Monday, May 21
Stillwater, OK
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USC is headed to the NCAA Championships match play bracket for the fourth year in a row, one of only two schools to do so.
Photo by: Paul Goldberg
USC Reaches NCAA Championships Match Play Bracket For Fourth Year In A Row
May 21, 2018 | Women's Golf, Features
Trojans finish third with final-round-best 5-under, led by Chang's 68.
Freshman Jennifer Chang fired a final-round 68 while freshmen Gabi Ruffels and Alyaa Abdulghany carded 1-under 71s as the No. 5 USC women's golf team finished third on the final day of the NCAA Championships stroke play at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., on Monday (May 21), clinching the program's fourth straight trip to the national eight-team match play bracket.
USC, in search of its fourth NCAA team title, turned in the low round of the day at 5-under 283 – its sixth-best NCAA Championship round ever – to finish at a combined 16-over 1168 (291-298-296-283), seven strokes back of UCLA and Alabama, which tied for first at 9-over 1161. Northwestern finished fourth (1173), Stanford fifth (1180), Duke sixth (1182), Kent State seventh (1184) and Baylor and Arizona tied for the final spot in eighth (1185).
"They played like veterans and I'm so proud of them," USC 22nd-year head coach Andrea Gaston said of a starting squad made up of four freshmen and a sophomore. "To come in with the low round at 5-under, which is a phenomenal round on this course, is tremendous. You really have to respect how difficult this course is, stay focused throughout the round, and position yourself so you can make the shots you need to.
"We had four new players to start the season and started out kind of teaching them the ropes and they've worked hard consistently throughout the season, everything from their training, to practices, it's just been something they've done all year long. I'm very proud of their efforts. They've made no excuses. They've listened, worked hard and deserve this."
The Trojans will face sixth-place finisher Duke in a re-match of the 2016 NCAA quarterfinals, which the Blue Devils won, with tee times starting at 5 a.m. PT. The other match beginning at 5 a.m. will pit No. 2 seed and top-ranked Alabama against No. 7 seed Kent State. No. 1 seed UCLA will face the winner of the playoff between Baylor and Arizona starting at 5:50 a.m. PT while No. 4 seed Northwestern, which defeated USC in the semifinals last year, will take on No. 5 seed Stanford.
USC, which is 2-3 in NCAA match play contests, and Stanford are the only teams to reach the NCAA match play in each of the four years since it was added to determine the national champion.
Chang turned in her fourth round under 70 this year with a five-birdie day, including on 12, 14 and 15 during a 3-under back 9 to tie for 13th at 1-over 289 (72-75-74-68) for her seventh straight top 15 finish.
"Jennifer is a tremendous player and I think very gifted and talented," Gaston said. "Yesterday, I told her the way you swing it and with your decision making, there's no reason you can't shoot par or better out here. To see a 4-under today, I'm really proud."
Sophomore Allisen Corpuz (72-74-74-73) and Abdulghany (76-73-73-71) tied for 27th at 5-over 283. For Corpuz, it was her 11th finish in the top 26 this season. She closed with a 2-under back 9 and just missed another birdie on 18. It was Abdulghany's ninth top 26 finish and her lowest round since March 26.
Ruffels tied for 38th at 8-over 296 (74-76-75-71), tying her second-lowest round of the season today with a consistent performance that saw birdies on 4 and 11 and only one bogey on 17.
Freshman Amelia Garvey rounded it out for the Trojans, tying for 71st at 23-over 311 (73-78-79-81). Garvey, whose first-round score was a counter for USC, birdied 9 and 18.
"We've got to regroup now," Gaston said. "We're through and it's like a new goal. We've made it, I know a lot of people didn't think we'd make it, but we not only got here but finished strong. Now we have to go into match play and face a very talented Duke team we know very well."
USC, in search of its fourth NCAA team title, turned in the low round of the day at 5-under 283 – its sixth-best NCAA Championship round ever – to finish at a combined 16-over 1168 (291-298-296-283), seven strokes back of UCLA and Alabama, which tied for first at 9-over 1161. Northwestern finished fourth (1173), Stanford fifth (1180), Duke sixth (1182), Kent State seventh (1184) and Baylor and Arizona tied for the final spot in eighth (1185).
"They played like veterans and I'm so proud of them," USC 22nd-year head coach Andrea Gaston said of a starting squad made up of four freshmen and a sophomore. "To come in with the low round at 5-under, which is a phenomenal round on this course, is tremendous. You really have to respect how difficult this course is, stay focused throughout the round, and position yourself so you can make the shots you need to.
"We had four new players to start the season and started out kind of teaching them the ropes and they've worked hard consistently throughout the season, everything from their training, to practices, it's just been something they've done all year long. I'm very proud of their efforts. They've made no excuses. They've listened, worked hard and deserve this."
The Trojans will face sixth-place finisher Duke in a re-match of the 2016 NCAA quarterfinals, which the Blue Devils won, with tee times starting at 5 a.m. PT. The other match beginning at 5 a.m. will pit No. 2 seed and top-ranked Alabama against No. 7 seed Kent State. No. 1 seed UCLA will face the winner of the playoff between Baylor and Arizona starting at 5:50 a.m. PT while No. 4 seed Northwestern, which defeated USC in the semifinals last year, will take on No. 5 seed Stanford.
USC, which is 2-3 in NCAA match play contests, and Stanford are the only teams to reach the NCAA match play in each of the four years since it was added to determine the national champion.
Chang turned in her fourth round under 70 this year with a five-birdie day, including on 12, 14 and 15 during a 3-under back 9 to tie for 13th at 1-over 289 (72-75-74-68) for her seventh straight top 15 finish.
"Jennifer is a tremendous player and I think very gifted and talented," Gaston said. "Yesterday, I told her the way you swing it and with your decision making, there's no reason you can't shoot par or better out here. To see a 4-under today, I'm really proud."
Sophomore Allisen Corpuz (72-74-74-73) and Abdulghany (76-73-73-71) tied for 27th at 5-over 283. For Corpuz, it was her 11th finish in the top 26 this season. She closed with a 2-under back 9 and just missed another birdie on 18. It was Abdulghany's ninth top 26 finish and her lowest round since March 26.
Ruffels tied for 38th at 8-over 296 (74-76-75-71), tying her second-lowest round of the season today with a consistent performance that saw birdies on 4 and 11 and only one bogey on 17.
Freshman Amelia Garvey rounded it out for the Trojans, tying for 71st at 23-over 311 (73-78-79-81). Garvey, whose first-round score was a counter for USC, birdied 9 and 18.
"We've got to regroup now," Gaston said. "We're through and it's like a new goal. We've made it, I know a lot of people didn't think we'd make it, but we not only got here but finished strong. Now we have to go into match play and face a very talented Duke team we know very well."
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