NORTH PLAINS, Ore. (AP) – Paige Mackenzie sustained her solid play to advance after the opening round of match play Wednesday in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Pumpkin ridge Golf Club.

Mackenzie, the top finisher in stroke-play qualifying earlier this week, defeated Leah Wigger of Louisville, Ky., the 64th qualifier, 3 and 2 on the Witch Hollow course.

“I want to carry that momentum forward,” said Mackenzie, who played on the U.S. team that won the Curtis Cup last month.

She’ll face Curtis Cup teammate Jennie Lee, who plays at Duke, in the round of 32 Thursday morning.

Mackenzie, 23, is from Yakima, Wash., and just wrapped up her senior season at Washington.

At the Curtis Cup, held at the Bandon Dunes Golf Club on the southern Oregon coast, Mackenzie was followed by a gallery sporting “Team Mackenzie” T-shirts. The U.S. defeated a team from Britain and Ireland in the biennial competition.

“No T-shirts, but they’re starting to trickle in,” Mackenzie said about her Northwest fan base. The most stunning upset came late in the day when Lauren Espinosa of Texas defeated Jane Park, the 2004 Amateur champion, 1-up.

Park, also on the Curtis Cup team, played last year at UCLA but has said she planned to turn pro after this event.

“It’s obviously disappointing that I can’t finish my amateur career on a high note,” Park said. “It’s sad, but I’ve got my whole life ahead of me.”

Espinosa, 19, will face Kimberly Kim of Hawaii Thursday morning.

Kristen Svicarovich, who is from nearby Hillsboro, Ore., downed Curtis Cup player Jenny Suh, 4 and 2, under mostly overcast skies and light, early morning drizzle.

When it was suggested she grabbed an upset, Svicarovich laughed: “It’s all golf by the end of the day.”

The senior-to-be at Vanderbilt was the runner-up in the 2005 Oregon Amateur held at Pumpkin Ridge, located west of Portland.

Other upsets Wednesday included Carolta Ciganda of Spain’s 5 and 4 defeat of Taylor Leon, a Curtis Cup member who plays at Georgia. Colombian Maria Jose Uribe downed 15-year-old Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif., 4 and 3.

Amanda Blumenherst, who as a freshman helped Duke to an NCAA championship this past season, lost to Stanford’s Mari Chun, 1-up.

When Chun pulled back at first from a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 18, her mother – also her caddie – approached her.

“She told me to believe in myself,” said Chun, who will face Ciganda in the early round Thursday. The 36-hole final is set for Sunday.

German Katharina Schallenberg advanced to the second round by defeating Lauren Johnson of Texas, 5 and 3.

“I didn’t know the quality of the field so my first aim was to make the cut, especially after two practice rounds, because the course is really tough,” said the 26-year-old Schallenberg. “Match play is a little tough and involves a little luck because it depends on your game that day and the game of your opponent.”

Last year’s Amateur was won by 17-year-old Morgan Pressel at the Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek course in Roswell, Ga.

AP-ES-08-09-06 2159EDT