Pirates Gunning for Conference Titles
SPOKANE, Wash. - It is all on the line this weekend when the Whitworth University golf teams compete at the 2010 Northwest Conference Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The event will take place at Heron Lakes GC in Portland with Lewis & Clark College as the host school. Not only do both the men and women have a chance to claim NWC titles, both teams can earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournaments in May. Click here for the current Northwest Golf Conference standings. The women have a simple mantra heading into the weekend: "finish". In the previous two conference events - the NWC Fall Classic and the NWC Spring Classic - the Pirates led after the first round only to have George Fox charge past during the second round and claim victory. Therefore the Bruins have a two-point lead over Whitworth heading into the weekend. The good news, however, is that this weekend's event is worth double and also acts as the tiebreaker should two teams finish tied atop the standings. Click here for Saturday's women's tee times (PDF). Emily Guthrie (Fr., Snohomish, Wash.) has been playing outstanding golf this spring. She finished second at the Spring Classic two weeks ago and posted the tournament's low round along the way. She was also medalist at this past weekend's single-round tournament at Canyon Lakes with a 76. Krystal Pitkonen (Sr., Colbert, Wash.) is a former All-Northwest Conference honoree and also played well at the Spring Classic. Emily Travis (Fr., Spokane, Wash.), who has already earned All-Conference honors this year by virtue of her medalist finish at the 2009 NWC Fall Classic, is expected back in full form after struggling much of the spring with injury. The Whitworth men head into the weekend tied atop the NWC standings with Linfield. The Pirates moved into that tie thanks to a victory at the NWC Spring Classic two weeks ago at Moses Pointe. Whitworth and Linfield each have 15 points in the standings and the two have nearly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Therefore, whichever team finishes higher this weekend should claim the 2010 title. Either Whitworth or Linfield have won the last five conference championships, and in four of those years the one that did not win finished second in the standings. Click here for Saturday's men's tee times (PDF). Cameron Whittle (Jr., Moses Lake) tied for the top spot in the final Spring Classic standings before losing medalist honors on the second playoff hole. But his 1-under 143 led a strong all-around effort by the men. Jared Descoteaux (Fr., Spokane, Wash.) and Ryan Young (Jr., Mill Creek, Wash.) have been steady throughout the spring. Josh Kay (Fr., Salem, Ore.) broke through with his best round of the year last weekend in Kennewick (72). Tee times are set for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Go to Athletics Home Page > Golf > Sports Releases > |
