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The Oregon State Women’s Golf Team were set to compete in the Baton Rouge Regional this week, but after being delayed due to concerns over the quality of the course, the NCAA decided to cancel the regional. Instead, the top six seeds will advance to the next round. That means, the Beavers, the seventh seed, are done for the year.
The decision from the NCAA seems inscrutable. Monday and Tuesday the course was battered by rain, but by today things had dried out, and even by the NCAA’s standards is now described as playable. The problem appears to be that the course is not “Championship Level.” What exactly championship level means has not been expanded upon.
Ellie Slama said it was never explained to the players what "championship level" meant. She said outside of some standing water in the bunkers -- which could have been played as ground under repair -- the course was in playable shape. https://t.co/KQIVXXVtUZ
— Nick Daschel (@nickdaschel) May 12, 2021
That does not sit well for Oregon State. Two of the team’s top players, Mari Nishiura and Nicole Schroeder, are super seniors who returned for one more year just to have a shot at post season play after last year’s tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic. Thanks to the NCAA, they won’t get that chance.
The @NCAA does it again and again and again. The ending is hard to watch. The players just want to play so why not let them? "Championship level?" That will never be the @NCAA. https://t.co/JhSuwIJndn
— Steve Gress (@stevegress19) May 12, 2021