If you’re one of the 24 women’s golf teams that had its
ticket punched to the NCAA Championship during Wednesday’s final round of the
four regionals around the country, you’re a very good golf team.
You need only look at some of the teams that did not advance
to the NCAA Championship, which tees off May 19 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar
Grove, Ill., for proof because there are some really, really good teams that
won’t be making that trip.
UCLA, No. 2 in the latest Golfstat rankings and coming off a smashing win in the Pac-12
Championship, won’t be there. No. 8 Georgia, playing on its home course at the
Athens Regional, didn’t make it. No. 13 Arkansas didn’t make it out of the
Columbus Regional. These are teams that, had they made it to Rich Harvest
Farms, would have had as good a chance as any of winning a national
championship. But they didn’t get there.
No. 3 Alabama will be at Rich Harvest Farms next week as the
Crimson Tide rolled to a 14-shot victory in the Athens Regional at the
University of Georgia Golf Course. With three players finishing in the top
five, Alabama carded a second straight 4-under-par 284 over the 6,344-yard,
par-72 UGA layout to finish with a 7-under 857 total.
No. 12 Northwestern got a little revenge for its failure to
hold off No. 53 Michigan State at the Big Ten Championship by edging the
Spartans by a shot for second place in Athens. The Wildcats fired a final round
of 5-under 283 to finish at 7-over 871. Michigan State might be No. 53, might
have been seeded 14th in Athens, but all the Spartans know is that
they are one of the 24 going to Rich Harvest Farms. They put up a solid final
round of 3-over 291 to finish a shot behind their Big Ten rival in third at
8-over 872.
No. 19 Baylor finished fourth, posting a final-round 299 for
a 13-over 877 total. No. 39 Clemson had a final-round 298 to nail down fifth at
20-over 884.
In my Tuesday post, I wrote that North Carolina would need
something special in Wednesday’s final round to move up to the top six and
that’s exactly what Jan Mann got from her Tar Heels. They posted a 1-under 287
to finish at 22-over 886, three shots clear of powerful Georgia for the sixth
and final spot.
Two Alabama players, Cheyenne Knight, a sophomore from
Aleto, Texas, and Lauren Stephenson, a sophomore from Lexington, S.C., finished
tied for second at 5-under 211, five shots behind regional champion Jennifer
Kupcho, Wake Forest’s standout sophomore from Westminster, Colo.
Knight carded a 3-under 69 while Stephenson, who hovered
around the top of the leaderboard the entire tournament, matched par in the
final round. Kristen Gillman, a freshman from Austin, Texas, had a final round
of 1-under 71 for the Crimson Tide to finish tied for fifth at 2-under 214.
Also for the Tide, Mia Landegren, a senior from Bridgewater,
Conn., finished tied for 24th at 5-over 221 after a final-round 72,
and Lakareber Abe, a junior from Angleton, Texas, finished tied for 67th
at 231 after a final-round 77.
Kupcho gave Wake Forest some consolation for a promising
season that was derailed by injury with her impressive individual victory that
will enable her to represent the Demon Deacons as an individual at the national
Final. Kupcho added a final-round 68 to rounds of 68 and 70 for a 10-under 206
total.
Also advancing as an individual is the College of
Charleston’s Laura Fuenfstueck, a senior from Germany who finished fourth in
the individual standings at 3-under 213 after matching par in the final round
with a 72.
Joining Alabama’s Gillman in the group tied for fifth at
2-under 214 were Princeton’s Maya Walton, a freshman who, like Gillman, is from
Austin, Texas, and Northwestern’s Sarah Cho, a junior from San Diego. Walton
fired a final round of 3-under 69 to grab the last of the three individual
tickets to Rich Harvest Farms and become just the third Princeton golfer and
first freshman to qualify for the national Final. Cho fired a final round of
4-under 68 to spark the Wildcats to their runnerup finish.
The North Carolina website describes freshman Brynn Walker
standing around the green at the par-5 ninth, the Tar Heels’ finishing hole,
and cheering on her teammates as they tried to give the Heels a cushion in the
race for that coveted sixth spot in the team standings.
Walker, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion while at Radnor, will
be going to the NCAA Final despite struggling at Athens. She had a 78 Wednesday
for a 234 total. But she was supporting her teammates as they registered three
birdies and a par on the ninth hole to secure their three-shot margin over
Georgia for sixth.
Leslie Cloots, a senior from Belgium, matched par in the
final round with a 72 to finish tied for 10th at even-par 216.
Bryana Nguyen, a junior from Columbia, Md., carded a 1-under 71 in the final
round to finish tied for 19th at 4-over 220. Kelly Whaley, a sophomore
from Farmington, Conn., posted a 1-over 73 to finish tied for 37th
at 225. And Lexi Harkins, a junior from Crystal Lake, Ill., matched Nguyen’s
1-under 71 in the final round to finish tied for 46th at 226.
Wake Forest’s Sierra Sims, a senior from Austin, Texas –
Austin is producing some pretty good female golfers these days – matched par in
her final collegiate round to finish tied for 24th at 221. Junior
Erica Herr, who won a pair of PIAA Class AAA championships at Council Rock
North, struggled in the final round with an 85 to finish tied for 90th
at 244. Anna Wears, a sophomore from Durham, N.C., had a final-round 84 and
finished 93rd with a 255 total.
At the Albuquerque Regional, top-ranked Stanford completed
an impressive run to the team title as the Cardinal posted a final round of
5-over 293 to finish seven shots ahead of No. 9 Duke at 2-over 866 at the
University of New Mexico’s South Championship Course.
No. 36 Pepperdine finished third at 15-over 879 and No. 6
Southern California was another five shots behind the Waves in fourth at
20-over 884. No. 26 California and No. 15 Miami grabbed the final two tickets
to Rich Harvest Farms as they finished tied for fifth at 24-over 888. Reigning
national champion Washington faltered down the stretch and finished eighth.
Stanford also took the individual trophy back to Palo Alto
as Albane Valenzuela, a freshman from Stanford and the No. 4 player in the
Women’s World Amateur Golf ranking, fired a 2-under 70 in the final round over
the 6,637-yard, par-72 South Championship Course to claim medalist honors at
6-under 210.
Fellow freshman Andrea Lee, No. 7 in the Women’s World
Amateur Golf Ranking, finished tied for eighth at 2-over 218 after a final
round of 1-over 73. Stanford’s two veterans, Casey Danielson, a senior from
Osceola, Wis., and Shannon Aubert, a junior from Stuart, Fla., were part of a
group tied for 11th at 3-over 219. Danielson had a final-round 74
while Aubert posted a 76.
Rounding out the Stanford contingent, Sierra Kersten, a
sophomore from Spokane, Wash., finished tied for 66th at 231 after a
final-round 77.
The runnerup to Valenzuela in the individual chase was
Pepperdine’s Tatiana Wijaya, a junior from Indonesia. Wijaya carded a 1-under
71 in the final round to finish alone in second at 3-under 213, three shots
behind Valenzuela.
The No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf ranking,
Duke’s Leona Maguire, a junior from Ireland, was in the field in Albuquerque
and finished tied for sixth at 1-over 217 after a final round of 1-under 71.
At the Columbus Regional, No. 4 Florida was caught by
Southeast Conference rival South Carolina, ranked 12th, as they
shared the team title at 22-over 886. The SEC champion Gators carded a final
round of 8-over 296 over The Ohio State University’s 6,416-yard, par-72 Scarlet Course that played extremely
tough. The Gamecocks finished with the low team round of the tournament, an
even-par 288.
No. 5 Florida State finished third, another five shots
behind the co-champions at 27-over 891 after a final-round 294, host Ohio
State, ranked 29th, finished fourth at 893 after a final-round 302,
No. 27 Purdue finished fifth at 904 after a gritty final round of 297, and No.
33 Michigan grabbed the last ticket to the national Final, finishing sixth at
908 after a final-round 303.
Colonial Athletic Association champion Delaware finished 15th
at 938 after a final-round 308, the Blue Hens’ best round of the tournament.
It was also a tie at the top for the individual title,
appropriately enough between a Gator and a Gamecock. Florida’s Kelly Grassel, a
senior from Chesterton, Ind., and South Carolina’s Ana Pelaez, a freshman from
Spain, both finished at even-par 216.
Grassel and Pelaez both carded a final round of 2-under 70 .
Pelaez’s teammate, SEC champion Katelyn Dambaugh, a senior
from Goose Creek, S.C., shared third place with Purdue’s Marta Martin, a junior
from Spain, at 1-over 217, a shot behind the co-champions. After struggling in
the opening round with a 77, Dambaugh fired a pair of 2-under 70s in the second
and third rounds. Martin finished up strong with a 1-under 71.
South Carolina had a third player in the top five as Ainhoa
Olarra, a junior from Spain, shared fifth place with Ohio State’s Katja Pogacar
at 3-over 219. Olarra gave the Gamecocks a third sub-par round with a 2-under
70 while Pogacar also finished strong with a 2-under 70 on Ohio State’s home
course.
Backing up Grassel for the Gators was Marta Perez, a
freshman from Spain who finished tied for 11th at 223 after a
final-round 75. As tough as the Scarlet Course played, several of the Spaniards in the field seemed to relish the tough conditions. Maria Torres, a senior from Puerto Rico, finished tied for 26th
at 223 after a final-round 73, Taylor Tomlinson, a junior from Gainesville,
Fla., finished tied for 30th after a final-round 79 and Karolina
Vickova, a senior from the Czech Republic, finished tied for 37th at
230 after a final-round 79.
Rounding out the South Carolina contingent, Marion
Veusseyre, a sophomore from France, finished tied for 61st at 236
after a final-round 78 and Jia Xin Yang, a senior from China, finished tied for
82nd at 244 after a final-round 81.
A year ago, Purdue’s August Kim, a senior from St.
Augustine, Fla., qualified for the NCAA Final as an individual. This time she
gets to bring her teammates along for the ride. Kim finished tied for 13th
at 224 after a final-round 76.
At the Lubbock Regional, No. 7 Arizona State was the most
dominant regional champion as the Sun Devils put up a sizzling final round of
16-under 272 to cruise to a 21-shot victory with a 22-under 842 total.
No. 10 Furman was the runnerup with a 1-under 863 total
after a final round of 8-under 280. No. 47 Oregon took third at 3-over 867
after a 4-under 284 in the final round. Big 12 champion Texas, ranked 18th,
finished fourth at 5-over 869 after a final-round 290. Host Texas Tech, ranked
34th, finished fifth at 873 after a final-round 291.
Kent State got the last berth in the NCAA Final, finishing
sixth at 11-over 875.
Arizona State swept the top three spots in the individual
standings, led by regional champion Monica Vaughn, a senior from Reedsport,
Ore., and a member of the 2016 U.S. Curtis Cup team. Vaughn finished up with a
3-under 69 over The Rawls Course, which
measured 6,593 and played to a par of 72, for an 8-under 208 total.
Teammate Olivia Mehaffey, a freshman from Ireland, and the
No. 9 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, blitzed The Rawls Course layout with a 6-under 66 to
finish a shot behind Vaughn at 7-under
209. Linnea Strom, a sophomore from Sweden and the No. 10 player in the
Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, finished third, another shot behind
Mehaffey in third at 6-under 210 after a final round of 5-under 67.
Arizona State’s fourth counter came from Sophia Zeeb, a
junior from Germany who carded a 2-under 70 to finish tied for 25th
at 4-over 220. The Sun Devils had the luxury of throwing out the even-par 72
registered by Roberta Liti, a junior from Italy. Liti finished tied for 17th
at 2-over 218.
Kent State was led by Pimnipa Panthong, a freshman from
Thailand who finished alone in fourth place at 5-under 211 after a final-round
69.
Full Dislosure - Erica Herr has been playing with a at minimum a severe case of Golfer's Elbow since February. Wake Forest has not authorized an MRI to rule out a torn tendon. She will have MRI this week in Philadelphia. Erica had no choice not to play with the sudden departure of the two freshman and the Injury to Toni Eberhard who has only completed 3 round of golf since the Fall. If Erica did not finish at Regionals, Kupcho would not have qualified for the NCAA Championships as the team would have been given a DNF with EBerhard pulling out. Erica had to resort to hybrids from 130 yards out in the final two rounds. She did not hit any balls between ACC and Regionals which offered no relief to the shot of pain that shoots up the arm on every swing.
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