The women’s golf team headed up to Monterey Bay, Calif., to play in the Lady Otter Invitational this past Monday and Tuesday.
Jennifer Yoo represented Biola in the NCAA Division II tournament. There were 17 other schools that participated, including a few NAIA clubs and even Cal State Bakersfield, a Division I school.
Yoo fared well in the two-day event, placing sixth out of 110 golfers. She shot a first round 82, putting her in 16th after the first day. In the second round, she shot a solid 78, which totaled for a 160 overall and propelled her into the sixth-place slot.
Malin Thornberg, from NAIA rival Cal Baptist, won the tournament shooting a two-over 146; however, Chico State won the overall tournament.
The modest Yoo expected better from the trip.
“I played horribly, but I learned a lot from it,” she said. “I had some trouble with my short game, plus it was very windy up there with the ocean breeze coming in. The wind caused a lot of problems for everyone.”
Coach John Lane was proud of the way Yoo competed in the difficult conditions.
“Scores across the board were really high,” Lane said. “Jen was very impressive out there, especially in the windy conditions. She responded really well the second day, climbing up ten spots with her 78.”
Yoo is a Division 1 transfer with a lot of experience. Lane went on to explain that she is a perfect piece for the Biola golf team to build on, as her success is exceeding expectations in the team’s inaugural season.
“She is doing wonderful things for Biola’s program,” Lane said. “Word is getting out through her play that we are building a quality team. It’s going to be a lot of fun in the years to come.”
The team also took great advantage of the trip up north.
“It was awesome to be in Monterey,” the first-year Biola coach exclaimed. “We were up there for three days, so we got to get around and really enjoy it.”
The Monterey tournament was the last of the semester for the women’s team. They will return to play in the spring semester, with a tournament at Cal State San Marcos in February.
