(Photo by Max Bechtoldt)
By Max Bechtoldt (@CavsMax13) – Executive Editor
The San Jose State women’s golf season came to an end in the quarterfinals of the Division I Women’s Golf National Championship to Oregon. It was a special season that saw wins and honors matched by few non-Power 5 schools ever.
The first big win for the Spartans came at the Lamkin San Diego Invitational, where the Spartans defeated both the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal and the No. 2 Oregon Ducks. Both the Cardinal and Ducks advanced to the finals of the national title.
This wasn’t the only time the Spartans won an invitational over Stanford or Oregon. At the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational, hosted by SJSU, the Spartans won in a field that featured Stanford. At the Silverado Showdown, hosted by Oregon, SJSU won over not just Oregon, but semifinal qualifier Texas A&M.
At the Mountain West Championship, the Spartans slammed the door early with a 30-stroke victory. In the event the Spartans had the top-three placing individual finishers, including individual champion, senior Natasha Andrea Oon. Oon set the tournament scoring record at -10, just mere weeks after she played in the LPGA major The Chevron Championship at the very same course.
Speaking of Oon, she won the Mountain West Player of the Year. Freshman Lucia Lopez-Ortega won the Mountain West Freshman of the Year. Coach Dana Dorman won Mountain West Coach of the Year. In addition, Kajsa Arwefjäll and Antonia Malate joined Oon and Lopez-Ortega on the first team All-Mountain West team. Oon was also a finalist for the Annika Award for the best women’s college golfer in the nation.
The Spartans earned a one seed at the Ann Arbor regional. They were the first non-Power-5 team ever to earn a one seed in a women’s golf regional. At the Ann Arbor regional, SJSU once again defeated the field, winning it outright. Oon continued her dominance by winning the regional as an individual.
Next up was the national championships in Scottsdale. Through four days in the hot, desert sun the Spartans finished No. 7 as a team in the stroke play portion. The top eight teams advance to the final stage of the event, match play. They were the first non-Power 5 women’s golf team to advance to match play since Kent State in 2018. In the individual stroke play championship, Oon finished second only to Stanford’s Rose Zhang.
In the match play portion of the event, the Spartans ran into a buzz saw in No. 2 Oregon. Oregon performed incredibly head-to-head with SJSU, winning 4-1. In that match both Oon and Arwefjäll shot under par, Arwefjäll having one of the best rounds of the week for any school, shooting -6.
While the Spartans no doubt are a bit disappointed with how their season ended, this will be a season to be remembered for years to come. It is a true program building spot for one of the great women’s golf programs in the nation. SJSU will return strong talent next year, and Spartans fans should be thrilled about the future of the women’s golf team.