REDLANDS, Calif. – The No. 1 University of Redlands Women's Golf team leads the field after Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournaments No. 1 and No. 2 as they head into the SCIAC Championships currently in first place at Olivas Links Golf Club in Ventura from Sunday-Tuesday, April 23-25. Tickets are sold on a per day basis, so make sure you select the correct link for the day you want to attend on the schedule page on goredlands.com.
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SCIAC No. 1 (Results | Recap)
Opening up the conference schedule the Bulldogs avoided putting themselves behind the eight ball the way they did in 2022 when they took third, as they won with a 618 (311-307). They held a 12-stroke advantage over Golfstat's (all rankings are at the time of each tournament) No. 26 Cal Lutheran University (CLU), a 13-stroke lead on No. 13 Pomona-Pitzer (P-P), and a 20-stroke cushion on No. 11 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS).
Iris Liu (Diamond Bar, CA) was the top finisher, taking third with a 153 (77-76). Two strokes and spot behind Liu was Andrea York (Oakdale, CA) who tied for 4th with a 155 (78-77). The other two top-10 athletes were Kendall Nicholson (Bellevue, WA) and Hannah Jugar (Chula Vista, CA) who came in seventh and ninth. First-year Jizelle Robledo (La Habra, CA) was the final Bulldog to score as she tied for 18th.
SCIAC No. 2 (Results | Recap)
The Bulldogs continued their strong conference play by winning their second conference tournament with a three-stroke comeback over No. 6 Pomona-Pitzer thanks to a second round 296 that was six stokes better than the Sagehens. For the two rounds they shot a 587 (291-296). The first round 291 was tied for the seventh lowest team round in program history, and the 587 two-round total was the fourth lowest in program history.
No. 8 Jugar won the tournament by seven strokes after shooting a 137 (70-67). Her 67 tied her own career-low, which is the third lowest single round performance and third lowest single round performer in program history. Her 70 tied for the 13th lowest single round performance. The 137 ties herself, and teammate Nicholson, for the second lowest two-round performance while it re-set her place as the second lowest two-round performer.
Right behind her and tied for runner-up was No. 18 York who finished with a 144 (70-74). Her first round also tied for the 13th lowest single round performance and placed her as the fourth best single round performer in program history. Her 144 two-round total moved her into eighth all-time in the best two round performers.
No. 58 Liu and No. 11 Nicholson each tied for 13th with a 153 (76-77 and 75-78) and No. 68 Robledo finished tied for 20th with a 159 (76-83).
SCIAC Standings (Link)
Thanks to their two wins, Redlands holds a 16-stroke advantage (1205-1221) over No. 6 Pomona-Pitzer, a 37-stroke advantage on No. 8 Claremont-M-S (1242), and a 46-stroke lead over fourth place and No. 24, Cal Lutheran (1251).
SCIAC Championships History (Link)
Last season the Bulldogs were unable to overcome a tough SCIAC No. 1 as they finished second behind the Sagehens with a 2141 seven-round total. They came back from a 20-stroke deficit after SCIAC No. 1 to take the lead heading into the final round of the championships, but they were outshot 309-302 in the seventh and final round.
The Bulldogs have won three of the last ten SCIAC Championships, which does not include the 2021 title as the entire conference did not participate due to lingering COVID-19 concerns, with their last title counting coming in 2016. In 2021 Jugar led the way with an individual championship. She is one of three Bulldogs to take home the individual title, joining Caroline Ordian and Dalton Meade in 2016 and 2014, respectively.
Bulldog Starting Lineup
The Bulldogs will go with their five golfers of No. 6 Jugar playing No. 1, No. 12 Nicholson at No. 2, No. 50 Liu at No. 3, No. 17 York at No. 4, and No. 73 Robledo playing as the No. 5. The Maroon and Grey this season have been on a tear winning six tournaments on the year including their last three. On the year they won SCIAC No. 1 and No. 2, the CA State Intercollegiate, the Division III Preview Tournament, the Jekyll Island Invitational and the UC Santa Cruz Spring Invitational. They have also earned SCIAC Athlete of the Week honors for three straight weeks thanks to Jugar and Nicholson.
NCAA Championships
The winner of the SCIAC Championships will get an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III National Championships, but all other teams will have to receive an at-large bid, which is very likely as the current top-four SCIAC teams are ranked inside the Top-25 for both Golfstat and the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) poll.
With the lead the Bulldogs hold, and the two teams behind them both sitting inside the Top-10 nationally, it's likely that all three will make the National Championships if they all finish inside the Top-3 as they all made the tournament in the same situation last year, albeit CMS finished eighth overall after not scoring at SCIAC No. 2, but they did finish third at the championships. In short, the Bulldogs are a shoo-in regardless of these three rounds in Ventura.