-297-300=898
Hobble Creek Golf Club, Springville, UT
Sept. 23-24, Coeur d'Alene Resort Collegiate invitational, hosted by Gonzaga, 13
th of 16 teams, 302-302-304=908
Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course, Coeur d'Alene, ID
Sept. 30-Oct. 1, ROSE CITY COLLEGIATE, hosted by Portland State, 2
nd of 12 teams, 293-301-298=892
Langdon Farms Golf Club, Aurora, OR
Oct. 27-29, Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, hosted by UNLV, 13
th of 18 teams, 312-308-295=915
Boulder Creek Golf Club, Boulder City, NV
SPRING SEASON
Feb. 20, Utah Valley Dual Match
Talking Stick Resort, Scottsdale, AZ
Feb. 22-23, Grand Canyon Invitational, hosted by Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon University Golf Course, Phoenix, AZ
Mar. 9-10, BYU at Entrada Classic, hosted by BYU
Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club, St. George, UT
Mar. 23-25, Anuenue Spring Break Classic, hosted by Hawai'i
Kapalua Bay Course, Maui, HI
Mar. 30-31, Fresno State Classic, hosted by Fresno State
Copper River Country Club, Fresno, CA
Apr. 6-7, Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, hosted by Wyoming
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes, Maricopa, AZ
Apr. 20-22, Big Sky Conference Championship, hosted by the Big Sky Conference
Talking Stick Resort, Scottsdale, AZ
