Stanford will be looking to repeat as national champions tomorrow
(Photo Courtesy of Stanford athletics)
EUGENE, OR (May 24, 2016) - Stanford has
advanced to
the Division I Women's Golf Championships for the
second consecutive year and they will have a chance
to
repeat as champions on Wednesday. The Cardinals
will
square off against Washington shortly after 2:00
p.m.
PT at Eugene Country Club to determine the national
champion. Television coverage of the national title
match will begin at 3:00 p.m. PT on the Golf
Channel.
In the semifinals No. 2 Stanford defeated No. 6
Duke 3-2. Stanford took control of the match early
on
with wins from Mariah Stackhouse and Sierra
Kersten.
With Duke leading two out of the other three
matches,
Casey Danielson birdied the par 5 17th hole to go
one
up on her opponent Leona Maguire. Danielson found
the
green on the 18th and calmly two putted to push the
Cardinals ahead.
Duke's Virginia Elena Carta did provide a point
for
the Blue Devils in the anchor match but it was to
little to
late from the NCAA individual champion.
In the finals Stanford will be facing No. 4
Washington, who won the match of the day against
top-
seed UCLA. The score may look deceiving at 3-1-1
but
every match went to at least the 17th hole.
Washington's Julianne Alvarez and Wenyung Keh
both won 1 up matches to get the Huskies on the
board
with a 2-0 advantage. Alvarez never trailed in her
match, although much of the match was played at
all-
square or 1 up.
Easily the best match of the tournament thus far
was between Washington freshman Sarah Rhee and
UCLA's Louise Ridderström. Ridderström was three
up
with three to go when Rhee birdied holes 16 and 17
and
then squared the match with a par on the 18th to
force
extra holes.
On the playoff hole, Ridderström was in good
position after her approach landed just beyond the
pin.
Rhee found herself in the greenside bunker facing a
lengthy bunker shot which coincidentally she made
up
and down from earlier in the match. Miraculously,
Rhee's bunker shot took one hop and glided in the
back
of the hole for birdie. It was enough to win the
match as
Rhee was the third freshman to win a point and put
Washington into the finals.
"I was thinking I had nothing to lose and I threw
everything I had into the final three holes which got
me
into the playoff," Rhee told Golf Channel. "From
there it
was just magic."
Rhee looks to continue her magic as she takes
on
Mariah Stackhouse who knows a few things about
clutch
shots, having clinched the title for the Cardinals last
year.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH PAIRINGS
Shannon Aubert (Stan) vs. Charlotte Thomas
(Wash)
Casey Danielson (Stan) vs. Ying Luo (Wash)
Mariah Stackhouse (Stan) vs. Sarah Rhee (Wash)
Sierra Kersten (Stan) vs. Wenyung Keh (Wash)
Lauren Kim (Stan) vs. Julianne Alvarez (Wash)
QUARTERFINAL MATCHES
With the exception of one match the
quarterfinals
went as scripted. The only exception was No. 6 Duke
defeating No. 3 USC 4-1. Duke picked up wins from
Sandy Choi, Gurbani Singh, yesterday's medalist
winner
Virginia Elena Carta and Celine Boutier.
The closest match of the quarterfinal session
was
between two-seed and defending national champions
Stanford and seven-seed South Carolina. Gamecocks
Katelyn Dambaugh put the first point of the match
on
the board and Ainhoa Olarra made it 2-1 South
Carolina, Stanford would respond winning the final
two
matches.
Mariah Stackhouse evened the match for
Stanford
and then Laruen Kim provided the swing point. The
first
Stanford point was produced by Casey Danielson.
Top-seeded UCLA was the only team to not lose
a
match in the quarterfinals defeating eight-seed
Oregon,
playing on their home course 4-0-1. Bruins winners
included Bethany Wu, Louise Ridderström, Lilia Vu
and
Bronte Law.
The final team to advance to the semifinals was
No.
4 Washington, after they bested No. 5 Virginia 3-1-1.
Washington received point earning play from
Julianne
Alvarez, Wenyung Keh and Charlotte Thomas.
Ying Luo received a halve after finishing all-
square
with Virginia's Elizabeth Szokol.
ABOUT THE
NCAA Division I Women's Championship
30 teams and 6 individuals not on a qualifying
team make up the field for the championship of
NCAA
Division I women's golf.
After 72 holes of stroke play, the individual
champion is crowned, and the low 8 teams advance
to
match play to determine the team champion.
View Complete Tournament Information