Check out who’s in the running for women’s college golfer of the year.
With every passing week, the women’s college golf season creeps closer to the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The ANNIKA Award announced Thursday its first spring watch list, featuring 15 of the best women’s college golfers this season. Rose Zhang, who captured the award as a freshman last season, is again having a stellar sophomore campaign, but there are plenty of others who are trying to claim the crown.
The ANNIKA Award honors the player of the year in college women’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel reporters.
Check out who’s in the running for women’s college golfer of the year.
As the fall season winds to a close, it’s time to recognize players who set themselves apart as frontrunners in women’s college golf over the past two and a half months.
Rose Zhang, who won the award as a freshman at Stanford last season, is off to an excellent start this year, but plenty of others are making their case early, like Andrea Lignell at Ole Miss, among many others.
The ANNIKA Award honors the player of the year in college women’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel reporters.
Here’s what you missed in the women’s college golf world.
Nebraska women’s golf coach Jeanne Sutherland nearly retired from college coaching.
Last year, she took a job as an associate head coach with the Cornhuskers after spending the better part of the past 30 years leading Texas A&M (1992-2007) and SMU (2011-21). Sutherland took over at Nebraska after Lisa Johnson, who led the Husker program the past three seasons, moved to Portland, Oregon, following her husband, John Johnson, who was named the athletic director at Portland State.
And now, Sutherland’s Nebraska women’s golf team is off to a terrific start to the 2022-23 season.
A week after finishing runner-up at the Green Wave Classic, three shots behind LSU, the Cornhuskers captured the Badger Invitational at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona, Wisconsin. Nebraska, which finished at 1-under 863, was the only team to finish under par for the tournament. It beat second-place Notre Dame and Old Dominion by 11 shots.
“These first couple of weeks have been awesome,” Sutherland said. “The girls have really come in and worked. Everything has fallen into place.”
Sutherland said the team learned a lot after its final round in Louisiana, and it was able to take those lessons and capitalize.
Freshman Kelli Ann Strand, who won in her first collegiate start last week, finished tied for fourth after a 5-under 67 in the final round. She was 3 under for the week. Miu Takahashi finished eighth at 1 under.
Rutgers senior Leigha Devine and Notre Dame sophomore Montgomery Ferreira tied for first at 7-under 209, setting a new 54-hole scoring record at the Badger Invitational. Devine also aced the par-3 12th hole during the second round.
Rutgers senior Leigha Devine after the 2022 Badger Invitational. (Photo: Wisconsin Athletics)
Six-year drought snapped
Ball State junior Kiah Parrott set numerous records en route to her first collegiate victory at the Brittany Kelly Cardinal Classic at The Players Club in Yorktown, Indiana.
What’s more, Parrott became the first Ball State golfer to win an individual title since 2017, and she set a 54-hole scoring record at 9-under 207, beating the old record by nine shots. She had 14 birdies in the tournament.
“Winning the tournament this week means the world, especially because it was our home tournament and the first home tournament I have gotten to play in,” Parrott said.
Loyola-Chicago picked up the team victory, and it was the first for coach Brandy Johnston, who came from Division III Carthage College in Wisconsin.
Wake wins again
Wake Forest collected its second win in as many weeks in come-from-behind fashion at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate at Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Demon Deacons shot 12 under in the final round and finished at 21-under 831 for the tournament, beating Central Florida by three shots. Virginia held the 36-hole lead and finished in third at 16-under 836.
UCF’s Tunrada Piddon shot 11-under 202 to win the individual competition, beating Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn and Tennessee’s Bailey Davis by one shot. Wake Forest’s Carolina Lopez-Chacarra finished a shot behind Kuehn and Davis at solo fourth.
More transfer news
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors recently made changes to the transfer portal, including opening and closing dates for specific sports. For men’s golf, the portal will open May 4, 2023, and close June 17 2023. For women’s golf, it will open April 27, 2023 and close June 10, 2023. There will also be a window for golfers to enter between Dec. 1-15, 2022.
Emilia Migliaccio is back for her fifth year at Wake Forest.
LAKE ELMO, Minn. – Emilia Migliaccio didn’t go far when her round ended.
Her eyes peered behind her at the green and down the fairway, closely watching her teammates Carolina Lopez-Chacarra and Rachel Kuehn. Migliaccio was the first person to greet both as they walked off the par-5 18th green after wrapping up their first round at the 2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate at Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis.
Last year at this time, Migliaccio wasn’t playing competitive golf. In the four years prior, she became a standout for the Wake Forest women’s golf team, claiming five individual titles and looking as if she was bound for a wonderful professional career. But last year, she stepped away from the game. She was in grad school at Wake Forest. But Migliaccio quickly realized she missed competitive golf.
So, using her fifth year because of COVID, she’s back with the Demon Deacons, and Monday was her first round back in team competition, firing a 2-over 74 that included a birdie on her final hole but also plenty of missed putts, leading her to the practice green near the clubhouse for a while as the sun set.
“I’ve been telling people going from the professional side, where you’re working, to going to be the athlete again where you can hang around and focus on golf and be all over the place, I feel more like a kid again,” Migliaccio said. “It’s kind of fun to feel that.
“Now, I just have to make some putts tomorrow.”
Migliaccio didn’t have first-tee jitters, saying it hasn’t felt like she took a year off. And she has played competitive golf in recent months, playing in the Curtis Cup in June and winning the North & South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 in July.
Yet the college team aspect is something she missed, and that’s why she wanted to be a part of the action well after her final putt dropped Monday.
“During the practice round, we felt like she hadn’t missed a beat,” Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen said. “We didn’t even remember that she wasn’t involved last year. The maturity that she has and the maturity that she has gained being a year older and with her commentating, writing and all of that, she has even learned more about the game.
“Everything that she has experienced is like having a third coach. It’s something that you can’t replace.”
Migliaccio’s return comes at a good time for the Demon Deacons, who are one of the preseason favorites to win the NCAA title. They check in at No. 3 on the Golfweek preseason women’s golf rankings. Along with Migliaccio, who is on the ANNIKA Award preseason watch list for women’s college golf Player of the Year, teammates Kuehn and Lopez-Chacarra also share that honor. The trio are also preseason All-Americans. Lauren Walsh is also expected to make a big impact.
Wake Forest sits tied for sixth after the opening round, but there’s no worry from Migliaccio or her teammates. She knows the season is a long process, but she’s looking forward to everything that’s to come.
“It’s playing for something more than yourself,” Migliaccio said. “It’s not just about myself and my shot. If I’m sacrificing a shot, I’m sacrificing one for the whole team. I’m playing smarter because I’m thinking about my coaches and other players. I don’t feel like a coach or anything. Obviously, I want to win and I want our team to win, but it’s all about how can we keep getting better so when postseason comes, we’re at the peak of our game.”
