Boxers Hope To Make Title Run With Young, Talented Lineup

09/14/2008 9:04 PM - article care of Blake Timm - Pacific University

Women's Golf
2008-2009 Season Preview

Complete Roster: http://www.goboxers.com/wgolf/roster.cfm

After a milestone season that saw Pacific collect their fourth Northwest Conference title in five years and make their first ever trip to the NCAA Division III National Championship, one must wonder what the Boxer women¹s golf team does for an encore.

For Head Coach Richard Warren, the answer is simple: continue to refine and get better. "We are looking to try and improve our scoring average from last year," said Warren, a four-time NWC Coach of the Year. "If we can do that, then we have a great shot of being really successful this year."

Even small refinements for the Boxers could make an already dominant team even more potent. In 2007-08, Pacific placed first in all but two tournaments leading up to nationals and swept all three major conference tournaments. At the spring championship tournament, the Boxers beat second place Whitworth by 20 strokes.

Pacific went onto to finish 18th in their first NCAA Championship tournament. The trip gave the Boxers their first taste of what it takes to compete at the national level and showed where they stacked up against the nation¹s top teams.

"I think that made them hungrier," Warren said of the experience. "They want to go back. The No. 1 thing for the kids who went there was that they wanted to get back there and experience this again. We now know what it is like."

THE PLAYERS
The bad news for Warren is that he didn't add any new guns to the arsenal. An expected strong recruiting class turned south with five prospects deciding not to come to Pacific, or in some cases to any school at all.

The good news for Warren is that he didn't add any new guns to the arsenal. He returns a strong core of six players from last year. Four of which played at the national tournament. He also returns a seventh player to the fold after taking two years off from competitive golf. Simply put, the Boxers will be strong again.

Much of the scoring load will fall to the Boxers' "Waiakea Three" of Jasmine Ching (Jr., Hilo, Hawaii), Valerie Kitamori (So., Hilo, Hawaii) and Tami Park (So., Hilo, Hawaii). Ching earned All-NWC honors for the second consecutive year after a sixth place finish at the NWC Championship tournament. In six regular season tournaments, Ching finished in top seven in all but once.

Ching has developed a reputation as the Boxers' big tournament player, coming to play in the majors. "When the big tournaments are up and the money is on the line, she is there," Warren said. "She is strong and she is our most relaxed player. She keeps everyone free and loose on the course."

Kitamori came on late for the Boxers last year, turning in the team's top performance at the national tournament. She never scored above 85 at nationals and her scores of 81 in the third and fourth rounds was the best back-to-back performance for the team all season. "She¹s strong and she's played well," Warren said. "I think she got relaxed at nationals and really got into it. She's should be a strong player again this year."

Park, meanwhile, became one of the Boxers' most consistent players. Despite missing much of the spring season due to class conflicts, Park came on to finish third at the NWC Championships, earning all-conference honors. Her season scoring average of 85.64 per 18 holes is the lowest returning average for the team this season.

"Tami was our most consistent player as far as where her scoring stayed," Warren said. "She was the one who came back from nationals most hungry to go back again. I always thought that she would be a strong player for us and I am expecting big things from her."

LeAnna Nash (Sr., Bend, Ore.) saw a big turnaround in her game at the national tournament. After posting the majority of her scores in the 90s during the regular season, Nash rebounded from a score of 99 in the first round at nationals to post rounds of 85, 84 and 82. The three were among the lowest scores of her Pacific career. "She is beginning to understand what it takes for her to score at the level that everyone else does," Warren said.

Lindsey Huston (Sr., Waldport, Ore.) will aim to become more of a factor for the Boxers in her senior year. Huston spent last year as a strong No. 4 and No. 5 golfer, topping her season with a second place finish at the Tacoma Invitational and a sixth place finish at the fall George Fox Invitational.

Cathryn Heath (So., Waldport, Ore.) is a player that Warren believes will be a surprise this season. Heath did not play much until the spring season and spent a lot of time with the coaching staff retooling her swing. "The improvement from last year will be immense," Warren said. "I think with some more steady play and with the players we have around her to challenge her, I think her confidence will grow."

Rounding out the roster is Dani Phillips (Jr., Lincoln City, Ore.), who returns to the program after two years away from competitive golf. A highly touted recruit out of high school, Warren believes that she could make some significant contributions if her level of play can come back up. "It's a comfortable situation for her because she comes in with absolutely no pressure to be a star," Warren said. "She just needs to come in and be consistent."