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Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Kent State, Vanderbilt, Texas, Southern California claim regional crowns


   Kent State has been one of the elite eight still standing for match play in the last two NCAA Championships.
   After pulling out a one-shot victory over reigning national champion Arizona in the NCAA East Lansing Regional, which concluded Wednesday at the Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich., the Golden Flashes, No. 12 in the latest Golfstat rankings and seeded third in the regional, will take a ton of momentum to this year’s NCAA Championship, which tees off May 17 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
   Kent State took a one-shot lead over No. 5 Arizona, the second seed, into Wednesday’s final round and matched the Wildcats for the low team score of the day, a 1-under 287 over the 6,387-yard, par-72 Forest Akers West layout for a 4-under 860 total that enabled the Golden Flashes to maintain their one-shot edge and claim the regional team title.
   Kent State was led by its veteran junior, Pimnipa Panthong of Thailand and No. 23 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who carded a solid 2-under 70 to finish alone in second at 4-under 212, four shots behind the regional individual champion, UCLA sophomore and a fellow Thai of Panthong’s, Patty Tavatanakit, No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR.
   Arizona finished a shot behind Kent State in second at 3-under 861.
   Tavatanakit, who surged into the lead on the strength of a 6-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round, closed with a 1-under 71 for an 8-under 208 total. Tavatanakit has earned low-amateur honors at this spring’s ANA Inspiration at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif. and in last spring’s U.S. Women’s Open at Shoal Creek in Alabama, where she finished in a tie for fifth.
   Tavatanakit made sure that the Bruins, ranked 14th and seeded fourth, punched their ticket to The Blessings as they closed with a 5-over 293 to finish alone in third place at 10-over 874, 13 shots behind Pac-12 rival Arizona.
   Another of UCLA’s Pac-12 rivals, No. 4 Stanford, the top seed in East Lansing, finished four shots behind the Bruins in fourth at 14-over 878 after a final round of 2-over 290. You can expect to see Stanford in the semifinals at The Blessings because, well, the Cardinal have reached the semifinals every year since the NCAA incorporated match play into its women’s championship.
   A couple of Big Ten teams, No. 28 Illinois and No. 55 Indiana, grabbed the final two team berths in the NCAA Championship by finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. The Illini, seeded seventh, closed with a solid 2-over 290 to finish four shots behind Stanford at 18-over 882. The Hoosiers, seeded 14th, posted a solid 3-over 291 to grab the final ticket to The Blessings at 19-over 883. Pretty sure Indiana was the lowest-seeded team from any of the four regionals to advance.
   No. 20 Michigan State, playing on its home course, was the heartbroken seventh-place finisher, three shots behind Indiana at 886, but the Spartans got a little consolation as Haylin Harris, a freshman from Carmel, Ind., finished third in the individual standings at 3-under 213, a shot behind Panthong, after matching par in the final round with a 72.
   The top three individuals from a non-advancing team earned a ticket to compete for the NCAA individual championship and Harris’ showing on her home course earned her one of those tickets.
   No. 33 North Carolina saw its season end in the regionals for the second straight spring. The Tar Heels had their best round of the week, a 7-over 295, as they moved up to 13th place at 42-over 906.
   Backing up Panthong for Kent State was Michaela Finn, a senior from Sweden who matched par in the final round with a 72 to share fourth place with Arizona’s Yu-Sang Hou, a sophomore from Taiwan, at 1-under 215.
   The Golden Flashes also got a critical 1-under 71 from another Thai player, freshman Thitapa Pakdeesettakul, as she finished among the group tied for 11th at 2-over 218. Kent State’s final counter Wednesday came from Chloe Salort, a sophomore from France who carded her second straight 2-over 74 and joined the group tied for 19th at 4-over 220.
   Rounding out the Kent State lineup was Karoline Stormo, a junior from Norway and No. 33 in the Women’s WAGR who struggled to a final-round 76 to finish among the group tied for 33rd at 223.
   Arizona’s Hou, one of the heroes of the Wildcats’ run to the national championship a year ago, matched par in the final round with a 72 to join Finn in the tie for fourth at 1-under 215.
   A couple of distinguished college careers came to a close in East Lansing as North Carolina senior Kelly Whaley of Farmington, Conn., and Notre Dame senior Emma Albrecht of Ormond Beach, Fla. played their final collegiate rounds.
   Whaley struggled in her final round with an 81 that left her in the group tied for 53rd at 228, but she has been a fixture in the lineup for the Tar Heels and a leader in the program ever since she arrived in Chapel Hill.
   Albrecht struggled to a 78 Wednesday to land in the group tied for 56th at 229. She qualified as an individual for the NCAA regionals as a sophomore and again this spring as a senior and last spring led the way as the Fighting Irish earned a trip to regionals as a team.
   After a slow start, North Carolina junior Brynn Walker, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, closed with a 1-under 71 and was the Tar Heels’ highest individual finisher, ending up in the group tied for 39th at 8-over 224.
   The medalist for the day in Wednesday’s final round for the Tar Heels was Jennifer Zhou, a freshman from China who carded a solid 2-under 70 that left her in the group tied for 66th place at 231.
   Rounding out the North Carolina lineup were Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany, and Nicole Lu, a freshman from Taiwan, both of whom landed in the group tied for 77th at 235. Bergner closed with a 78 while Lu finished up with a 76.
   In the Auburn Regional, No. 6 Vanderbilt, seeded second, surged to the team title behind individual champion Auston Kim, a freshman from St. Augustine, Fla., and Morgan Baxendale, a sophomore from Windermere, Fla., as teams from the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences dominated at Saugahatchee Country Club in Opelika, Ala.
   The Commodores, out of the SEC, had the best team round of the day, an 8-under 280 over the 6,371-yard, par-72 Saugahatchee layout for a 4-under 860 total that gave them a four-shot advantage over the ACC’s Florida State, ranked 11th and seeded third.
   The Seminoles were the only other team to finish under par as they closed with a solid 5-under 283 for a 1-under 863 total.
   Two more ACC powers, No. 3 Duke, the top seed, and No. 17 Virginia, seeded fifth, finished third and fourth, respectively. The Blue Devils closed with a 3-over 291 to finish five shots behind Florida State in fourth place at 4-over 868. It was another five shots back to the Cavaliers in fifth place at 9-over 873 after they finished up with a 6-over 294.
   Two more SEC teams, including host Auburn, grabbed the final two tickets to the NCAA Championship. The No. 13 Tigers, the fourth seed, fired a clutch 3-under 285 to finish fifth at 10-over 874, a shot behind Virginia. No. 42 Tennessee outperformed its 11 seed as the Volunteers carded a solid 1-under 287 in Wednesday’s final round to grab the final ticket to The Blessings with a 12-over 876 total.
   Kim was a steady force for Vanderbilt as she carded her third straight 2-under 70 for a 6-under 210 total that gave her the regional crown by a shot over Murray State’s Linnette Holmslykke, a senior from Denmark.
   But the star of Wednesday’s final round for the Commodores was Baxendale as she fired a sparkling 5-under 67, the low round of the day, that left her in a group of three players tied for third at 3-under 213.
   Backing up the top two for Vanderbilt was Abbey Carlson, a junior from Lake Mary, Fla. who matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish among the group tied for 23rd at 4-over 220. Louise Yu, a sophomore from Duluth, Ga., also finished strong for the Commodores, carding a 1-under 71 that left her among the group tied for 28th at 5-over 221.
   Rounding out the Vanderbilt lineup was Courtney Zeng, a senior from Orlando, Fla. who finished among the group tied for 60th at 227 after closing with a 76.
   Holmslykke, who had surged into contention with her 7-under 65 in Tuesday’s second round, closed with a 1-under 71 to finish alone in second, a shot behind Kim at 5-under 211. She earned a trip to The Blessings to compete for an NCAA individual title.
   Joining Baxendale in the group tied for third at 3-under 213 was the Thai pair of Duke sophomore Jaravee Boonchant, No. 25 in the Women’s WAGR, and Maryland sophomore Virunpat Olankitkunchai.  Boonchant closed with a 1-under 71 to get to 3-under while Olankitkunchai, who is also headed to The Blessings to compete as an individual, finished up with a 1-over 73.
   Duke’s freshman standout, Gina Kim of Chapel Hill, N.C., shared sixth place in the individual standings with Florida State’s junior leader Amanda Doherty of Atlanta at 2-under 214. Kim closed with a 1-under 71 while Doherty finished up with a 1-over 73.
   In the Norman Regional, No. 2 Texas, the top seed, had the best round of the day, a 1-under 287, to complete a nine-shot victory at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla.
   After heavy overnight rains and with the threat of severe weather in the forecast, there was a shotgun start at 11:30 a.m. CDT.
   The Longhorns, coming off a third straight Big 12 crown, finished up with a 9-under 855 total and were the only team under par for the tournament over the 6,367-yard, par-72 Jimmie Austin OU layout.
   ACC champion Wake Forest, ranked seventh and seeded second, and SEC power Florida, ranked 10th and seeded third, shared second place, each landing on even-par 864. The Demon Deacons closed with a 1-over 289 while the Gators finished up with a 7-over 295.
   No. 30 Purdue hasn’t been as much of a factor on the national stage as it once was, but the Big Ten’s Boilermakers, seeded eighth, closed with a solid 4-over 292 to finish fourth at 2-over 866 and punch their ticket to The Blessings.
   No. 15 Arizona State, seeded fourth, finished fifth at 4-over 868 after closing with a 1-over 289 behind individual co-champion Olivia Mehaffey, a junior from Northern Ireland and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR.
   The final berth to the NCAA Championship went to surprising SEC champion Mississippi, ranked 34th and seeded ninth. Ole Miss closed with a solid 2-over 290 for a 7-over 871 total and a sixth-place finish. Going into last season, the Rebels had never qualified for the NCAA Championship, but now they’re going for the second straight spring, this time as the champion of a conference that is sending six teams to The Blessings.
   Texas was led by Big 12 champion Agathe Laisne, a sophomore from France and No. 42 in the Women’s WAGR who shared third place with Memphis’ Michaela Fletcher, a redshirt senior from South Africa, at 5-under 211. Laisne was solid throughout, matching par in the final round with a 72.
   Kaitlyn Papp, a sophomore home girl from Austin, Texas and No. 26 in the Women’s WAGR, was her typically solid self, closing with a 1-over 73 to finish among the group tied for eighth at 2-under 214. Sara Kouskova, a freshman from the Czech Republic, matched par in the final round to finish in the group tied for 19th at 1-over 217.
   The best round of the day Wednesday for the Longhorns came from one of the top freshmen in the country, Hailee Cooper of Montgomery, Texas. Cooper carded a 2-under 70 that left her in the group tied for 27th at 2-over 218.
   Rounding out the Texas lineup was junior leader Emilee Hoffman of Folsom, Calif., who closed    with a 2-over 74 to end up among the group tied for 36th at 4-over 220.
   Mehaffey, the Pac-12 champion and a two-time selection for Great Britain & Ireland’s Curtis Cup side, took a four-shot lead into the final round in the race for the individual title, but had to settle for a share of the crown after closing with a 1-over 73 that gave her an 8-under 208 total.
   Host Oklahoma failed to advance as a team, but it was still a feel-good day for the Sooners as Kaitlin Milligan, a sophomore home girl from Norman playing on the golf course where she has been raised in the game, made up five shots on Mehaffey with a sparkling 4-under 68 that earned her a regional co-championship and a ticket to The Blessings, where she will compete for an individual NCAA title.
   Memphis’ Fletcher is also headed for The Blessings to compete as an individual as she closed with a 1-over 73 to join Texas’ Laisne in the tie for third at 5-under 211, three shots behind Mehaffey and Milligan.
   The third individual qualifier out of Norman was Virginia Tech’s Amanda Hollandsworth, a graduate student from Floyd, Va. who closed with a 1-over 73 to share fifth place with Florida’s Elin Esborn, a redshirt sophomore from Sweden, and Purdue’s Micaela Farah, a junior from Peru, at 3-under 213.
   Esborn led the way for the Gators as she matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish at 3-under and Farah was the leading lady for the Boilers, finishing up with a 2-over 74.
   In the Cle Elum Regional, Southern California looked every bit the No. 1 team in the country and the top seed that it is as the Trojans, the Pac-12 champions, rolled to a 15-shot victory over Pac-12 rival Washington, ranked 19th and seeded fifth, at the Suncadia Resort’s Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Wash.
   Behind individual champion Jenifer Chang, a sophomore from Cary, N.C. and No. 27 in the Women’s WAGR, Southern Cal closed by matching the best team round of the week, a 10-under 278 that left them with a 20-under 844 total over the 6,306-yard, par-72 Tumble Creek Club layout.
   Southern Cal reached the NCAA Championship semifinals a year ago with four freshmen, Chang being one of them, and a sophomore. The Trojans appear poised to make some noise at The Blessings in Fayetteville, Ark.
   Washington closed strongly as well, firing a 7-under 281 to earn runnerup honors at 5-under 859. No. 11 Northwestern, the fourth seed, matched Southern Cal’s sizzling 10-under 278 in the final round to finish third at even-par 864.
   No. 8 Arkansas, seeded second, is headed home to Fayetteville to play in an NCAA Championship on its home course. The Razorbacks closed with a 2-under 286 to finish fourth at 5-over 869, five shots behind Northwestern.
   No. 29 San Jose State, the eighth seed, was another three shots behind Arkansas in fifth place at 8-over 872 after closing with a 2-over 290.
   The final ticket to The Blessings out of the Cle Elum Regional went to No. 49 UCF, which easily outperformed its No. 13 seed. The Knights closed with a 2-under 286 for a 10-over 874 total to earn their first trip to the NCAA Championship in 23 years.
   Chang, the runnerup in the 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the Boone Valley Golf Club in Augusta, Mo., closed with a 4-under 68 to capture the individual title with an 11-under 205 total that gave her a one-shot edge on Washington’s Rino Sasaki, a sophomore from Japan, and UCF’s Ana Laura Collado, a sophomore from Mexico.
   Two other Trojans posted top-10 finishes as Alyaa Abdulghany, a sophomore from Newport Beach, Calif., ended up in a tie for seventh at 5-under 211, and Malia Nam, a freshman from Kailua, Hawaii, landed in the group tied for ninth at 4-under 212.
   Gabriela Ruffels, a sophomore from Australia, matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish among the group tied for 15th at 1-over 217. Rounding out the Southern Cal lineup was Allisen Corpuz, a junior from Honolulu, Hawaii and No. 40 in the Women’s WAGR who finished up with a 3-over 75 to join the group tied for 55th at 225.
   Sasaki and Collado each closed with a 4-under 68, but couldn’t quite catch Kim as they shared second place at 10-under 206.
   Oregon’s Kathleen Scavo, a senior from Benicia, Calif., finished alone in fourth place at 7-under 209 after firing a final round of 2-under 70. Scavo booked her trip to The Blessings, where she will compete as an individual.
   Northwestern’s Brooke Riley, a junior from Manteca, Calif., fired a sizzling final round of 7-under 65, a new women’s course record at the Tumble Creek Club, to surge into a tie for fifth place at 6-under 210. Riley’s round set the tone for the Wildcats’ spectacular 10-under showing in the final round.
Riley shared fifth place with Arkansas’ Maria Fassi, a senior from Mexico and No. 4 in the Women’s WAGR. The reigning Annika Award winner, Fassi closed with a 3-under 69 to join Riley at 6-under 210.
   Fassi could be playing on the LPGA Tour right now. She qualified with her performance in the LPGA Q-Series, an eight-round test over two weeks last fall at the Pinehurst Resort. For the first time, the LPGA offered players the opportunity to defer accepting a Tour card if they wished to play out the spring portion of the college season.
   Fassi knows other rookies will have a big headstart when she joins the LPGA Tour next month. She won an SEC individual title and her talent and sportsmanship were on display for all to see in the nationally televised final round of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship as she was the runnerup to Wake Forest’s Jennifer Kupcho.
   Somehow, though, I can’t help thinking that this is why she really came back for the final spring of her senior season, an opportunity to close out her college career competing for a national championship on her home course in Fayetteville.
   She and the Razorbacks had to get there first and that’s exactly what they accomplished in Cle Elum, Wash. this week.

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