Tag: Lauren Walsh

Wake Forest changed its practice, preparation and play style, and in return it won the first NCAA Women’s Golf Championship in school history

It’s the first title for the Wake Forest women’s golf team in program history. 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Emilia Migliaccio thought her college golf playing days were over.

She played four years for the Wake Forest women’s team but earned her bachelor’s and had entered a two-year graduate program. She remained around the team and coach Kim Lewellen often.

One day, Migliaccio went to her coach and told her about a dream she had. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Migliaccio still had a year of eligibility she could use. 

That dream? To play college golf again. 

She told Lewellen, who remembers a different version of the story. Migliaccio was a teacher’s assistant, but Lewellen said she knew Migliaccio didn’t love it. She saw a moment of weakness in her player.

“I’ve got a spot for you if you want it.”

Migliaccio accepted. And now, she’s a national champion.

Wake Forest captured its first women’s golf national title in school history Wednesday at Grayhawk Golf Club, and Migliaccio put the first point on the board against USC. The Demon Deacons won 3-1 and dominated from the first hole. 

“I was craving the feeling to be nervous again on the first tee,” Migliaccio said. “That’s why I play college golf. That’s why I love it. That’s why I’m not turning professional because I realized this is what I love to do.”

Migliaccio, who get married in a month, has a centerpiece for her wedding table, something teammate Rachel Kuehn has planned for some time.

Migliaccio was in the first match off Wednesday afternoon, and she took a 1 up lead after the first hole and never turned back, beating Cindy Kou 4 and 2. 

During Wake Forest’s first tournament this season at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Lewellen said Migliaccio was like an extra coach on the course. However, she wasn’t the only experienced Demon Deacon on the roster.

There were also seniors Lauren Walsh and Kuehn, who earned the other two points to clinch the championship. Kuehn, in a star-powered matchup against USC’s Amari Avery, won 6 and 4. Walsh captured the title on the 16th green, beating Brianna Navarrosa with a 3-and-2 victory. 

“These three have played at extremely high levels,” Lewellen said. “They’ve played on Curtis Cups, they’ve played on Palmer Cups, they’ve played in (U.S. Women’s) Opens, they’ve played in U.S. Ams. 

“They’ve played at extremely high levels and extreme pressure and turned it into a positive. That’s what made this team so special.”

There was also maturity in the team. Wake Forest has had disappointing finishes the last couple years at Grayhawk. Last year, it didn’t make the 15-team cut after Sunday’s third round of stroke play. In 2019 at Blessings Golf Club, Lewellen and Migliaccio came up short in the championship match.

The Demon Deacons overhauled their schedule. They made an effort to get more familiar with playing desert golf. The elevation and temperature and conditions. They changed how they practiced. They changed their mindset. 

“We tailored our practices not to the next tournament but tailored them to what do we need to do to win the national championship,” Kuehn said. “To come back and get some revenge on this golf course and on the field was really nice.”

USC freshman Catherine Park, who finished runner-up in the individual competition, earned the Trojans’ lone point, a 3 and 1 win against Carolina Lopez-Chacarra.

However, that was the lone shining moment for USC. 

Not only did Migliaccio win her first hole, so did Walsh and Kuehn. By the seventh hole, Walsh was 5 up. At the turn, Kuehn was 3 up. Migliaccio birdied the 14th and 15th holes to take a commanding 3 up lead with three to play.

Migliaccio gave credit after the match to Mimi Rhodes, a junior who was pivotal to Wake forest’s success during the grueling six days in the desert. Rhodes was 2 up with two to play and a birdie putt on the 17th green when Walsh clinched the title on the 16th green. 

“I’m just so proud of her,” Migliaccio said of Rhodes. 

Wake Forest changed its mindset coming into the season. It was championship or bust. The Demon Deacons changed how they prepared, practiced and played. And it paid off. 

“The past two years, everything happens for a reason,” Kuehn said. “And if it took the last two years to get us where we are today, it was all worth it.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

ANNIKA Award: First spring watch list for 2022-23 women’s college golf Player of the Year

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.

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual

ANNIKA Award: Final fall watch list for 2022-23 women’s college golf season

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.

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual

Wake Forest captures 2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate with late birdie barrage; Virginia’s Amanda Sambach wins individual title

It’s Wake Forest’s second win at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate.

LAKE ELMO, Minn. – There was a constant theme at Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis all week during the 2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate.

Survive the front nine, attack the back nine. And that’s what the Wake Forest women’s golf team did.

The No. 3 Demon Deacons trailed by six shots entering the final round, but they dominated both sides of the golf course and finished strong with a late birdie barrage to capture the ANNIKA Intercollegiate on a windy afternoon outside Minneapolis. Wake Forest had contributions from every member of its lineup, finishing at 6-under 858 for the week, but Wednesday’s 3-under 285 was enough to propel the Demon Deacons to their second ANNIKA Intercollegiate title, the first coming in 2019.

“You’re always comfortable when you have a lead, but we’ve got a bunch of really good teams here, so we just had to stick to the game plan,” Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen said. “We’ve got a lot of veterans, and they’re used to being in this position.”

ANNIKA Intercollegiate: Scores

Rachel Kuehn helped cap the victory for Wake Forest. She birdied her final three holes, finishing at 1 under for the day and even-par 216 for the tournament, which was a tie for 10th. Lauren Walsh also birdied the closing par-5, and she finished in a tie for second at 7-under 209.

Emilia Migliaccio shot a 2-over 74 on Wednesday but finished in a tie for 10th, as well. Carolina Lopez-Chacarra was 4 under on the front nine and finished at 2 under and tied for 19th in the tournament.

The group effort culminated in Wake Forest’s first win of the season

“Now we will continue to learn and continue to get better,” Lewellen said. “It’s a cliche and you hear it a lot but these players are good and but they’re always striving to be better. So I think if we just stick with trying to get better each day, enjoy this victory, but get back to work tomorrow.

For a short while, Texas tied Wake Forest for the team lead at 2 under, when Bohyun Park got up and down from a greenside bunker for birdie on 18. Park finished tied with Walsh for second, and Texas ended in second as a team at 2-under 862.

Virginia, which led after the first two rounds, shot 8 over during the final round and finished in third, one shot behind the Longhorns. South Carolina and Duke finished in a tie for fourth at 1-over 855.

The Cavaliers aren’t going home empty handed, though. Sophomore Amanda Sambach went wire-to-wire and won her first collegiate tournament, finishing at 9-under 207. She was overcome with emotion when walking off the 18th green and into the trophy presentation, but the win was a culmination of perseverance and self-belief.

“It means everything,” Sambach said. “My game has come so far. I hadn’t seen much improvement over the past couple tournaments or years, and now I see all of my work finally pay off.”

Sambach shot 2 over in the final round, one she admitted was a grind. She had a one-shot lead when standing on the final tee box, but she chipped within two feet of the hole on the par-5 and had an easy birdie putt, her 15th of the week, tied with Walsh for the most among all players.

2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate
Virginia’s Amanda Sambach with Annika Sorenstam after winning the 2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate at the Royal Golf Club in Elmo, Minnesota. (Photo: Taylor Britton/ANNIKA Foundation)

Duke’s Phoebe Brinker had five birdies in the final round and shot 3-under 69, which tied for low round of the day. Brinker finished solo fourth and 6 under for the tournament. Florida’s Annabell Fuller also shot 3 under in the final round and tied for fifth with South Carolina’s Mathilde Claisse and Hannah Darling, who each shot 2-over 74 on Wednesday.

When Sambach drained the final putt, her teammates rushed the green and soaked her with water. Then, Annika Sorenstam, the tournament’s namesake, was there to congratulate her.

“It’s insane. First of all, just to win with a tournament that has her name on it, but to have her here in person is unbelievable,” Samback said. “She’s literally the GOAT.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Wake Forest, South Carolina make a move, but Virginia remains out front after second round of ANNIKA Intercollegiate

Virginia is looking to clinch the victory come Wednesday.

LAKE ELMO, Minn. – Lauren Walsh stepped to the tee knowing she had a special round going.

The senior for Wake Forest knew the closing stretch at Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis provided multiple birdie opportunities. A short par 4. Two par 5s. After birdieing five of her past six holes, Walsh had an opportunity to go even lower.

“I made bogey on 15, which was plenty frustrating,” Walsh said while cracking a smile, “and then I missed a short birdie putt on 16. so I was determined to birdie one of the last two.”

And she did just that, bringing a loud cheer from her three teammates sitting greenside.

Walsh fired a 6-under 66, tied for low round of the day, to help propel herself and Wake Forest up the leaderboard during Tuesday’s second round of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. The Demon Deacons, third in Golfweek‘s preseason women’s college team rankings, moved up four spots to second on the team leaderboard after a 9-under performance but still trail Virginia heading to Wednesday’s final round. Walsh sits tied for second place at 5 under for the tournament, and Emilia Migliaccio shot 4 under on the day and moved up to 2 under overall.

ANNIKA Intercollegiate: Score

“Today gives us a lot of confidence moving forward,” Walsh said “We’ve all worked hard on our games over the summer at home. To come back together and see some good scores is always good.”

2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate
The 2022-23 Wake Forest women’s golf team at the 2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate. (Photo: Taylor Britton, ANNIKA Foundation)

Wake Forest at one point was in a three-way tie for first with Virginia and South Carolina, which won last season’s tournament. But the Demon Deacons teed off before the Cavaliers and Gamecocks, and there was plenty of leaderboard shuffling before the conclusion of the second round.

Royal Golf Club played almost two strokes easier during the second round Tuesday compared to the first round. The five most difficult holes come on the front nine through two rounds, according to Golfstat. Meanwhile, of the six holes playing under par, four come on the back nine, with three of the four being Nos. 15, 17 and 18.

Virginia finished strong, as it leads following the second straight round at 9 under, six strokes ahead of Wake Forest. Sophomore Amanda Sambach, who shot 7-under 65 in the first round, is at 11 under for the tournament after a second-round 4-under 68 that included birdies on three of her final four holes. She leads by six strokes in the individual competition.

“The team stayed really patient on the front,” Virginia coach Ria Scott said. “There’s a stretch of really challenging holes. They did a great job of sticking to what they were doing and waiting for the opportunities on the back.”

South Carolina fell back after holding the lead alone about halfway through the second round. Mathilde Claisse and Hannah Darling both moved into the top five on the leaderboard, as the duo are tied for second with Walsh. Claisse was 5 under on the day, and Darling tied Walsh for low round of the day at 6-under 66. The Gamecocks are at 2 under, one behind Wake Forest and seven behind Virginia.

Duke had a strong back nine and sits at even par, tied with Michigan for fourth. Phoebe Brinker had four birdies, including three straight, on the back nine and she’s tied for seventh on the leaderboard at 3 under. Freshman Andie Smith birdied six holes on her back nine and shot 3 under for the day.

Florida’s Maisie Filler also finished strong, making birdie on her final three holes to finish 5 under in the second round. Filler is at 3 under for the tournament, in a tie for seventh. Michigan’s Monet Chun and Texas’ Bohyun Park are tied for fifth at 4 under. Auburn’s Megan Schofill is tied for ninth with Migliaccio at 2 under, rounding out the top 10.

[listicle id=778294911]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College golf and COVID: Wake Forest’s Lauren Walsh on returning to school amid the pandemic

Wake Forest’s Lauren Walsh opens up on why she decided to return to school amid the pandemic, knowing she wouldn’t be playing fall golf.

With some conferences playing and others not, Golfweek is pulling back the curtain on this unique college golf season with first-hand journal entries from players and coaches across the country. First up is Wake Forest sophomore and Ireland native Lauren Walsh.

After the abrupt end to our spring season in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my head was left spinning. I decided to return to Ireland and in the beginning it was so nice to be back home. I got to spend a lot of time with my family, which is really important to me.

After a few weeks of strict lockdown, very little golf and some cold Irish weather, I knew I definitely wanted to come back to Wake Forest. I missed my friends, my team, the facility, and of course the good weather. I spent much of the summer hoping restrictions and travel bans would be lifted in order to allow me return. Every day I would wake up and check my phone to see if there were any more updates on travel, and eventually after a few weeks with the situation looking worse and worse I came to accept that I wouldn’t step back on campus until January.

I was fully convinced that I wouldn’t get back, so to say I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got word that I could return is an understatement. I was ecstatic. Once I figured out the logistics of the quarantine, I booked my flight and the countdown began.

I knew the ACC wouldn’t be playing fall golf, but for me, the decision to return was easy. I knew that if I came back to Wake there was no question that I would be better off. The facilities we have access to here are simply incredible. They are the best facilities a golfer could dream of and we are so fortunate to have the opportunity to train here every day.

The Wake Forest women’s golf team celebrates after winning the 2019 ANNIKA Intercollegiate. (Photo: Wake Forest Athletic Communications)

My team was another huge reason why I really wanted to come back. Both of our coaches, Kim Lewellen and Ryan Potter, create an amazing training environment for us that really drives us to get that little bit better every day. They bring incredible energy and enthusiasm to practice and this is something that I knew would help me improve and become a better player in these coming months. And when it came to the gym, I knew if I stayed at home I wouldn’t see the inside of a gym with the strict restrictions still in place. But if I came back to school not only would I have access to a gym for three sessions a week, I would be training alongside my teammates, pushing each other to get better. 

This semester definitely looks very different compared to last year. We now have our temperature checked every morning before using our athletic facilities and we are regularly monitoring our symptoms on an app on our phones. There are obviously a lot of other regulations on campus that we have to follow with masks and other protocols but it has honestly become the new normal. Besides all the new COVID-19 regulations, much of our day-to-day schedule still looks the same. We still have early morning workouts, then class (which is online for the most part), followed by practice. Then it’s eat, sleep and repeat! Time management is as important as ever for us. 

While not getting to compete this fall has been super frustrating, we as a team have really tried to make the most of the situation. We are trying our best to stay competitive, so one of my teammates and two members of our men’s team have started a regular Ryder Cup-style match. The teams are Rachel Kuehn and Parker Gillam (USA) against Alex Fitzpatrick and myself (Europe). Team Europe has been dominating so far in our matches and we don’t plan on letting up anytime soon.

Wake Forest’s Lauren Walsh reads the green during the second round of the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invite at the UNC Finley Golf Course on October 12, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film)

Our coaches are also really helping us keep competitive. They’ve organized mini-tournaments among our team on the weekends for us to play and compete. As a team we have a panel of 10 really strong and competitive players, with five of us ranked inside the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. So even though we are only competing against each other, it’s still some really tough competition. I think overall as a team we are dealing with this unique semester really well. We are all using this time to get better each day to work towards our own goals which all contributes to the goal of our team: winning a national championship.

So while it’s been disappointing and challenging that we’re not competing, we are making the most of the situation while staying positive – and most importantly – safe and healthy.

About Lauren Walsh

In her shortened freshman season due to the pandemic, the Kildare, Ireland, native was a consistent star for Wake Forest. Appearing in all seven events, she earned six top-25 finishes and was an honorable mention All-American for the Demon Deacons.

[jwplayer 7NBaZ2A0-vgFm21H3]