New UO women's golf coachoozes positive energy as it is. So as his first season with the Ducks was about to dawn, earlier this week, you can only imagine the enthusiasm he was exuding.The Oregon women kicked off their 2018-19 season and Radley's tenure as coach Sunday with two rounds of stroke play at the East and West Match Play Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Ducks then would move on to match play Monday and Tuesday, with their opponents determined by the results of Sunday's stroke play."I think it's a great introduction for us as a new coaching staff to really see what the women have, to see both formats," Radley said Thursday, while going over final details of the road trip in his office with assistant. "We're so thankful we got the invite. I'm excited to head back and see what we got. I think it's going to be a great introduction to the season."This season will have a very different feel for the UO women, which was made clear before they ever left for Michigan. Prior to the trip, the Ducks held three rounds of qualifying to determine their lineup, something that wasn't necessary for much of last spring, when the roster was down to a handful of players.The talent of the incoming freshman class was made apparent, with freshmanwinning the qualifying rounds. She was joined in the Ducks' starting five in Michigan by senior, junior, seniorand sophomore. Freshmanmade the trip as well, to play as an individual."There's a lot of passion and 'want' to make this lineup," Radley said. "Which is great. It's pushing everybody to be competitive."Radley and Vaughn had individual meetings with their players to discuss goals for this season, and how the staff could facilitate achieving them. In that setting, the senior Salko said the competitive vibe around the team reminds her of her freshman season, 2015-16, when the Ducks made it all the way to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships at Eugene Country Club."They all stated that the energy, the competitiveness — while respectful at the same time — is at an all-time high," Radley said.Their competitiveness will be tested in Michigan, by a field that includes the likes of 2018 postseason qualifiers Ohio State, Iowa State and Wisconsin.As much as anything, Radley wants to find out the level of competitive spirit the Ducks can carry over from qualifying to competition. It's a characteristic he and Vaughn are defining as "grit.""Grit is being able to push forward and play your best and fight your hardest and never give up, given every circumstance in the book," Vaughn said. "Whether it's physical, mental or emotional, being able to set that aside and push through it, for yourself, for your coaches, for your teammates."Given the talent illustrated in the qualifying rounds this week, a dash of grit on top could take the Ducks far in their first season under Radley and Vaughn."We want to show up to the tournament and have people know that the University of Oregon means business," Radley said. "We are really trying to cultivate a championship-style culture."We have expectations of where we think we can be down the road. But we're preaching to them 'process' — staying current, in the moment, and working as hard as you can every day to improve. Where that puts us at the end of the year, we'll see."