Wednesday, October 31
Atlanta, GA
All Day
USC
vs
East Lake Cup
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
No. 1 USC Repeats As East Lake Cup Champs, Wins Third Straight Overall
October 31, 2018 | Women's Golf, Features
Gabriela Ruffels clinches Trojan victory with 2&1 anchor win.
The No. 1 USC women's golf team, featuring a four-sophomore, one-freshman lineup, played like veterans today, coming from behind to defeat Stanford, 3-2, to win the 2018 East Lake Cup title for the second year in a row on Wednesday (Oct. 31) at the East Lake G.C. in Atlanta.
The Trojans, who also defeated the Cardinal, 3-2, in the final last year, also captured their third straight tournament on the season, a feat they last pulled off during the 2018 spring season.
"It's been really good so far," USC Head Coach Justin Silverstein said on the fall season, his first as head coach at Troy. "We have a lot of depth and a good group. All of our wins are team wins and everyone plays their part. As a staff, that's what we want to see."
The match came down to sophomore Gabriela Ruffels, who was in the anchor spot against Stanford All-American Andrea Lee.
Ruffels trailed by two after eight holes and by one through 12 before squaring the match on 13. She took her first lead on 16 and clinched her match and the team title with a par on 17.
"I knew on 16 before my chip it was going to come down to my match," Ruffels said. "I really wanted it for my team and I'm happy we were able to get it done."
Said Silverstein: "Winning an event like this is even more special when the entire lineup contributes. As was the case with our win at Stanford, we got production from 1-5 in our lineup."
Stanford took the early lead as Albane Valenzuela defeated Trojan sophomore Jennifer Chang, 6&4, in the leadoff match. The pair squared the first four holes, but Valenzuela led the rest of the match.
Freshman Malia Nam bounced back from Tuesday's loss to put USC's first point on the board with a 3&1 win over Stanford's Ziyi Wang. Nam never trailed in the match, leading by a hole at the turn but didn't lead by three holes until closing out the match on 17.
Cardinal Mika Liu put Stanford back on top with a 4&3 win over sophomore Amelia Garvey. Garvey was only down two holes at the turn, but couldn't mount a comeback.
Sophomore Alyaa Abdulghany, for the second match in a row, never trailed, though was square through eight holes. She took a three-hole lead through 13 holes, saw the advantage trimmed to one on 15, but her putter heated up on 16 and 17 as she defeated Aline Krauter, 2&1. Her win evened the match, setting up Ruffels' clincher.
Abdulghany improves to 6-2-1 in collegiate match play. Garvey is now 5-2, Ruffels 5-1-1, Chang is 3-4 and Nam 1-1. Chang may have had the toughest matchups, squared up against Duke's and Alabama's No. 1 players in last season's NCAA Championships, falling by one hole to each, in addition to today's match.
The Trojans, who also defeated the Cardinal, 3-2, in the final last year, also captured their third straight tournament on the season, a feat they last pulled off during the 2018 spring season.
"It's been really good so far," USC Head Coach Justin Silverstein said on the fall season, his first as head coach at Troy. "We have a lot of depth and a good group. All of our wins are team wins and everyone plays their part. As a staff, that's what we want to see."
The match came down to sophomore Gabriela Ruffels, who was in the anchor spot against Stanford All-American Andrea Lee.
Ruffels trailed by two after eight holes and by one through 12 before squaring the match on 13. She took her first lead on 16 and clinched her match and the team title with a par on 17.
"I knew on 16 before my chip it was going to come down to my match," Ruffels said. "I really wanted it for my team and I'm happy we were able to get it done."
Said Silverstein: "Winning an event like this is even more special when the entire lineup contributes. As was the case with our win at Stanford, we got production from 1-5 in our lineup."
Stanford took the early lead as Albane Valenzuela defeated Trojan sophomore Jennifer Chang, 6&4, in the leadoff match. The pair squared the first four holes, but Valenzuela led the rest of the match.
Freshman Malia Nam bounced back from Tuesday's loss to put USC's first point on the board with a 3&1 win over Stanford's Ziyi Wang. Nam never trailed in the match, leading by a hole at the turn but didn't lead by three holes until closing out the match on 17.
Cardinal Mika Liu put Stanford back on top with a 4&3 win over sophomore Amelia Garvey. Garvey was only down two holes at the turn, but couldn't mount a comeback.
Sophomore Alyaa Abdulghany, for the second match in a row, never trailed, though was square through eight holes. She took a three-hole lead through 13 holes, saw the advantage trimmed to one on 15, but her putter heated up on 16 and 17 as she defeated Aline Krauter, 2&1. Her win evened the match, setting up Ruffels' clincher.
Abdulghany improves to 6-2-1 in collegiate match play. Garvey is now 5-2, Ruffels 5-1-1, Chang is 3-4 and Nam 1-1. Chang may have had the toughest matchups, squared up against Duke's and Alabama's No. 1 players in last season's NCAA Championships, falling by one hole to each, in addition to today's match.
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