By Jocelyn Sterling
Every Wednesday and Friday junior Paige Rachor wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and trudges over to Chiles Center to lift weights with her golf team. Two other days a week she fits in a cardio work out in between classes. In addition, Rachor drives 35 minutes to various golf courses to practice with her team five days a week, sometimes playing a full round of golf for three or four hours, while other days practicing drills. Then on the weekend she either travels to other cities and states for tournaments or practices by herself for a few hours. All of this is on top of a double major and whatever social life she has time for. So goes the typical life of a University of Portland golfer.
The men's and women's golf teams at University of Portland are making their way through the spring season, working hard and striving for improvement. With a few tournaments left, and the WCC conference tournament looming ahead, the teams have a packed schedule for the remainder of the semester.
The men just started their season on March 16 and have competed in two out of five tournaments, while the women have competed in three. However, a greater challenge falls on the shoulders of the men's team, as they have five tournaments in a row.
Junior Terence Macatangay said that it will be difficult and interesting to have all the tournaments right after another, which will come with increased pressure in both school and golf, as the players will miss Monday and Tuesday classes five weeks straight.
"There's not going to be a lot of time for practice in between tournaments," Macatangay said. "It's just gonna be play, play, play." However, Macatangay remains positive, saying that it should be a good learning experience.
For both teams there is an immense amount of planning involved in just their day to day schedule. Due to practicing away from campus at several different courses in the Portland area, students must plan out every aspect of their day in order to be able to fit in long practices and commutes.
"Playing on a college golf team is not for the faint of heart," said women's coach Michelle Murphy. "It requires a lot of dedication and things to take care of outside of tournaments."
Murphy thinks that it would be a "whole different ball game" if the golfers could simply practice on campus.
Rachor agreed that practicing is not as accessible as "picking up a basketball in Chiles." The women's team has to commute at least 35 minutes to Pumpkin Ridge Country Club and when they play full rounds it could take up to five hours. All of this takes a lot of commitment, said Rachor, in which each golfer must be motivated to maintain both the team and school. However, the long practices are seen as a positive to Rachor.
"You get tired but it's relaxing too," Rachor said. "When school is stressful you get to escape and pull away with golf."
The players revel in their chances to be college golfers and appreciate the access to some of the best courses in the area. Macatangay said that having the opportunity to play for UP is a privilege in itself, and he feels lucky to be doing what he loves.
Rachor said she is happy to play at UP, which is competitive in athletics, but small enough to be able to excel in academics as well.
"Being a college athlete and having the opportunities we get, like being able to travel, makes it amazing," Rachor said.
Although the players enjoy their time on the team, they are currently frustrated with the performance thus far in the spring season.
The men placed seventh out of 12 teams for their season opener at the USF Tournament in Pauma Valley, Calif., and placed 10th in Tuesday's Oregon Duck Invitational in Eugene, Ore. The women placed seventh and 11th in their first two tournaments, the Lady Braveheart Classic in Beaumont, Calif. and Red Rock Invitational in Sedona, Ariz, and placed last in the Duck Invitational.
Junior Thomas Robertson said that the men's team didn't play very well and hasn't been able to pull it all together. The team's biggest trouble is consistency, as a player will shoot a good first round but only a decent next round.
"Just believing we're going to be able to do it is the key," Robertson said. "We need to go in thinking we will win."
The women also haven't been playing that well, according to Rachor. She is hoping that the team can turn it around in the next few weeks.
Murphy said that she thinks her team gets frustrated because they expect people to be disappointed with the team's results. She wants the golfers to change their behavior and not let frustration come in and ruin their golf game.
"I have high expectations for them and I think so far this season they've underperformed," Murphy said. "As someone who is standing on the sidelines coaching them I can see they hit just as well as anyone else in the tournament, but they don't see that. When they get out of their own way they will perform at a higher level."
What Murphy is striving for her team is a top five finish in the next tournament and third in conference, which she said would be "phenomenal." The UP women's team must compete against two of the top 20 women's golf teams in the nation, Pepperdine University and University of San Francisco, so for her third place in WCC would be ideal.
Macatangay's highest hope would be for the men's team is to win conference and make it to the regional tournament, while Robertson really hopes to shoot three consistent scores in all rounds for the remainder tournaments. The men's coach, Bill Winter, was unavailable for comment on Friday.
