FRESHMAN OLIVIA IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL WITH ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State, Northwestern rally to reach NCAA final
Arizona State University, whose line-up includes GB and I Vagliano Trophy team selection Olivia Mehaffey, a freshman from Northern Ireland, and Northwestern University both rallied to win their semi-final matches at the NCAA Women's Golf Championship and set up an unexpected showdown in Wednesday's final.
When darkness halted play Tuesday evening at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club, the Sun Devils (Arizona State) were facing a daunting deficit. Southern California had won two of the three completed matches and the Cardinal's Albane Valenzuela was 1-up on individual champion Monica Vaughn with one hole to go.
But US Curtis Cup team player Vaughn nearly holed a 30-yard pitch on No. 18 when play resumed, and her subsequent birdie forced overtime. She then defeated Valenzuela with a par on the 19th hole and Arizona State's Linnea Strom, who was all square with two holes to go when darkness fell, defeated Madeline Chou in 19 holes to clinch the decisive point.
"That was about the greatest shot I've ever hit in my life," Vaughn said of her pitch shot on No. 18. "I've hit that shot a couple times on that hole this week, so I knew what it would be like. I was just ready to go."
Earlier, Mehaffey, playing No. 1 for Arizona State, beat Andrea Lee 2 and 1.
The rally means Arizona State are in the team finals for the first time, while Stanford failed to make the finals for the first time since the women's format switched to match play in 2015.
All five matches in Northwestern's battle with Southern California were still on the course when play resumed Wednesday morning, but the Trojans led in four of five tilts.
Sarah Cho earned the first point for the Wildcats, and Hannah Kim soon followed after flipping her match against Robynn Ree to build a 2-0 lead.
USC notched the next two points, meaning the match between Northwestern's Janet Mao and USC's Gabriella Then would decide it. Mao won the 18th hole to force extras, then won the match when Then left a 10-foot par attempt one roll short on the first extra hole.
This marks the first finals appearance for Northwestern, which is playing this week a short drive from its Evanston, Illinois campus.
"They had an energy this morning and an aura about them that they just felt like they still had some fight in them," said Northwestern coach Emily Fletcher.
The team final will begin at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday and will be broadcast live on Golf Channel.
RESULTS OF SEMI-FINALS
Stanford 2, Arizona State 3
Northwestern 3, Southern California 2
Arizona State University, whose line-up includes GB and I Vagliano Trophy team selection Olivia Mehaffey, a freshman from Northern Ireland, and Northwestern University both rallied to win their semi-final matches at the NCAA Women's Golf Championship and set up an unexpected showdown in Wednesday's final.
When darkness halted play Tuesday evening at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club, the Sun Devils (Arizona State) were facing a daunting deficit. Southern California had won two of the three completed matches and the Cardinal's Albane Valenzuela was 1-up on individual champion Monica Vaughn with one hole to go.
But US Curtis Cup team player Vaughn nearly holed a 30-yard pitch on No. 18 when play resumed, and her subsequent birdie forced overtime. She then defeated Valenzuela with a par on the 19th hole and Arizona State's Linnea Strom, who was all square with two holes to go when darkness fell, defeated Madeline Chou in 19 holes to clinch the decisive point.
"That was about the greatest shot I've ever hit in my life," Vaughn said of her pitch shot on No. 18. "I've hit that shot a couple times on that hole this week, so I knew what it would be like. I was just ready to go."
Earlier, Mehaffey, playing No. 1 for Arizona State, beat Andrea Lee 2 and 1.
The rally means Arizona State are in the team finals for the first time, while Stanford failed to make the finals for the first time since the women's format switched to match play in 2015.
All five matches in Northwestern's battle with Southern California were still on the course when play resumed Wednesday morning, but the Trojans led in four of five tilts.
Sarah Cho earned the first point for the Wildcats, and Hannah Kim soon followed after flipping her match against Robynn Ree to build a 2-0 lead.
USC notched the next two points, meaning the match between Northwestern's Janet Mao and USC's Gabriella Then would decide it. Mao won the 18th hole to force extras, then won the match when Then left a 10-foot par attempt one roll short on the first extra hole.
This marks the first finals appearance for Northwestern, which is playing this week a short drive from its Evanston, Illinois campus.
"They had an energy this morning and an aura about them that they just felt like they still had some fight in them," said Northwestern coach Emily Fletcher.
The team final will begin at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday and will be broadcast live on Golf Channel.
RESULTS OF SEMI-FINALS
Stanford 2, Arizona State 3
Northwestern 3, Southern California 2
Labels: Student golf, US COLLEGES
posted by Gillian |
See story on its own page | 7:32:00 pm
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