Zags Sign Two Golfers to NLIs
11/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
SPOKANE, Wash.—The Gonzaga University women's golf team signed two future Zags to NLIs recently, welcoming Bianca Pagdanganan and Jena Gao to the Gonzaga family.
"Bianca and Jena have tons of golf experience, both internationally and in their home countries," said Gonzaga women's golf head coach Brad Rickel. "We expect them to both make an immediate impact next year. They won't be waiting around to play, they'll show up ready to go and they'll play immediately."
Bianca Pagdanganan - Antipolo, Philippines
Pagdanganan, full name Bianca Isabel Bengzon Pagdanganan, comes from the Philippines, where she recently won the Philippine Junior Amateur Open and was the low medalist in the stroke play portion of the Philippine Amateur Open Match Play. She also won the amateur division of the 2013 Philippine Ladies Open and finished second at both the 2013 Philippine Amateur and 2012 PHILEX Northern Luzon Regional Amateur Golf Championship. Additionally, Pagdanganan has international experience as she tied for 25th at Junior Worlds in 2013. A member of the training pool for the Philippine National Golf Team, Pagdanganan currently attends Assumption Antipolo in the town of Antipolo.
Coach Rickel on Bianca: "I first saw Bianca at Junior Worlds and was immediately drawn to her unbelievable golf swing and how powerful it was. She absolutely crushes the ball; distance is for sure one of her strengths. She also has a great demeanor on the golf course and enjoys herself while playing. We look forward to her coming to campus and being able to spend time with her good friend and current GU freshman Dania Uy on the team next year."
Jena Gao - Shanghai, China
Gao comes to Spokane from Shanghai, China, and has a number of impressive tournament showings in both her native China and the United States. In 2013, she won the China Amateur Tour event after placing fifth the year previous. She also helped Team China come out on top of the US during the China-USA Youth Golf Match in 2013. Gao's also tallied a pair of top five finishes in the 2013 HSBC Junior Golf Open, taking fifth in 2012 and moving up to second in 2013. On this side of the Pacific, Gao's posted multiple top five finishes in various AJGA and other junior golf tournaments.
Coach Rickel on Jena: "Jena is a very good putter. We like the way she manages her game and gets herself around the golf course. She's going to be a solid team member; not only always shooting a good score, but a good, strong teammate as well."
"We're incredibly excited about this class," said Rickel. "They're replacing two players who've always played; Alice Kim, our career leader in tournament victories, and Han Wu, who's also been a long-time contributor. They have big shoes to fill, but Bianca and Jena are experienced enough to come in and help us right away."
The current members of the Gonzaga women's golf team are off for the rest of the semester, but they're back in action Feb. 14-15 at the Peg Barnard Invitational in Stanford, Calif.
