Amidst a season that saw the University of Redlands women's golf program achieve its best-ever average-round score (85.93), the squad succeeded on numerous courses and established new program-best marks throughout an exciting campaign. In just its seventh season of existence, the 2012-13 edition of Bulldog women's golf garnered reached a new level of play en route to moving one step closer to capturing its inaugural Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship.
While enjoying a split season, the U of R began its campaign in late September and early October when it competed in the Embry Riddle Co-Ed Invitational in Prescott, AZ. With sophomore swinger Hannah Purdy (Newbury Park, CA) leading the way, Redlands enjoyed a successful fourth-place showing with a three-round total of 988. Purdy tied for sixth overall at 22-over-par on an extremely difficult course while showing consistency with impressive rounds of 79, 79 and 80. Freshman Amberlynn Dorsey (Highland, CA) performed well in her first-ever collegiate competition by coming into the clubhouse just five strokes behind Purdy in 11th place (81, 84, 78). Sophomores Dalton Meade (Sandy, OR) and Samantha Conway (Ripon, CA) rounded out the Bulldog swingers with solid three-round showings in their fall-season debuts.
Later in the fall campaign, Meade paced Redlands at the CSU San Marcos Invitational, finishing in a tie for fifth overall with a combined 15-over-par score (80, 79). Dorsey performed valiantly once again for the second-straight competition, signing her scorecard with a two-round mark of 177 (93, 84). As a team, the Bulldogs finished in fourth place against NAIA foes.
In its first competition during the spring, Redlands gained solid experience at the high-caliber PLNU Super San Diego Championships. While competing against NCAA Division II and III programs as well as various NAIA teams, the Bulldogs shaved off 15 strokes in their second round to finish in 16th with a 36-hole total of 691. Meade once again was firing on all cylinders, leading the way for the Maroon and Gray with a two-day score of 163 for the 27th-best mark amongst the large field of competitors. The rest of the team provided consistent scores throughout the event, but the best scores came during the final 18 holes. Dorsey registered a two-round mark of 172 (87, 85), while junior Hannah Durette (Oceanside, CA) returned from her study-abroad semester in the fall and posted a total of 177 (92, 85). As a team, Redlands notched eight birdies and scored 60 pars during its first spring tournament of the year.
Excited for Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action to begin, the Bulldogs took second place at the SCIAC No. 1, totaling 354 between the top four swingers. In what was supposed to be a two-round event, the second day of competition was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. Durette, a 2012 All-SCIAC performer, signed her scorecard with a single-round mark of 84, which was the fifth-best performance overall. Dorsey finished just two strokes behind Durette for ninth, while Meade, Purdy, and Conway each registered rounds of 92 to tie for 17th individually. Moreover, junior Siarra Waddy (Temecula, CA) recorded a 93 in her first competition of the season.
Later in February, Durette tallied a pair of 81s while hitting 23 pars at the CSU San Marcos Lady Cougar Invitational to place 19th among counterparts from NCAA Division I, II, and NAIA schools. Meade followed closely in 20th place with a combined total of 163. Revealing the squad's depth and talent, Waddy, Dorsey, and Conway all finished the event within six strokes of each other and among the top 35 overall. As a team, Redlands took sixth to complement the Bulldogs' impressive individual performances.
After Waddy led the Maroon and Gray to another sixth-place finish at the Las Vegas Desert Classic in early March, the squad traveled to Arizona for the Phoenix Invitational during which the team produced a new program record. Redlands' top four swingers combined for a two-round total of 640 for the third-best mark at the tournament and the lowest combined total of any foursome in Bulldog women's golf history. Moreover, the U of R's second-round score of 317 now ranks as the second-best single-round total among the school's top 18-hole standards.
Individually, Dorsey continued her hot rookie campaign at the Phoenix Invitational, shooting a team-best two-round total of 155 for the fifth-best score at the tournament. Improving upon her opening round of 79, she signed her scorecard on day two with a career-best mark of 76. Additionally, the 155 total now ranks second all-time for the program's top two-round performances in school history.
Durette finished in eighth overall with a two-round mark of 159 (83, 76), while Waddy tallied a total of 160 (78, 82) and Meade came into the clubhouse with a score of 167 (83, 84).
By early April, the Bulldogs owned a national ranking of 24th and headed into the SCIAC No. 2 Tournament oozing with confidence. On a challenging course at La Purisima Golf Club in Lompoc, CA, Meade served as the leader for the Bulldogs, recording a combined score of 173 to place fourth in the individual standings. Durette took fifth overall (86, 89), while Dorsey and Waddy finished in 14th and 18th, respectively. The foursome combined to place second as a team behind Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. Heading into the SCIAC 54-hole Championships, the Bulldogs sat comfortably in second place in the conference standings.
At the SCIAC Championships in the final week of April, the now-23rd-ranked U of R women's golf team finished second, repeating as the runner-up for the second-consecutive year. The Bulldogs posted a three-round total of 989 as one of only two programs to finish below 1000. Highlighted by improved scores each day, Durette showed why she was one of the best in the conference by registering a three-day total of 241, highlighted by her final 18-hole mark of 77. With her scores, she tied for fifth individually in the conference standings. Meade provided a solid effort as well, posting a total of 245 (84, 82, 79) to tie for 11th overall. Waddy finished tied for 13th with a tournament tally of 249, while Dorsey completed her phenomenal rookie season with a total of 254 for the 16th-best mark in the SCIAC. Purdy and Conway rounded out Redlands' scorers with tallies of 266 and 274, respectively.
With its solid performance at the SCIAC Championships, the U of R finished in second in the final conference standings, which were calculated for the first time in history on total strokes from all SCIAC rounds. Redlands put together a total of 2,068 strokes over six rounds, which was more than 100 strokes better than third-place Cal Lutheran University.
For their performances in SCIAC competition, Durette received her second-consecutive First-Team All-SCIAC award, while Meade garnered All-SCIAC accolades for the second year in a row with her spot on the Second Team. Durette led the Bulldogs with a SCIAC average of 83.3 during six rounds of conference action, with her lowest conference round of 77 coming in the final 18 of the SCIAC Championships. Meade compiled a conference scoring average of 85.0, with her best single-round performance of 79 also taking place on the final day of the SCIAC Championships.
Although the Bulldogs were a top-25 ranked squad according to Golfstat, the team missed out on an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championships but this only serves as continued motivation to raise the bar on expectations. Among the many positives from the 2012-13, Redlands put together a new best-average-round score of 85.93 and numerous performances that landed individuals and foursomes in the program's record books. With the entire roster set to return next year, the future of the Bulldog women's golf program looks extremely bright, and under the guidance of Head Coach Art Salvesen, the team is ready to make a push for a SCIAC Championship with hopes for an inaugural trip to the NCAA Championships.