NCAA Women’s Golf: Arizona State Tops Northwestern to Take National Championship
The semifinals winning putt in sudden death on hole No. 1. (Photos by Rick Nagel)
10PM UPDATE NCAA Women’s Golf: Arizona State Tops Northwestern
SOURCE: Golf Channel
Arizona State defeated Northwestern, 3 1/2 to 1 1/2, to win the team title at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship.
After a pair of dramatic semifinal matches, the final was relatively drama-free as the Sun Devils built an early lead and cruised from there at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club in Sugar Grove. This is Arizona State’s eighth team title and first since 2009.
Olivia Mehaffey notched the first point for Arizona State, winning the opening match, 4 and 3, over Northwestern’s Sarah Cho. That result was quickly followed by Roberta Liti’s romp over Janet Mao, 5 and 4, to put the Sun Devils on the precipice of a national championship.
NCAA Division I National Championships: Golf Channel Articles and Videos
Northwestern needed to win each of the remaining three matches to turn the tide, and the Wildcats got their first point when Kacie Komoto beat ASU’s Sophia Zeeb, 3 and 1. But with the Sun Devils needing only one more point, Linnea Strom notched the decisive point when she closed out Stephanie Lau, 5 and 3, in the anchor match.
“It’s been such a good week. I don’t even know how to explain it,” Strom said. “We have been working so hard for this, ever since August. Every practice, every workout, all we have been talking about is this moment right here. We wanted to win the national championship, and today we did.”
Monica Vaughn, who won the individual title on Monday and helped spark the ASU comeback in their semifinal match against Stanford, was on the 19th hole when Strom recorded the team’s third victory. Her match with Northwestern’s Hannah Kim was deemed a draw to provide the final scoring margin.
Northwestern had advanced to match play for the first time since the women’s format switched in 2015 and was in search of the program’s first national title.
12:26PM UPDATE: Northwestern, Arizona State Charge Into Finals
If there’s been rain or cold the past week at Rich Harvest Farms, the Northwestern Wildcats can’t feel it. That’s because for the first time in the team’s history, the Wildcats women’s golf team has advanced to the finals of the NCAA golf championships.
The Wildcats will face off against the No. 3 seeded Arizona State Sun Devils this afternoon in the final matches for the national championship. Tee off time is 2:10 p.m. Golf Channel coverage begins at 3 p.m. CST.
Both teams won in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion.
Northwestern Defeats South Cal
The No. 1 seeded Wildcats defeated the University of Southern Cal 3-2 after trailing in four of the five matches held over from Tuesday.
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.
But 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 she got up and down from a greenside bunker and Then left a 10-foot par attempt one roll short on the first extra hole.
“I knew if I fought, I could get it back,” Moa said. “I think having the weather delay, being able to sleep on it and come out this morning was a fresh start.”
“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.
Arizona State Defeats Stanford
In the morning matches, Arizona State closed out the Stanford Cardinals to advance to the finals at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.
When darkness halted play Tuesday evening at Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club, the Sun Devils were facing a daunting deficit. USC had won two of the three completed matches and the Cardinal’s Albane Valenzuela was 1-up on individual champ Monica Vaughn with one hole to go.
But 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.”
CREDIT: Golf Channel
FINALS MATCHUPS
Northwestern Vs. Arizona State
- 2:10 p.m. — Sarah Cho Vs. Olivia Mehaffey
- 2:20 p.m. — Hannah Kim Vs. Monica Vaughn
- 2:30 p.m. — Kacie Komoto Vs. Sophia Zeeb
- 2:40 p.m. — Janet Mao Vs. Roberta Liti
- 2:50 p.m. — Sephanie Lau Vs. Linnea Strom
(CREDIT: Arizona State)
