REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Women's Golf team earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Division III National Women's Golf Championships in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida taking place Tuesday-Friday, May 9-12 at the Mission Hills Resort.
The Bulldogs finished second in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) standings behind Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) who will be the No. 6 seed at the Championships. Redlands, though, earned the No. 1 overall seed thanks to winning a nation's best six events and being ranked inside the Top-3 in Division III since the end of last September. Joining Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands from SCIAC is Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) who won the SCIAC Championships and finished third overall within the standings and they come in as the No. 7 seed.
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2022-23 Team Review
The Bulldogs started their fall half of the season with two wins, one at the California State Intercollegiate and then a week later at the Division III Preview on the same course as the NCAA Championships.
At the intercollegiate Kendall Nicholson (Bellevue, WA), Hannah Jugar (Chula Vista, CA), Iris Liu (Diamond Bar, CA), Jizelle Robledo (La Habra, CA), and Andrea York (Oakdale, CA) combined to shoot the lowest single round score in program history, a first round 275, 12 strokes better than the second lowest round.
In the second round at the intercollegiate they shot a 289, good for sixth lowest, which gave them a two-round 564, the lowest two-round score in program history, 19 strokes better than second place at the time.
At the preview they won by eight strokes and beat out a field that includes the NCAA National Championships No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis, No. 5 Carnegie Melon, No. 8 Washington & Lee University, No. 10 University of Texas at Dallas, and No. 21 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
They ended the fall with a third-place finish at the Claremont Challenge as they completed six rounds of golf in 13 days.
To start the spring half of the schedule they won SCIAC No. 1 by 11 strokes over California Lutheran University (CLU).
After a month off, they went to Arizona and took third at the George Fox Invitational, finishing five strokes behind the tournament winner CMS. Their second round 291 was the sixth lowest single round score at that point. They finished their two rounds with a 589, the sixth best two-round tournament score.
On short rest they headed to the east coast for the Jekyll Island Invitational in Georgia. The Bulldogs were fourth after a first round 300. They then improved by a stroke and moved into third place heading into the final day. In that final round they passed then No. 10 P-P and No. 27 Sewanee as they finished with a three-round 901, at that time the second lowest total behind their 2022 895 on the same course.
At SCIAC No. 2 they picked up their second conference win in as many chances. In their first round UR shot a 291, the seventh lowest single-round score at the time. They finished the tournament with a 587, the fourth lowest two-round score at the time.
In their final non-conference tournament of the regular season, the Bulldogs traveled north for the UC Santa Cruz Invitational, which they won on the strength of a 295 first round. The Bulldogs were one of five teams ranked inside Golfstat's Top-8 at the tournament.
To end the regular season the Bulldogs took third at the SCIAC Championships, despite shooting a second round 287, the second best single round score. They also posted the second and fifth lowest two-round scores with the second and third rounds totaling 581, the second lowest, and the first and second rounds totaling 586, the fifth lowest. The Bulldogs finished the championships with an 880 for their three rounds, a new program record and 15 strokes better than their previous record of 895.
2022-23 Individual Review
California State Intercollegiate: Kendall Nicholson (Bellevue, WA) got the season started on the right foot as she shot a 64, tying her for the lowest single-round score in program history. She won the tournament with a 137 (64-73), tying for the third lowest two-round score.
Joining her with a great tournament was Hannah Jugar (Chula Vista, CA) as she shot a 68, the current seventh lowest round, and a 71, tying her for 28th. She was third overall with a 139 (68-71), a score good for fifth lowest two-round total.
Iris Liu (Diamond Bar, CA) took fourth with a two-round 143 (70-73). Her 70 is 14th all-time.
DIII Preview: Nicholson continued her great start with a runner-up finish 147 (77-70). Her second round 70 is tied for 14th all-time. Jugar tied for eighth with a 150 (74-76).
Claremont Challenge: Taking a podium spot for the third-straight tournament was Nicholson as she shot a 144 (71-73). The 71 is tied for 28th all-time. She was the lone Top-10 Bulldog finisher.
SCIAC No. 1: After a break of more than four months Liu led a group of four Bulldogs inside the Top-8 as she took third. Andrea York (Oakdale, CA) was tied for fourth, Nicholson made it 4-for-4 in Top-10 finishes in seventh, and Jugar was tied for eighth.
Westbrook Invite: York and Jugar were both Top-10 finishers in fourth and seventh.
Jekyll Island Invite: Jugar shot a 221 (74-74-73) three-round total as she tied for third. York was sixth after a 223 (74-74-75).
SCIAC No. 2: The Bulldogs went 1-2 with Jugar winning with a 137 (70-67) and York tying for second with a 144 (70-74). Jugar's 67 is her third career 67 and the third lowest all-time. Her 137 also ties her career-low and the second lowest two-round score.
York's 70 ties her for 14th all-time and her 144 was a new two-round career-low as she became the eighth best performer in program history.
UC Santa Cruz Invite: Nicholson got back on track with a runner-up finish as Jugar and Liu joined her inside the Top-10, finishing tied for fifth and tying for ninth respectively.
SCIAC Championships: The most notable round of the championships for the Bulldogs was Liu's second round 67, tying the third lowest all-time and moving her into a tie for the third best single-round performer.
Liu was the highest finisher in fifth with a 216 (73-67-76) as her first and second round 140 was the eighth lowest moving her into fourth amongst the best performers. Jugar was the other Top-10 finisher in sixth with a 218 (71-74-73).
Jugar will look to become the second four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-America First Team member, she would join Caroline Ordian from 2015-2018. Liu will have an opportunity to make an All-America team for the third time in as many years. The other two Bulldogs who will be in the All-America conversation are Nicholson, who was an honorable mention in 2021, and York who will look to earn the honor for the first time.
The Bulldogs will have a lineup of Golfstat's No. 5 player in the country Jugar, No. 14 Nicholson, No. 18 York, No. 49 Liu, and No. 77 Robledo.