Wang's spectacular final-round 62 gives Illinois its first Big Ten team crown at Fox Chapel

   Not sure if there is such a thing as a bubble when it comes to the teams that are hoping to receive a bid to one of the six NCAA regionals in Division I women’s golf, but if there is, Illinois was probably very much on it.

   But, like the case with basketball, winning your conference championship makes you an automatic qualifier (an AQ in the parlance of those who follow these things closely).

   So, the Fighting Illini erased any doubts that they would have a spot in the NCAA regionals by winning the team crown in the Big Ten Championship for the first time in program history, beating a bunch of teams with higher rankings behind a spectacular performance by individual champion Crystal Wang, a graduate student from Diamond Bar, Calif., at Fox Chapel Golf Club in suburban Pittsburgh.

   The Big Ten Championship wrapped up April 23rd and the NCAA regional fields were announced Wednesday. Any more conference championships I wrap up, and I hope to get to a few more, will reference to which regional any of the teams who earned bids are headed.

   Illinois was No. 53 in the Golfstat rankings in the aftermath of the Big Ten Championship, so the Fighting Illini were probably a little closer to No. 60 when they arrived in Pittsburgh.

   But Illinois’ 13-over-par 865 total left it three shots ahead of Northwestern and six shots clear of Ohio State, two of the Big Ten’s perennial powers. The Fighting Illini spent the end of this week making travel plans for TPC San Antonio, where they will be the ninth seed when the San Antonio Regional tees off May 8.

   A lot of the credit goes to Wang, who broke all kinds of Illinois and Big Ten Championship records by lighting up the 6,045-yard, par-71 classic Seth Raynor design in the final round with a scintillating 9-under 62.

   It’s not like it was an easy golf course, either. The next lowest score was the 3-under 68 turned in by Minnesota’s Isabella McCauley, a freshman from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., that earned her a share of runnerup honors with Wisconsin’s Emily Lauterbach, a senior from Hartland, Wis. They finished a whopping 12 shots behind Wang.

   Wang had matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 3-under 68 in the second round to get a share of the individual lead with her Illinois teammate Isabel Sy, a junior from San Gabriel, Calif.

   But Wang’s final round was special right from the start as she birdied the first four holes. She added birdies at the seventh, 10^th, 12^th, 13^th and 15^th holes – that’s nine birdies, half the holes – with nary a bogey on the card. The final-round 62 gave her a 12-under 201 total.

   Wang became Illinois’ first individual Big Ten champion since her coach Renee Slone – she was Renee Heiken back then – in 1993, 30 years ago. Wang’s 62 was a program record for a single round and a Big Ten Championship record. Her 201 total smashed the previous Big Ten Championship record for 54 holes by four shots.

   Illinois had opened with a solid 2-over 286 and added an 8-over 292 in the second round that left it a shot behind Ohio State going into the final round. With Wang leading the way, the Fighting Illini closed with a 3-over 287 to get it to 13-over.

   Northwestern matched Illinois’ final round of 3-over 287 to finish three shots behind its cross-state rival with a 16-over 868 total. The Wildcats had opened with an 11-over 295 before posting a solid 2-over 286 in the second round.

   Northwestern entered the Big Ten Championship as the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 15 and maintained that ranking following its runnerup finish. The Wildcats will be seeded third in the Palm Beach Gardens Regional.

   Ohio State, under second-year head coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic and a former standout with the Buckeyes, opened with an 8-over 292 and had the low team round of the tournament, a 1-over 285, in the second round to take a one-shot edge into the final round.

   The Buckeyes closed with a 10-over 294 to finish three shots behind Northwestern in third place with a 19-over 871 total. Ohio State moved up a notch in the Golfstat rankings from No. 24 to No. 23 in the aftermath of the Big Ten Championships.

   Ohio State will head for the Athens Regional, where it will be seeded fourth.

   It was another 12 shots back to Maryland in fourth place as the Terrapins struggled to a 302 in the final round to finish with a 31-over 883 total. Maryland had opened with a 10-over 294 before posting a solid 3-over 287 in the second round.

   Maryland, ranked 33, will join Ohio State in the field at the Athens Regional as a six seed.

   No. 78 Wisconsin completed its season with a solid fifth-place finish in the Big Ten Championship with a 38-over 890 total as the Badgers added a 302 in the second round to their opening-round 295 before closing with their best round of the tournament, a 9-over 293.

   Defending champion Michigan and its cross-state rival Michigan State were probably disappointed with their tie for sixth place as both the Wolverines and the Spartans landed on 45-over 897, seven shots behind Wisconsin.

   Michigan, which dropped a notch in the Golfstat rankings from No. 43 to No. 44 in the aftermath of the Big Ten Championship, registered back-to-back 301s in the first two rounds before closing with an 11-over 295.

   The Wolverines will get a talented addition to their roster this summer with arrival of Lower Merion’s Sydney Yermish, a two-time PIAA Class AAA and three-time District One Class AAA champion.

   Michigan State, which fell two spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 32 to No. 34 following the Big Ten Championship, added a 298 to its opening-round 302 before closing with its best round of the tournament, a 13-over 297.

   Michigan and Michigan State did snag at-large bids into the NCAA postseason as the Wolverines will be the eighth seed in the Westfield Regional in Indiana and the Spartans will join Northwestern in the Palm Beach Gardens Regional, where they will be seeded sixth.

   Purdue, which finished in ninth-place with a 46-over 898 total at Fox Chapel, is headed for the Raleigh Regional, where it will be seeded ninth. Nebraska, which finished six shots behind the Boilermakers in 10th place in the Big Ten Championship, will also be in the field at the Raleigh Regional as the 10^th seed.

   It was a disappointing end to the wraparound 2022-2023 season for Penn State as the Nittany Lions finished in a tie for 12^th place with Indiana, each ending up with a 58-over 910 tota. After struggling to a 307 in the opening round, Penn State put together its best round of the tournament, an 8-over 292, in the second round before closing with a 311.

   The season will continue for Penn State’s best player, Mathilde Delavallade, a senior from France who will compete in the Athens Regional as an individual. Delavallade is the first Penn State representative in the NCAA regionals since Cara Baso, the 2012 PIAA Class AA champion as a sophomore at Villa Maria Academy, competed as an individual in the Madison Regional as a junior in 2018.

   For two rounds, Sy was the equal of her teammate Wang as Sy added a 1-under 70 in the second round to her opening round of 2-under 69. She closed with a 4-over 75, but still finished alone in fourth place with a 1-over 214 total and, obviously, played a huge role in the team chase for the Fighting Illini.

   Lexanne Halama, a sophomore from Knoxville, Tenn., backed up the top two for Illinois as she finished in the group tied for 30^th place with a 227 total. Haloma added a 6-over 77 in the second round to her opening-round 76 before closing with a critical 1-over 72 as the Fighting Illini were trying hold off a hard-charging Northwestern.

   Siyan Chen, a senior from China, contributed a 1-under 70 to Illinois’ solid start and added a 6-over 77 before closing with an 81 as she finished among the group tied for 34^th place with a 228 total.

   Mattie Frick, a freshman from Peoria, Ariz., added an 80 in the second round to her opening round of 5-over 76 before closing with a 79 to finish in the group tied for 65^th place with a 235 total.

   For the Big Ten Championship, teams were comprised of six players with the top four scores counting. Rounding out the lineup for Illinois was Anna Ritter, a freshman from New Albany, Ohio who finished in a tie for 74^th place with a 237 total as she added an 80 in the second round to her opening-round 79 before closing with her best round of the tournament, a 7-over 78.

   Minnesota’s McCauley matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 3-over 74 before her final-round 68 got her a share of second place with an even-par 213 total.

   McCauley will represent the Golden Gophers as an individual in the Westfield Regional.

   Wisconsin’s Lauterbach matched the best score of the opening round with a 2-under 69 and added a 2-over 73 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 71 that enabled her to join McCauley for a share of runnerup honors at even-par 213.

   Rutgers’ Leigha Devine, a senior from Windsor, Colo., finished alone in fifth place, a shot behind Illinois’ Sy with a 2-over 215 total. After opening with a 1-over 72, Devine added a 74 in the second round before closing with a solid 2-under 69.

   Northwestern’s Kelly Sim, a graduate student from Edgewater, N.J., Ohio State’s Lauren Peter, a senior from Carmel, N.Y., and Maryland’s Patricie Mackova, a junior from the Czech Republic, finished in a three-way tie for sixth place, each ending up two shots behind Devine at 4-over 217 total.

   Sim was just two shots out of the lead in the individual chase after adding a 2-under 69 to her opening round of 1-over 72. Sim closed with a 5-over 76.

   Peter matched Sim’s 2-under 69 in the second round after opening with a 3-over 74 before closing with another 74. Mackova added a solid 1-under 70 in the second round to her opening round of 1-over 72 before finishing up with a 4-over 75.

   Sim’s Northwestern teammate, Lauryn Nguyen, a sophomore from Seattle, Wash., and Mackova’s Maryland teammate, Panassaya Somchit, a sophomore from Thailand, rounded out the top 10 in the individual standings as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 5-over 218.

   Nguyen opened with a 2-over 73 and added a 76 in the second round before closing with a solid 2-under 69. Somchit sandwiched a 74 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 72s.

   Leading the way for Penn State was Isha Dhruva, a senior from Katy, Texas who finished among the group tied for 30^th place with a 227 total. Dhruva added a 3-over 74 in the second round to her opening-round 75 before closing with a 78.

   Delavallade sandwiched a 1-under 70 in the second round with a pair of 79s to finish in the group tied for 34^th place with a 228 total.

   Fifth-year player Sarah Willis of Eaton, Ohio closed out a standout career in Happy Valley by finishing in a tie for 50^th place with a 231 total. Willis was the picture of consistency at Fox Chapel, rattling off three straight 6-over 77s.

   Drew Nienhaus, a sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., finished among the group tied for 52^nd place with a 232 total as she bounced back from an opening-round 80 with a 4-over 75 in the second round before finishing up with a 77.

   Redshirt senior Taylor Waller, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in 2016 as a junior at Canon-McMillan, closed out her Penn State career by finishing in the group tied for 71^st place with a 236 total. Waller bounced back from an opening-round 84 with a 2-over 73 in the second round before finishing up with a 79.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was sophomore Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus who finished in the group tied for 76^th place with a 238 total. Cox, the Pennsylvania Junior Girls champion in 2021, posted a couple of solid 5-over 76s in the first two rounds before struggling to an 86 in the final round.

   Redshirt freshman Jade Gu, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during a standout scholastic career at Pennsbury, got into the Purdue lineup as its sixth player and finished among the group tied for 65^th place with a 235 total. After opening with a solid 4-over 75, Gu registered back-to-back 80s in the final two rounds.