Michigan State strikes a blow for the Big Ten by claiming team crown in Palm Beach Regional

   It isn’t always easy for Big Ten teams to compete at the highest levels of Division I women’s golf.

   And make no mistake about, the NCAA regionals that wrapped up at six sites around the country are the highest level of Division I women’s golf. If you’re one of the 30 teams that is making travel plans for Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., you’ve reached the highest level of Division I women’s golf. You didn’t get there by accident.

   Sure, Big Ten teams travel to warm places to play their tournaments. But there was that little stretch just after the holidays and before the college season heated up again in late January or early February when the best you could do in East Lansing, Mich. or Chicago was crank up the simulator.

   They are a great tool, the sims, as they are often referred to, but it’s just not the same as getting out there in the elements and facing situations that the sims can’t quite recreate.

   So, let’s give some credit to Michigan State, which finished three shots clear of perennial national contender Duke to capture the team crown in the Palm Beach Regional at the PGA National Resort’s Champion Course.

   And while we’re at it, how about a shoutout to Northwestern, which finished in a tie for third place with another perennial national power in Texas at the Palm Beach Regional. They get smart kids at Northwestern and somehow the Wildcats always seem to save their best stuff for when it matters the most.

   Michigan State arrived in South Florida at No. 34 in the latest Golfstat rankings and seeded sixth in the field. Only the top five teams and the best individual player from a non-advancing team would move on to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   But not only is Michigan State advancing, the Spartans won the thing, going wire to wire after opening with a solid 3-under 285, adding an 8-over 296 in Tuesday’s second round and closing with a 3-over 291 that gave them an 8-over 872 total.

   Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke, winner of seven national championships, finished three shots behind Michigan State in second place as the Blue Devils, ranked 28^th and seeded fifth, ended up with an 11-over 875 total.

   Michigan State began its season with two U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinalists on its roster, Valery Plata of Colombia (2020, Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.) and Valentina Rossi of Argentina (2021, Westchester Country Club, Rye, N.Y.).

   Plata departed during the midseason pause after she qualified for the LPGA Tour in last fall’s LPGA Q-Series. So there’s some big-time talent finding its way to East Lansing.

   Michigan State was led at PGA National by Brooke Biermann, a sophomore from Wildwood, Mo. who got a share of the individual title with LSU’s Latanna Stone, a senior from Riverview, Fla. and No. 37 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   Biermann closed with a solid 1-under 71 over the tough 6,298-yard, par-72 Champion Course layout to finish with a 3-under 213 total. Stone, a member of the U.S. team that defeated Great Britain & Ireland to retain the Curtis Cup last summer at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course, was the picture of consistency, rattling off three straight 1-under 71s to join Biermann at 3-under.

   There was never any way that the Dookies were going to miss the party at Grayhawk for a second straight spring. After struggling a little in the opening round with a 10-over 298, the Blue Devils got it in gear, adding a 2-over 290 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a solid 1-under 287 to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championship.

   Northwestern, ranked 15^th and seeded third, shared third place with Big 12 power Texas, each ending up three shots behind Duke with 14-over 878 totals.

   The Wildcats bounced back from an opening-round 300 with the best team round of the week, a 4-under 284 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 6-over 294. After struggling to a 10-over 298 in the opening round, the Longhorns carded a 3-over 291 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a solid 1-over 289.

   Southeastern Conference power LSU, ranked third and the top seed in the Palm Beach Regional, was in danger of finishing outside the top five after the Bayou Tigers added an 8-over 296 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 298. But, behind Stone, LSU, one of the most talented teams in the country, closed with a solid 3-under 285 to nab the fifth and final berth out of the regional to Grayhawk with a 15-over 879 total.

   Rossi, a junior, gave Michigan State a second finisher inside the top nine as she finished in a tie for ninth place with a 2-over 219 total. Rossi closed with a solid 1-over 73 with Duke bearing down on the Spartans.

   Leila Raines, a junior from Galena, Ohio, matched Rossi’s final round of 1-over 73 for a 3-over 219 total that left her in the group tied for 14^th place.

   Katie Lu, a sophomore from Plainsboro, N.J., had contributed a 1-under 71 to Michigan State’s fast start in the opening round. She struggled to an 80 in the second round, but bounced back with a critical 2-over 74 in the final round to finish among the group tied for 33^rd place with a 225 total.

   Rounding out the Michigan State lineup was Shannon Kennedy, a sophomore from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Kennedy’s opening-round 79 and final round of 5-over 77 were throw-outs for the Spartans, but she picked up Lu with a counting 77 in the second round as she finished in the group tied for 53^rd place with a 233 total.

   Miami’s Sara Byrne, a sophomore from Ireland, had held the individual lead after two rounds as she posted back-to-back 2-under 70s. Byrne closed with a 2-over 74 to finish a shot behind the co-medalists, Biermann and Stone, with a 2-under 214 total, but, more importantly, she grabbed the individual spot out of the Palm Beach Regional to Grayhawk.

   Andie Smith, a freshman from Hobe Sound, Fla., led the way for Duke as she finished a shot behind Byrne in fourth place with a 1-under 215 total after closed with a sparkling 3-under 69 that matched the low score of the day in Wednesday’s final round.

   Arkansas’ Kajal Mistry, a senior from South Africa, was another shot behind Smith in fifth place with an even-par 216 total after she also closed with a 3-under 69. It wasn’t quite enough to get the Razorbacks to Grayhawk, however, as they finished one frustrating shot behind SEC rival LSU in sixth place with a 26-over 880 total.

   Duke also got a strong showing from sophomore Phoebe Brinker, who starred scholastically at Archmere Academy and is No. 51 in the Women’s WAGR as Brinker, who struggled to a 6-over 78 in the opening round, posted a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a solid 3-under 69 that left her in the group tied for ninth place with a 2-over 218 total.

   Ivy League champion Penn had its best round of the week in Wednesday’s final round with a 10-over 298 that left the 11^th-seeded Quakers in 11^th place with a 46-over 910 total.

   Penn was led by Selena Li, a senior from Hong Kong who sandwiched a 77 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 2-over 74s to finish in the group tied for 33^rd place with a 9-over 225 total.

   In the Pullman Regional, No. 1 Stanford completed a record-breaking tear with a final round of 15-under 273 that gave the Cardinal a remarkable 50-under 814 total and a 17-shot victory over ACC champion Clemson.

   Stanford was led by Rose Zhang, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. who looked every bit like the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR that she is. Zhang had ripped off an 8-under 64 in Monday’s opening round over the 6,405-yard, par-72 Palouse Ridge Golf Club and added a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 7-under 65 to claim the individual title by four shots over teammate Sadie Englemann, a junior from Austin, Texas with a 19-under 197 total.

   It was Zhang’s 11^th career individual victory in just 19 career starts and her seventh in the wraparound 2022-2023 season. Zhang, the winner of the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this spring, will head for Grayhawk to defend the NCAA individual title she won a year ago as a freshman on an epic roll.

   Zhang’s 19-under total was a record for a 54-hole NCAA postseason record by three shots and Stanford’s 50-under total broke the previous record for an NCAA regional by a whopping 17 shots.

   Englemann, who had matched Zhang’s opening-round 64, added a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 5-under 67 for a bogey-free 15-under 201 total that was five shots better than her previous personal best.

   Stanford had opened with an other-worldly 21-under 267 before adding a 14-under 274 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Clemson, ranked 24^th and seeded fourth, came on strong after opening with a 3-under 285 as the Tigers recorded a 12-under 276 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a sizzling 18-under 270 that earned them a runnerup finish with a 33-under 831 total.

   It was another seven shots back to Stanford’s Pac-12 rival Southern California, which finished in third place with a 26-under 838 total. The Trojans, who had claimed the Pac-12 title last month at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, Ariz., only trailed the Cardinal by five after opening with a 16-under 272.

   But Southern Cal cooled off with a 3-over 291 in Tuesday’s second round before bouncing back with a 13-under 275 total.

   A couple of Big 12 entries, Baylor, ranked 12^th and seeded second, and Texas Tech, ranked 32^nd and seeded sixth, grabbed the final two berths to the NCAA Championship out of the Pullman Regional with respective fourth- and fifth-place finishes.

   The Bears closed with an 11-under 277 to finish in fourth place with a 23-under 841 total that left them three shots behind Southern Cal.

   The Red Raiders, who entered the final round as Stanford’s closest pursuer, closed with a 2-under 286, but held on to fifth place with a 19-under 845 total total that left them four shots behind Baylor.

   Backing up the top two for Stanford was Kelly Xu, a freshman from Claremont, Calif. who gave the Cardinal a third finisher inside the top eight as she landed in the group tied for eighth place with a 10-under 206 total. Xu had three rounds in the 60s adding a pair of 3-under 69s in the final two rounds to her opening-round 68.

   Another freshman, Megha Ganne, the Holmdel, N.J. native who is No. 83 in the Women’s WAGR, finished in the group tied for 13^th place with a 6-under 210 total. Ganne, also of teammate of Zhang’s on the winning U.S. team in the Curtis Cup Match at Merion last summer, bounced back from an opening round of 6-over 78 with a sparkling 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the Stanford lineup was Angelina Ye, a senior from China and winner of the 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur Championship at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. who finished in the group tied for 49^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Ye sandwiched a 5-over 77 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s.

   Even missing a couple of legitimate stars in 2021 NCAA individual champion Rachel Heck and Brooke Seay, Stanford will be tough to beat as it tries to repeat as the national champion.

   UC Riverside’s Tiffany Le, a sophomore from Walnut, Calif., carded a sparkling 6-under 66 to overtake Washington’s Camille Boyd, a junior from Yorba Linda, Calif. and claim the individual bid to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk. Le and Boyd were competing as individuals.

   Le’s final-round surge left her in third place, a shot behind Englemann with a 14-under 202 total. Boyd closed with a solid 4-under 68, her third round in the 60s at Palouse Ridge, to finish in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings with Texas Tech’s Shannon Tan, a freshman from Singapore and No. 81 in the Women’s WAGR at 13-under 203.

   Tan, who had added a 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 66, finished up with a 2-under 70.

   No. 45 North Carolina, the eighth seed out of the ACC, finished strong with a final round of 12-under a 276 as the Tar Heels ended up in ninth place with a 1-over 865 total.

   Sophomore Riley Quartermain, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a sophomore at Haverford in 2018, got a shot in relief in the final round and responded with a solid 2-under 70 for North Carolina.

   In the Athens Regional, host Georgia held off SEC rival South Carolina to claim the team crown with a 13-under 851 total over its University of Georgia Golf Course.

   Behind individual champion Jenny Bae, a fifth-year player from Suwanee, Ga. and No. 21 in the Women’s WAGR, the Bulldogs had taken a 10-shot lead into the final round after adding a 6-under 282 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening round of 9-under 279 over the 6,347-yard, par-72 University of Georgia layout.

   Georgia, ranked 30^th and seeded fifth, finished up with a 2-over 2-over 290, but was able to hold off fourth-ranked South Carolina, the top seed in Athens. The talented Gamecocks recorded their second straight 6-under 282 to finish two shots behind Georgia with an 11-under 853 total.

   Bae, who lost in a playoff to Stanford’s Zhang in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur last month, was a runaway winner in the individual chase as she closed with a second straight 5-under 67 on her home course for a 13-under 203 total that was six shots clear of runnerup Louise Rydqvist, a South Carolina sophomore from Sweden who is No. 54 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Rydqvist, the runnerup in last summer’s R&A Women’s Amateur Championship at Hunstanton Golf Club, sandwiched a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 2-under 70s to earn runnerup honors and lead the way for the Gamecocks with a 7-under 209 total.

   It was a two-horse race for the team title between the two SEC heavyweights, but there were still three teams berths to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk up for grabs.

   Mountain West Conference representative San Jose State, ranked ninth and seeded second, finished 25 shots behind South Carolina in third place with a 14-over 878 total as the Spartans closed with a solid  7-over 295.

   Like Georgia, San Jose State was one of the eight teams still standing when match play commenced a year ago at Grayhawk.

   Another SEC entry, Mississippi, ranked 16^th and seeded third, closed with a solid 2-over 290 to finish three shots behind San Jose State in fourth place with a 17-over 881 total. It was two springs ago when Old Miss won it all at Grayhawk, claiming its first national championship.

   Southland Conference champion Augusta, ranked 91^st and seeded 11^th, grinded out a final round of 6-over 994 to earn the first NCAA Championship berth in the history of the program with a 21-over 885 total that left the Jaguars six shots behind Ole Miss, but, more importantly, two shots ahead of Ohio State in fifth place.

   Every once in a while in women’s college golf, Cinderella gets invited to the ball, or just crashes the party as the case may be.

   Backing up Bae for Georgia was another fifth-year player, Jo Hua Hung of Taiwan as she closed with a solid 1-under 71 to finish alone in fourth place in the individual standings with a 5-under 211 total.

   Isabella Holpfer, a junior from Austria, struggled a little in the final round, although her 4-over 76 was a crucial counter for the Bulldogs as she finished in a tie for 14^th place with a 3-over 219 total.

   LoraLie Cowart, a sophomore from Carrollton, Ga., closed with a 5-over 77, but gave Georgia a fourth finisher among the top 20 as she finished in the group tied for 20^th place with a 5-over 221 total.

   Rounding out the Georgia lineup was Candice Mahe, a senior from France who finished among the group tied for 24^th place with a 6-over 222 after closing with a 4-over 76 that, like Holpfer’s 76, mattered.

   Rydqvist’s South Carolina teammate Hannah Darling, a sophomore from Scotland and No. 14 in the Women’s WAGR, finished a shot behind Rydqvist in third place in the individual standings with a 6-under 210 total after closing with a sparkling 5-under 67.

   Watched Darling play a little with GB&I in last summer’s Ryder Cup at Merion. She’s an absolute stick.

   Penn State’s Mathilde Delavallade, a senior from France who was competing as an individual, closed out a nice season for the Nittany Lions as she finished up with her best round of the week, a 2-over 74, to join the group tied for 43^rd place with a 229 total.

   In the Raleigh Regional, Pac-12 invader Arizona rallied in the final round to pull out a two-shot victory over North Carolina State at its home course, the Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State.

   Neither team was a high seed as Arizona is No. 26 in the latest Golfstat rankings and was seeded fifth and N.C. State, out of the ACC, is ranked 46^th and was seeded eighth on its home course.

   Arizona wasn’t even the most highly touted team in the field from Arizona, but it was the Wildcats who came on strong in the final round with a 7-under 281 over the 6,324-yard, par-72 layout Lonnie Poole layout for a 5-under 859 total while Arizona State, ranked fourth and seeded second, faltered in the final round and failed to earn a ticket to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk, a few miles from the Sun Devils’ campus.

   Arizona was led by Julia Misemer, a freshman from Overland Park, Kan. who finished up with her second straight 4-under 68 to get a share of second place with an 8-under 208 total, four shots behind the regional’s individual champion Dorota Zalewska, a senior at Chattanooga from Poland, who earned the lone individual spot to the NCAA Championship up for grabs with a 12-under 204 total.

   Zalewska took control of the individual race when she added a sizzling 6-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 69 before adding a bookend 69 in the final round.

   N.C. State had held a two-shot lead going into the final round as the Wolfpack matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 288 after opening with a 6-under 282. N.C. State closed with a 3-over 291 that gave it a 3-under 861 total and a runnerup finish.

   The Wolfpack were led Lauren Olivares Leon, a sophomore from Mexico who closed with a 2-under 70 to get a share of second place with Arizona’s Misemer with an 8-under 208 total.

   N.C. State’s ACC rival Wake Forest, ranked No. 2 and the top seed, finished three shots behind the Wolfpack in third place as the powerful Demon Deacons closed with a businesslike 1-under 287 to secure their ticket to Grayhawk with an even-par 864 total.

   Big 12 invader TCU, ranked 38^th and seeded seventh, closed with a solid 2-under 286 to finish two shots behind Wake Forest in fourth place with a 2-over 866 total.

   The Raleigh Regional sent a third ACC team to Grayhawk as Florida State, ranked 14^th and seeded third, grabbed the final berth to the NCAA Championship, finishing in fifth place with a 6-over 870 total. The Seminoles finished up with a final round of 3-over 291 to make sure their season would continue.

   Backing up Misemer for Arizona was Lilas Pinthier, a sophomore from France who closed with a 1-under 70 to finish alone in 10^th place with a 1-under 215 total.

   Carolina Melgrati, a sophomore from Italy and No. 62 in the Women’s WAGR, finished in the group tied for 24^th place as she matched par in the final round with a 72 that left her with a 3-over 219 total.

   Gile Bite Starkute, Arizona’s senior stalwart from Lithuania, closed with a crucial 1-under 71 to finish in a tie for 33^rd place with a 6-over 221 total.

   Rounding out the Arizona lineup was Nena Wongthanavimok, a freshman from Thailand who finished among the group tied for 57^th place with an 8-over 224 total as she closed with her second straight 5-over 77.

   Purdue’s Ashley Kozlowski, a junior from Littleton, Colo., and Virginia Tech’s Morgan Ketchum, who was competing as an individual, finished in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings as each landed on 3-under 213, five shots behind Arizona’s Misemer and N.C. State’s Olivares Leon.

   Kozlowski closed with a solid 2-under 70 while Ketchum capped a solid freshman season with a 1-under 71.

   Patriot League champion Richmond was seeded 12^th and finished in 12^th place as the Spiders struggled in the final round with a 325 that left them with a 79-over 943 total. Winning a conference crown and teeing up in an NCAA regional will be a big boost for the Richmond program.

   Freshman Hannah Lydic, the Patriot League’s rookie of the year who starred scholastically at Sussex Academy, closed with a 79 to finish alone in 51^st place with a 233 total.

   Sophomore Lauren Jones, the Inter-Ac League champion as a senior at Episcopal Academy in the spring of 2021, finished up with an 80 to end up in a tie for 58^th place with a 240 total.

   In the San Antonio Regional, West Coast Conference champion Pepperdine caught American Athletic Conference winner Southern Methodist with a solid final round of 6-under 282 as the two conference champions shared the team crown at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course.

   SEC champion Texas A&M led SMU by six shots with Pepperdine another six shots behind the Mustangs in fourth place going into the final round.

   But SMU, ranked 27^th and seeded fifth, matched par in the final round with a 288 over the 6,420-yard, par-72 Oaks Course layout and the Waves, ranked 18^th and seeded third, closed with their best round of the tournament as both teams finished with a 9-over 873 total.

   Three more conference champions rounded out the group of five teams moving on to the NCAA Championship out of the San Antonio Regional.

   Big 12 champion Oklahoma State, ranked 22^nd and seeded fourth, closed with a 4-over 292 to catch SEC champion Texas A&M, ranked sixth and the top seed, as the two teams finished in a tie for third place, each landing on 16-over 880, seven shots behind regional co-champions Pepperdine and SMU.

   The Aggies had grabbed the team lead with a 2-under 286 in Tuesday’s second round, the only team round under par in the tournament. They backed off a little in the final round with a 7-over 295, but the Aggies will be taking a ton of momentum to Grayhawk.

   Mountain West champion New Mexico, ranked 42^nd and seeded seventh, closed with a solid 1-over 289 to grab the final ticket to the NCAA Championship by finishing in fifth place with a 25-over 889 total.

   Pepperdine was led by Reese Guzman, a senior from Kahulai, Hawaii who closed with a solid 2-under 70 to finish in a tie for sixth place with an even-par 216 total.

   Lion Higo, a junior from Australia, gave Pepperdine a second finisher inside the top eight as she ended up in a tie for eighth place with a 1-over 217 total after closing with Pepperdine’s best score of the final round, a sparkling 4-under 68.

   Two other Waves, Jeneath Wong, a freshman from Australia and No. 49 in the Women’s WAGR, and Kaleiya Romero, a junior from San Jose, Calif., snuck into the top 20 in the individual standings as both landed in the group tied for 20^th place at 6-over 222.

   Wong finished up with a 2-over 74 while Romero contributed a 1-under 71 to Pepperdine’s final-round surge.

   Rounding out the Pepperdine lineup was Lauren Gomez, a sophomore from Murrieta, Calif. who closed with a counting 1-over 73 to finish in the group tied for 25^th place with a 6-over 224 total.

   SMU was led by Mackenzie Lee, a freshman from North Little Rock, Ark. who was solid throughout, sandwiching a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s as she finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings with Oklahoma State’s Clemence Martin, a sophomore from France, each landing on 2-under 214 total.

   Another freshman, Michelle Zhang of China, backed up Lee for the Mustangs as Zhang finished in a tie for sixth place with Pepperdine’s Guzman at 2-over 216. Zhang’s final round of 2-under 70 was the best of the day for SMU.

   Ashley Chow, a junior from Canada, and Lauren Miller, a senior from Niceville, Fla., finished among the group tied for 25^th place, each ending up with a 6-over 224 total. Chow struggled a little in the final round with a 4-over 76 while Miller’s 3-over 75 was a crucial counter for SMU.

   Rounding out the SMU lineup was Elle Szeryk, a junior from Canada who finished in a tie for 41^st place with a 228 total, Szeryk saving her best for last, a final round of 1-under 71 that went a long way toward earning SMU its first spot in the NCAA Championship since 1992.

   Maybe the best story out of the San Antonio Regional was the performance of Texas San Antonio’s Camryn Carreon, a sophomore home girl from San Antonio who rolled to a six-shot victory in the individual chase to earn the lone individual berth to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   After opening with a 1-under 71, Carreon fired a 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 4-under 68 for a 10-under 206 total as she became the first Roadrunner to win an individual regional crown.

   UCLA’s Zoe Campos, a sophomore from Valencia, Calif. and No. 100 in the Women’s WAGR, was the runnerup in the individual standings as she sandwiched an even-par 72 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 2-under 70s for a 4-under 212 total.

   Oklahoma State’s Martin got her share of third place with SMU’s Lee by sandwiching a 2-under 70 with a pair of even-par 72s that enabled her to join Lee at 2-under.

   Martin’s Oklahoma State teammate, Rina Tatematsu, a sophomore from Thailand, finished a shot behind Martin and Lee in fifth place with a 1-under 215 total.

   In the Westfield Regional, Mississippi State, coming off an impressive runnerup finish to Texas A&M in the SEC’s match-play final, held on for a two-shot victory over Pac-12 upstart Oregon State.

   The Bulldogs, ranked fifth and the top seed, took control of the team chase with a sizzling 13-under 275 at The Club at Chatham Hills before closing with a 2-over 290 that gave them a 19-under 845 total.

   Oregon State, ranked 52^nd and seeded ninth, moved into contention with a strong second round of its own, an 11-under 277 over the 6,300-yard, par-72 Chatham Hills layout, before finishing up with a solid 4-under 284 that left the Beavers in second place with a 17-under 847 total.

   Mississippi State was led by the two players who have been their 1-2 punch in the postseason as Julia Lopez Ramirez, a sophomore from Spain and No. 18 in the Women’s WAGR, shared medalist honors with Virginia’s Amanda Sambach, a sophomore from Pinehurst, N.C. and No. 31 in the Women’s WAGR, and Hannah Levi, a senior from D’Iberville, Miss., finished a shot behind the co-medalists in third place.

   Lopez Ramirez, who claimed the SEC’s individual crown, led Levi by a shot in the individual chase going into the final round after adding a sparkling 6-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 67. Lopez Ramirez then closed with a 2-under 70 that gave her a 13-under 203 total.

   Levi matched Lopez Ramirez’s 6-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round after opening with a 68. Levi matched Lopez Ramirez’s final round of 2-under 70 to finish a shot behind her teammate with a 12-under 204 total.

   Mississippi State’s SEC rival Vanderbilt, ranked 17^th and the third seed, finished strong with a final round of 9-under 279 to end up just a shot behind Oregon State in third place with a 16-under 848 total.

   ACC representative Virginia, ranked 25^th and seeded fifth, had the best round of the final day, a 10-under 278, to finish a shot behind Vanderbilt in fourth place with a 15-under 849 total.

   Another AAC entry, Tulsa, ranked 36^th and seeded sixth, capped a solid week in Indiana with a final round of 4-under 284 that gave the Golden Hurricane a fifth-place finish with a 9-under 855 total and nailed down the final berth from the Westfield Regional to the NCAA Championship. It will be Tulsa’s first trip to the NCAA Championship since 2008.

   Backing up Lopez Ramirez and Levi for Mississippi State was Izzy Pellot, a freshman from Orlando, Fla. who finished in the group tied for 26^th place with a 1-over 217 total. After posting back-to-back 1-under 71s in the first two rounds, Pellot closed with a 3-over 75.

   Surapa Janthamunee, a freshman from Thailand, matched Pellot’s final round of 3-over 75 as she finished in a tie for 49^th place with a 9-over 225 total for the Bulldogs.

   Rounding out the Mississippi State lineup was Abbey Daniel, a senior from Covington, La. who finished in the group tied for 59^th place with a 229 total. Daniel struggled in the opening round with an 81 and in the final round with a 4-over 76, but she contributed an even-par 72 to the Bulldogs’ strong showing in Tuesday’s second round.

   Virginia’s Sambach trailed Lopez Ramirez by two shots going into the final round, but her final round of 4-under 68 enabled her to get a share of the individual title with a 13-under 203 total.

   Vanderbilt’s Celina Sattelkau, a senior from Germany and No. 73 in the Women’s WAGR, closed with a 1-under 71 to finish in fourth place, two shots behind Mississippi State’s Levi with a 10-under 206 total. Sattelkau had added a sparkling 6-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 69.

   It was another two shots back to Tulsa’s Grace Kilcrease, a freshman from Springdale, Ark., as she finished in fifth place with an 8-under 208 total. Kilcrease surged up the leaderboard with a 6-under 66 in the final round.

   Minnesota’s Isabella McCauley, a freshman from Inver Grove Heights, Minn. competing as an individual, closed with a 4-under 68 to finish in sixth place with a 7-under 209 total and grab the lone available individual ticket to Grayhawk.

   Although she struggled in the final round with an 80, Virginia junior Jennifer Cleary, who starred scholastically at Tower Hill School, finished in 52^nd place with a 226 total. Cleary had registered a pair of  1-over 73s in the first two rounds and she and the Cavaliers are headed to the NCAA Championship as a team for the second straight spring.