New Action on the Fairway

Sounds of golf clubs slice through the dense air and balls whiz across the green envelope at the eighteen holes of Pumpkin Ridge, the newly found home of the Pacific University women’s and men’s golf teams. “The new course is really nice with clean-cut fairways,” says second-year Makena Tsyue, “but difficult, so hopefully the team constantly practicing on it will give us a competitive edge.” 

   As a sport that competes in multiple seasons, the Boxers have been going at it since early September, yet their spring season did not begun until a few weeks ago. In the fall, the Pacific men’s team took a noticeable ninth-place finish in the Confluence Classic, where Freshman Jordan Nakamura shot 154 across two rounds. On the women’s side, multiple Boxers showed out at the Northwest Fall Classic with Bead Boonta finishing third individually. 

   Teeing off for another promising season following fall, the Boxer women’s golf team hopes to continue their success with both familiar and new faces on the green. Some players to watch out for are Boonta, who tied for first at Pacific’s Dual match against Linfield University, shooting 160 for the Boxers, and who holds the title of Northwest Conference Golf Rookie of the Year. Junior Nikki Tabios and Sophomore Tsyue are other Boxers shooting low scores on the fairway, along with standout Freshman Cassidy Tanoue. 

   “My freshman experience on the golf team has been really enjoyable,” shares Tanoue, the other first place finisher at the dual match against Linfield. “I was nervous at first but I’ve gotten to know everyone on the team really well which has made my time here better than expected,” Tanoue says about the team’s close nature and bond on and off the course. Like most athletes, Tanoue says her goals stem from success and a positive mentality, “My goals for this season are to qualify for all of our upcoming tournaments while also believing in myself.” She also opened up about struggles with fear of failure “I tend to self-doubt when it comes to my performance, so I hope to improve my mentality as the season continues.” But as her current scores show, Tanoue has been looking at nothing but success, consistently shooting low scores and placing high in the ranking.

   Another hopeful contributor to the Boxer’s success on the course is Tsyue, who believes this year’s team could go far, “I think we’re more competitive compared to last year and can place higher in the league, we have a good competitive atmosphere within the team this season that drives us to be better.” Overall, it seems the Boxer’s are on an upward trajectory with big goals and aspirations in their sights. With continued hard work the team could be looking at a top three Northwest Conference finish at the end of spring, closing their ‘24-’25 season with a bang. 

This story was originally published in the Pacific Index, Pacific University's student newspaper. Used with permission.