The University of Redlands women's golf team reached historic heights during its 2014-15 campaign by hauling in the program's first-ever Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) crown and making its first NCAA Championship appearance. In addition, the Bulldogs won two tournaments, reset multiple school records, produced the program's inaugural All-American, and topped it all off with an eighth-place showing at the national tournament.
After a productive fall that included two top-10 team finishes against high-caliber opponents, the Bulldogs returned to action in the spring with the challenging PLNU San Diego Super Championship. Freshman Caroline Ordian (Palm Desert, CA) made her presence known among collegiate golf by resetting the Maroon and Gray's two-round school record with a 148 (75-73) en route to a second-place showing.
As a team the Bulldogs hit their stride in late February at the SCIAC Tournament No. 1, where they topped the field with three Bulldogs among the top 10. Ordian took home the gold after signing her scorecard with a field-low 155 (78-77). Junior Amberlynn Dorsey (Highland, CA) registered a silver-medal performance with a 36-hole total of 158 that was aided by an opening round of 73. Senior Dalton Meade (Sandy, OR) tied for seventh at 165 (81-84), while junior McKenna Pautsch (San Clemente, CA) finished in the top 15 at 168 (82-86).
Equipped with their national ranking of No. 10, the Bulldogs fired off their first of two second-place performances during the always-competitive George Fox Westbrook Invitational. The Maroon and Gray notched a score of 591 to finish ahead of top-ranked University of Texas-Tyler in a stellar showing that broke multiple Bulldog records. As a team, Redlands reset the school's standard for a single round in each outing of the tournament, with Sunday's score of 288 improving upon the previous standard by 19 strokes. The Maroon and Gray also topped the school record for 36 holes (519) for a 35-stroke improvement over the mark that was established on September 29, 2013. Finally, the Bulldogs climbed from a fifth-place day-one finish to a second-place overall result.
Individually, Ordian continued to impress with her back-to-back rounds of 69, which reset her own school record for a two-round total while bettering the program's best single-round score as well. She finished second overall at the tournament by tallying nine birdies and 22 pars on the weekend. Sophomore Kari Gordon (Culver City, CA) placed sixth in the field with a two-round score of 145 (74-71) to rank second all-time in Redlands' history for 18 and 36 holes.
After climbing five spots in the national rankings to fifth overall, the Bulldogs fired off a two-round total of 643, which was good enough for second place at the UCSC Spring Invitational. Redlands finished a mere two strokes behind regional rival George Fox University (OR) but 41 strokes ahead of third-place finisher Berry College (GA).
Ordian remained on fire by notching yet another second-place showing with a two-round total of 151 (74-77). Dorsey and Meade tied for seventh while each recording a stroke-count of 165. K. Gordon place 10th by notching two-consecutive rounds of 84, while sophomore Raquel Gordon (Culver City, CA) shaved eight strokes off of her opening round to finish with an overall score of 169 (88-81).
After these back-to-back second-place showings, the Bulldogs eagerly approached more conference competition with the SCIAC Tournament No. 2 during the first weekend of April. Redlands remained dominant against conference foes by finishing 13 strokes ahead of then-13th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and 19 better than third-place Whittier College. Individually, the Bulldogs boasted five golfers among the top 20 at the tournament. After shooting a two-round score of 143 (70-73) that included a tournament-best 70 on day one, Ordian led the squad with another medalist honor. Dorsey finished in third place with a 147 (73-74), while Pautsch notched a season-best sixth-place finish with a total score of 151 (74-77).
While building a 43-stroke advantage through the first two conference tournaments, Redlands looked to carry its hot streak into the three-day SCIAC Championships at Oak Valley Golf Course. With the coveted title determined by the aggregate score of all seven conference rounds, the Bulldogs sat in prime position to capture their inaugural crown.
While playing six and scoring four players as per conference rules, the Bulldogs won the tournament with a three-day total of 934 but more importantly captured the program's first-ever conference title with a seven-round total score of 2,196. Meade highlighted the Bulldogs' showing at the SCIAC Championships, as she put together an impressive effort that placed her third in the individual standings with a 54-hole total of 229 (75-76-78). After earning medalist honors in 2014, Meade finished among the top three for the second-consecutive year. Ordian completed her inaugural, conference finale, by firing off a 78 to take fourth overall at 230 (75-76-78). R. Gordon came on strong at the SCIAC Championships and played a huge role in the Bulldogs' final push. Over the course of the three days, she tabbed a tied-for-ninth-place score of 237 (76-78-83).
With the U of R's top showing at the SCIAC Championships, the team earned the right to compete in the NCAA Division III Championships for the first time in school history.
After the opening two days at Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Florida, the Bulldogs remained in contention with a 36-hole score of 647 (314-333) for third place. Ordian stayed true to form with her consistency by signing her day-two scorecard with the same tally as the first round. She notched 15 pars on the day to post another 75 and move up two slots in the individual standings to second place. K. Gordon shaved off six strokes from her first-round score, recording nine pars and one birdie for an 81. After jumping up 18 spots on the player leaderboard, she sat in a tie for 42nd overall through 36 holes.
Through two rounds of championship golf, Redlands led all teams with a par-four scoring average of 4.57 and ranked third among the tournament with 13 birdies and 86 pars.
Despite the hot start, the Bulldogs dropped to eighth place and eventually ended with a team score of 1,318 to cap off a historic run for the program. Ordian served as the Maroon and Gray's top golfer, as she finished tied-for-fourth place with a four-round total of 309 (75-75-77-82). She led the entire field with 48 pars over the course of the tournament. Meade finished with an 81 on day four for a total stroke-count of 329 (84-85-79-81) to tie for 32nd overall at the championships. In addition, Dorsey signed her final scorecard with an 82 to equal a four-day total of 335 (74-92-87-82) to finish tied for 40th in the individual standings. Throughout the event, she recorded seven birdies, which was the most of any Redlands player.
At season's end, the Bulldogs ranked seventh overall in the nation with an adjusted-scoring-average of 79.81. In addition, they were the highest-ranked SCIAC squad and the only SCIAC team ranked in the top 10.
In addition, several players were recognized for their amazing performances throughout the year. Ordian highlights the award recipients, as she has already inked her name in multiple records and unique lists of accomplishments. After her stellar conference season, she was named the SCIAC Athlete of the Year and the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year. During the team's first trip to the NCAA Championships, she was recognized as the Women's Golf Coaches Association of America (WGCA) Division III Freshman of the Year and collected First-Team All-West Region honors before becoming Redlands' inaugural WGCA All-American. By the end of her impressive rookie campaign, she ranked second in the nation while holding an 8-1 record against top-25 players and an undefeated record against opponents ranked 26-100. The freshman phenome owned a scoring average of 75.217, which topped the Redlands record books.
Furthermore, Dorsey was named to the All-SCIAC Second Team and the WGCA All-West Region First Team. She completed her junior campaign among the top-30 individual rankings with an adjusted scoring average of 79.76. Dorsey began the NCAA Championships with a bang by carding a 74 for one of her lowest rounds of the season.
Finally, Meade landed on the All-SCIAC First-Team list, while K. Gordon and R. Gordon represented the Bulldogs on the Second Team.
Academically, the Redlands women's golf team also excelled, with Meade, Dorsey, Pautsch, K. Gordon, R. Gordon, and Ordian each receiving a spot on the WGCA All-Academic Scholar Team, which recognizes golfers with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Furthermore, senior Samantha Conway (Ripon, CA) and sophomore Natalie Stubb (Seattle, WA) join Meade, Dorsey, and the Gordon sisters among the SCIAC's All-Academic Women's Golf Team for scholarly success.
Although the loss of its senior class is significant, the Bulldogs look to their younger talent to step up and fill the leadership void while raising the bar on their definition of success. Following the recent retirement of Art Salvesen, the Bulldogs also face the new challenge of competing for a new coach but welcome the familiar face of Jack Stewart to take over the helm. Redlands boasts an incredible core of returning competitors that strives to run with the program's recently-established momentum and reclassify the standards of expectations for the bright future of Bulldog women's golf.