Portland State University’s women’s golf team recorded its strongest back-to-back rounds in eight years on Mar. 16, finishing the first day of the Jackrabbits Invitational at Boulder Creek Golf Club with scores of 294 and 293 for a total of 587. The Vikings are currently in fourth place, ahead of four teams ranked higher than them nationally.
This performance is significant as it marks a notable improvement for the program, with all six participating golfers contributing solid rounds. Sophomore Maddie Dustin led the team, tying for eighth place individually after shooting a one-over par 72-73=145 over two rounds.
UNLV leads the tournament with an eight-under par total of 568, followed by Morehead State at 577 and South Dakota State at 579. Portland State’s opening round score of 294 matched their best single round this season, while their second-round score of 293 set a new season record and was their best overall round in three years. The last time the Vikings posted consecutive rounds better than these was during the final two rounds of the 2018 Big Sky Conference Championship.
Dustin matched her season-low score with an even-par 72 in the first round and followed up with a 73. Freshman Caithlyn Ong also had her best performance so far, shooting a season-best opening round of 74 and then an even-par 72 in round two, placing her tied for twelfth overall. Her sister, junior Cynthia Valerie Ong, finished tied for eighteenth after posting scores of 77 and a personal-best-tying one-under par 71.
Senior Payten Shimizu is tied for twenty-ninth place with scores of 73 and 77. Freshman Francesca Tomp opened her spring competition with a score of 74 followed by a 77 to tie for thirty-first place. Senior Bayler Brundage stands fortieth after shooting rounds of 75 and 79.
The final round will take place Tuesday morning with live scoring available online. The team’s strong showing positions them well going into the last day as they look to build on this momentum.
