The Ducks saw the season come to an end on Monday, finishing in 15th at the NCAA Championships.
The Oregon Ducks men’s golf team saw the spring season come to an end on Monday afternoon, stopping just shy of a birth in the matchplay round of the NCAA Championship, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Ducks got into the final day of the stroke play event thanks to a strong finish on Sunday and some good fortune that saw them squeak into the top-15 in the field. However, a slow start on Monday stopped Oregon from getting into the quarterfinals.
Oregon entered the day needing to make up 10 strokes in order to get into the top-8 in the field and earn a spot in the matchplay bracket. Instead, the Ducks finished the third round in 15th place, where they started, ending the tournament at 62-over.
“It was a tough way to finish, but we’re grateful to be able to play today and I think we learned a lot,” said Oregon coach Casey Martin, via GoDucks.com. “We just need to get a little better, and make it back and give it another run.”
The Ducks are in a good spot going into the 2023 season, where they will return all five players who competed at Grayhawk this spring. They also got another feather in the cap for the program, posting a top-15 finish for the 15th time in school history, according to Rob Moseley.
Arkansas track-and-field will head to Oregon looking for individual and team titles.
Arkansas track and field has been a national power for 30-plus years. This season, the Razorbacks will send 22 athletes to another national power, Oregon, for the outdoor national championships.
Twelve women and 10 men advanced to Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, for the meet June 8-11.
The star for Arkansas was Britton Wilson. She won the NCAA West Preliminaries in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.87 and she anchored the the fastest mile relay team in John McDonnell Field history (3:25.16). Morgan Burks-Magee, Rosey Effiong and Jada Baylark joined her on the team while Effiong also qualified in the 400 meters and Baylark did the same in the 100.
On the men’s side, Ayden Owens-Delerme and Daniel Spejcher qualified in the decathalon despite not having to compete in the Prelims. Amon Kemoboi qualified in the 10,000 and 5,000 meters.
ARKANSAS WOMEN
Events, Athletes
Jada Baylark – 100 meters
Morgan Burks Magee – 400 meters
Rosey Effiong – 400 meters
Krissy Gear – 1,500 meters
Isabel Van Camp – 5,000 meters
Lauren Gregory – 5,000 meters
Lauren Greogy – 10,000 meters
Yoveinny Mota – 100-meter hurdles
Britton Wilson – 400-meter hurdles
Logan Jolly – 3,000-meter steeplechase
Burks-Magee, Effiong, Baylark, Wilson – 1,600-meter relay
Amanda Fassold – pole vault
Bailee McCorkle – pole vault
Mackenzie Hayward – pole vault
ARKANSAS MEN
Amon Kemboi – 5,000 meters
Kemboi – 10,000 meters
Patrick Kiprop – 10,000 meters
Tre-Bien Gilbert – 110-meter hurdles
Matthew Lewis-Blanks – 110-meter hurdles
Ayden Owens-Delerme, Brandon Battle, Jeremy Farr, James Milholen – 1,600-meter relay
Auburn’s fourth-place finish is the highest in program history.
Auburn gymnastics’ stellar season has come to an end.
The Tigers finished fourth overall in the NCAA gymnastics championship in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, with a final score of 197.3500. The No. 1 seeded Oklahoma Sooners took the championship with a 198.2000, SEC-rival Florida finished second with a 198.0875 and the Utah Utes placed third with a 197.7500. The fourth-place finish for Auburn is its highest in program history.
The Tigers started out the meet strong on the bars, with Olympic gold medalist [autotag]Sunisa Lee[/autotag] and senior [autotag]Derrian Gobourne[/autotag] both netting scores in the 9.9s to help Auburn start the day off with a score of 49.425, good for second place. Lee would go on to place second in the all-around for the event.
After that, though, the Tigers started to fall back. Auburn found itself in fourth place after some missteps on the beam, and the Oklahoma Sooners began their stellar charge that would end up bringing them home the championship. Lee scored a 9.9 to close out the beam, her second of three scores in the 9.9s on the day.
Lee would do even better in the floor rotation for Auburn’s third set, where her routine netted her a 9.95. Gobourne shined as well, scoring a 9.9375 herself as the final Tiger on the floor.
Auburn’s final rotation was on the vault, where junior [autotag]Cassie Stevens[/autotag] put in the team-best score on 9.9375. The Tigers would remain in fourth place, and the Sooners would clinch the gymnastics championship with their final rotation on the beam.
Auburn’s fourth-place finish, highest in the program’s history, is a major turnaround from posting a 1-7 record last season. The gymnastics team could face some tough departures, but it certainly has much to be proud of as this season concludes.
It was a good day for the Oregon men’s track team on Friday, though not quite as good as they hoped. The Ducks fell short of their ultimate goal of winning the NCAA Track and Field Championship, coming in second place behind LSU, but they did pick up three individual titles, continuing the excellence of track in Eugene.
Ironically, it was the second time in less than a week that the Ducks were bested by LSU, with the first coming on Monday night on the baseball diamond at the Eugene regional.
Middle-distance runner Cole Hocker started things off for Oregon, taking home the title in the 1,500 and continuing his reign over that distance. Hocker won the mile at the indoor championship and ran a personal record 3:35.35 to take home the trophy on Friday.
Inside of the track, Emmanuel Ihemeje was dominating the field and proving that he is among the best triple-jumpers that the Ducks have ever had. Ihemeje jumped 56 feet, 2 3/4 inches on his very first attempt, a distance that would stand at the very top until the end of the competition.
Ihemeje won Oregon’s first indoor triple-jump championship earlier this year, and now he holds the Ducks’ first outdoor title in that competition as well. Competing at the new and improved Hayward Field might have played a small part in the victory.
“Man, it’s such an amazing vibe and emotion in this new Hayward Field,” Ihemeje said, via The Register-Guard‘s Chris Hansen. “This is my biggest experience and doing a competition like an NCAA finals at home is such a pleasure for me and honor. I had to do my best to entertain the fans. … I hope they enjoyed the show.”
Another runner who was carried around the Bowerman Curve and spurred onto victory by the roars of Hayward Field was long-distance runner Cooper Teare. The Oregon senior used an incredible kick in the final 200 meters that saw him win the fastest 5,000-meter race in NCAA history, finishing in 13 minutes 12.27 seconds.
In all, the Ducks scored 53 team points in the competition, second only to LSU’s dominant 84 points.
The weekend of festivities is not yet over, with the women’s track team hoping to snag a spot on the podium as competition wraps up. Field events and the heptathlon will be streamed on ESPN3. Action on the track can be seen on ESPNU beginning at 3 p.m.
Matt Thurmond’s squad surged past Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to finish as the only team under par at Grayhawk Golf Club.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona State men’s golf team just needed to make match play, that means finishing in the top eight after 72 holes of the NCAA championship. But the Sun Devils weren’t content to just do that.
Coach Matt Thurmond’s squad surged past Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to finish atop the leaderboard after the stroke-play portion Monday at Grayhawk Golf Club. Now it is on to the match-play quarterfinals on Tuesday with ASU to face No. 8 North Carolina, beginning at 10:20 a.m. ET.
Other matches will feature No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Illinois, No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 3 Pepperdine vs. No. 6 Florida State.
Thurmond knows his team now has to focus on the next task.
“It feels great to be heading into match play.” Thurmond said. “People that say just getting to match play is everything probably didn’t finish first. It’s nice. It’s pretty cool to have beaten everybody for four days. It was hard but we had to earn every bit of it. It’s a good feeling but again, in about an hour it doesn’t matter because we’re going to play somebody who’s excited about taking down the No. 1 seed. And we don’t get a head start tomorrow.”
The Sun Devils started the day in third place, 14 strokes behind Oklahoma State and one behind Oklahoma. But ASU managed a team total of 5-under 275, the second-best score of the day behind the sizzling 9-under 271 from Pepperdine which leaped up six places into third.
Oklahoma State imploded to a 12-over 292 for a four-round total of 1,120 while Oklahoma, the top-ranked team in the country coming in, was 9-over 289 for a 1,130.
ASU boasted balance throughout its lineup with senior Chun An Yu posting a team-best 3-under 67 that came despite a bogey on No. 18 where he went from a bunker to the water. Yu was the fourth different Sun Devil to chalk up the low score of the day this week.
“Today I felt really good. This course plays tough so I was just trying to play smart, not trying to do anything too special. Just one shot at a time. I thought I did a good job today just hitting fairways and greens,” he said.
Three ASU players finished in the top 15, led by sophomore Ryggs Johnston who was third at 5-under 275, just two strokes behind medalist Turk Pettit of Clemson and one behind runner-up Bo Jin of Oklahoma State. Johnston, who had a 7-under 63 in the second round on Saturday, went into 18 one stroke off the lead but his tee shot bounced off the cart path and into a cart. He ended up with a bogey but still managed a 1-under 69 for the day.
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“I’m pretty proud of the way I handled myself today and the whole tournament,” Johnston said. “There were a lot of nerves out there throughout the whole thing. I thought I did really well taking care of that and played some really good golf this week.”
Cameron Sisk was also 1-under for the day, putting up a 72-hole total of 279 which tied him for eighth. He was the model of consistency with 17 pars and one birdie. Mason Andersen rounded out the scoring with an even par 70.
The Sun Devils were so good that the score not counting was a still respectable 2-over 72 from David Puig.
“A lot of teams would have loved to have had that score,” Thurmond said.
There were two holes-in-one in the fourth round, the first coming from Oklahoma’s Logan McAllister on the par 3, 205-yard No. 5 hole and the second coming from Tyson Reeder of Arkansas on the par 3, 188-yard No. 8 hole. That made three for the week with San Francisco’s Soren Lind acing the No. 5 hole in the first round.
Top eight finishers at NCAAs
1. Arizona State -3
2. Oklahoma State E
3. Pepperdine +5
4. Oklahoma +10
5. Illinois +14
6. Florida State +16
7. Vanderbilt +24
8. North Carolina +25
Match play matchups
1. Arizona State vs. 8. North Carolina
7:10 a.m., 1st tee
2. Oklahoma State vs. 7. Vanderbilt
6:20 a.m., 1st tee
3. Pepperdine vs. 6. Florida State
6:20 a.m., 10th tee
4. Oklahoma vs. 5. Illinois
7:10 a.m., 10th tee
Top individuals
1. Turk Pettit, Clemson -7
2. Bo Jin, Oklahoma State -6
3. Ryggs Johnston, Arizona State -5
4. Michael Feagles, Illinois -4
5. John Pak, Florida State -3
How ASU did
3. Ryggs Johnston, -5
T-8. Cameron Sisk, -1
T-13. Chun An Yu, +2
T-23. Mason Andersen, +4
T-54. David Puig, +12
Playing in her first NCAA Championship, freshman Rachel Heck earns medalist honors at Grayhawk Golf Club.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rachel Heck paused for a somber moment after she heard the name Victoria Pinckney on the first tee. On Friday, every player in field at the NCAA Championship played in memory of a fallen U.S. soldier. Air Force captain Pinckney, a 27-year-old mom, died in Kyrgyzstan while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Heck walked over to the starter to write down Pinckney’s name before she left the tee box. The Stanford freshman held a 5-shot lead going into the final round, but at this moment, her mind was far away from what was on the line. Heck joined the ROTC program at Stanford and hopes to serve in the Air Force Reserve while competing on the LPGA.
It was a battle, but Heck went on to win the NCAA Championship by a shot over UCLA’s Emma Spitz. Heck shot a final round 74 to finish at 8 under. She’s the first Cardinal to win medalists honors at the NCAAs. The Memphis product also became only the third player in history to sweep the postseason by winning conference, regionals and nationals. Annie Park did the same at USC in 2013 as a freshman. Arizona’s Marisa Baena became the first in 1996, also as a freshman. Both Heck and Park pulled off the trifecta in their first semester in school.
The upbeat Heck, 19, arrived on campus Feb. 13 after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the fall semester and promptly won six times in nine starts.
Some might wonder, what’s left to prove?
When Park dominated the postseason eight years ago, it looked like she might take a bullet train to the LPGA, and no one would’ve blamed her. There are examples of great players who seemingly stayed too long in school and spun their wheels. Some even got worse.
There are far, far more players, however, who turned pro too early and sputtered at the next level, joining the where-are-they-now heap.
What should Heck do?
The smile says it all: She’s having the time of her life.
Before Heck teed off on Monday, she walked over to teammate Angelina Ye and wrapped her up in a bear hug. Ye was in second place and playing in the group ahead.
“I’ll be cheering from behind,” Heck told her.
Stanford golfer Rachel Heck tees off on the 11th hole during the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Photo by Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports
The team before self is genuine with Heck, who lives it out every day in ROTC training. It’s at her core, and it seems that no amount of success this semester can tempt her away from Stanford life.
Loyalty runs deep in her veins.
Heck is writing a story is bound to transcend sports media let alone golf. No woman has ever served in the military reserves while competing on the LPGA. Sponsors should line up to be a part of Heck’s story, to help spread a wholesome message of service, sacrifice and excellence.
It’s hard to quantify exactly how much Heck’s passion for ROTC has freed her up to play such remarkable golf. The quest to become the best player in the world is no longer all-consuming for her.
One thing is certain, it’s an important message for parents of young players everywhere.
Encourage the pursuit of other passions. Think long-term. Don’t pressure your kid.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Three strokes. That’s all that separates Maryland from making the 54-hole cut at the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship.
The Terrapins are first-timers here. Not just to the NCAA Championships but to Arizona itself. Five international players whose tournament schedule never took them west of Texas.
“I feel like we’re a little starstuck,” said head coach Diana Cantu, “even though they’re good enough.”
The Terps were first off on Friday morning, when conditions were calm and scoring was ripe in the desert, and they didn’t take advantage. On Saturday afternoon, they were nine strokes better in menacing wind that, at times, could knock a person off-balance. They’ll need more of that grit on Sunday when the field is cut to the top 15 teams. Maryland currently sits in 19th, three shots back of South Carolina and Michigan, who are tied for 14th at 24-over 600.
So much attention at the NCAA regional at Baton Rouge went to the 12 teams who never hit a shot to advance.
NCAA officials scrapped competition all three days due to weather, with committee representative Brad Hurlbut, the Director of Athletics at Fairleigh Dickinson, controversially declaring that the course was playable, but “not playable at a championship level.”
The top six seeds automatically advanced. Maryland was seeded fifth.
Public outcry was so loud that Barstool Sports stepped up to run the Let Them Play Classic earlier this week at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, a last-minute home run for the heartbroken.
But it wasn’t easy for her team either, Cantu noted.
“They wanted to be here in a different way,” said Cantu.
“They still had such a strong season that they deserve it, they just didn’t envision it that way. … They’re so into social media and it just blew up so much. I think that was hard for them a couple days.”
Cantu believes they’ve moved past it now.
The Maryland Terrapins women’s golf team poses for a photo at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, site of the 2021 NCAA Championships. Photo by Maryland
On Monday, top eight teams after 72 holes of stroke play will advance to match play at Grayhawk Golf Club. Mississippi, LSU and Oregon also advanced out of Baton Rouge and are currently 7, 8, and T-9, respectively in Scottsdale.
Maryland, ranked 20th by Golfweek/Sagarin, placed in the top three in all seven tournaments they played this spring. The team disbanded last March after the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and didn’t reunite until January.
Cantu worried about the time apart might impact them. She couldn’t be happier with how they came back firing. It helped too that in several events the Terps were grouped together because of COVID protocols. Cantu said those rounds were especially key in helping them to understand the importance of their attitudes, momentum and energy within the team.
Before Xiaolin Tian, now a graduate student, came to Maryland from China, the Terps were ranked well outside the top 100. That’s part of the pitch Cantu makes when selling her program to recruits: Come to a place that you can leave better than you found it.
“They’re setting such a high standard,” she said.
Maryland set an 18-hole record score of 278 this spring and senior Virunpat Olankitkunchai set a new individual tournament scoring mark of 11 under. She’s currently ranked 24th in the country.
“I don’t ever really stop and pause and realize what we’ve done,” said Cantu. “I’m a go, go, go what’s next person. What we’ve accomplished in year like this, I think it’s outstanding.”
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Saturday was indeed moving day for the Stanford women’s golf team.
Making the most of the calmer morning conditions at Grayhawk Golf Club, the Cardinal posted a 10-under round to zoom up the leaderboard and take over the top spot after two days of the 2021 Division I NCAA Championships.
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t look at leaderboards,” Stanford head coach Anne Walker said after her team shot 10 under to get to 7 under overall. “I believe in my team and I know that at every turn they’re giving it the best they’ve got and me looking at leaderboards isn’t going to change that.”
Freshman standout Rachel Heck, ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, remains the individual leader after shooting a 67 for her 12th straight round in the 60s.
“They played great today. No surprise that Rachel is at 5 under [today] leading the way,” Walker said. Heck is at 8 under overall, five shots ahead of Duke’s Gina Kim and Louisville’s Lauren Hartlage.
Duke, who won the team title in 2019 and is the defending champion, is next at 3 under. Everyone else is over par. Texas is in third at 1 over. Florida State shot 3 under and moved into fourth at 7 over. Wake Forest is 9 over and in fifth place.
Oklahoma State (+10), Ole Miss (+11), LSU (+12) and Oregon and Arizona (+14) round out the top 10.
Coming together
Of the 24 teams in the field, Stanford had to deal with some of the more restrictive local health regulations due to COVID.
“We didn’t actually get our team to campus until, our first practice was Feb. 25 and we actually didn’t have a practice,” Walker said. “We just went straight into a 36-hole match with San Jose State and Cal, which was hilarious because our two freshman have never played the golf course. Rachel shot 78 and hasn’t looked back since that moment.”
In April, three players participated in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and a fourth Cardinal played in the ANA Inspiration. All four had to quarantine for seven days upon returning to Palo Alto and couldn’t practice during those seven days.
Dealing with adversity appears to have brought this Stanford team together.
“The message we kept hammering home with them was the journey is going to be different this year, but we have to believe the path will take us somewhere good and if we stay the course we’ll wind up in a good spot.”
Moving on up
South Carolina, the top-ranked team in the Golfweek/Sagarins, was in last place after the first day and despite shooting 24 shots better on Saturday, the Gamecocks were still in last for a good part of the morning at even par. As the wind picked up and more teams started their second rounds, they started climbing the leaderboard, ending the day 14th out of 24 teams.
South Carolina Gamecocks golfer Ana Pelaez hits on the 11th fairway during the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club. (Photo by Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)
“Yesterday was really rough, the wind kind of took a toll on us and got the best of us. Not the best day mentally,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson said. “Today was good, we had a good strong start, unfortunately just finished poorly coming in.
“We’re going to need a little help from the field. We just gotta hang in there and hopefully we get two more days to fight after the top eight.”
Playing a desert course in this championship adds another challenge for South Carolina.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to get our here because of COVID,” Anderson said. “We were pretty much locked down in the Southeast this year but it is a new experience. But it’s golf. It’s not an excuse by any means. It’s a good track and difficult and challenging.
Mixed reaction on substitution rule
In 2019, coaches were permitted to make substitutions at the NCAA Women’s Championship for the first time, but only in the match-play portion. Interestingly, none of the eight coaches who got a team in the bracket chose to use the rule.
Beginning this championship season, substitutions became permissible at any point during regionals and the national championship (provided the coach made the substitution between rounds). On Saturday, three teams – South Carolina, Michigan State and Ole Miss – made use of the modified rule.
South Carolina’s Anderson was one of those coaches who made a switch, subbing out Lois Kaye Go (87) for Pimnipa Panthong (90).
“In general, I’d probably leave my normal five in,” she said. “But right now, we got a little bit of movement in the fifth spot, got a couple people struggling in the 5th and 6th spot so I am doing some movement. It’s kind of nice to have that.
“I think as long as a championship as this is, it makes it interesting to have that sub. I wasn’t a big fan of it at the beginning but now I think it’s a pretty good idea.”
Arizona head coach Laura Ianello doesn’t plan to deploy the maneuver.
“I have the mindset that if I have to sub, it’s because one of my girls is either deathly ill or injured and cannot play. I’m not subbing out for poor performance,” she said. “But that’s my philosophy. I don’t want to change the chemistry. … You have to know your team chemistry, you have to know your culture, you have to know your team dynamics. I want these ladies to know that I trust them and I believe in them.
“I don’t want to cause more stress. Golf is stressful enough, golf is really freakin’ hard so, I want the least stressful environment as possible.”
“I’m not a fan of the substitute rule,” ASU coach Missy Farr-Kaye said. “I never have been. I think it’s a little dodgy. I know three teams subbed in today, I don’t know how it all went. I think some teams it might work really well. I think it’s really difficult. We have a sixth player that if someone got hurt or injured and had to go, we could put her in. She’s a very good player but if anybody feels that if they played poorly or if I’m not happy about something, I’m going to pull ’em, then it’s hard to give them that confidence and worry about what they’re going to do and who’s going to get pulled.
“Maybe some coaches use it brilliantly this week and more power to them but I haven’t gotten to where I really like it just yet.”
Even in the switch from stroke play to match play?
“Same thing. I’m not there yet.”
Up next
The third round starts Saturday at 6:30 a.m. local time with the top six teams on split tees, then the next six teams start at 7:30 a.m. on split tees. The afternoon wave starts at 11:30 a.m. with six teams on split tees. The final groups will go off split tees at 12:30 p.m.
At the end of the third round, the field will be cut to the top 15 teams.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A tough desert course was made tougher for the NCAAs. Add in a healthy dose of afternoon wind and Grayhawk Golf Club played like a beast on Friday in the opening round of the women’s national championship.
Most of the teams near the top of the leaderboard after Day 1 were those who played in the calmer morning conditions. Texas, which leads at 1 over, was among those who teed off at 6:30 a.m. local time. Oregon also started at 6:30 a.m. and posted a +2 round.
On the individual leaderboard, Rachel Heck, ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and fresh off medalist honors at the Pac-12 championships, shot the round of the day with a 3-under 69, the only player to break 70 and one of only four golfers to break par. She did that in the tough afternoon wind and with a thick, black brace on her right ankle.
“It was really dumb. I hurt my ankle playing basketball,” Heck said after her round. “But it’s fine. It was actually over Christmas, but yea, it’s fine. Just a bad sprain.”
It’s Heck’s 11th straight round in the 60s.
Thunderbird alums dot field
Kaitlyn Papp is second after shooting a 2-under 70. Oregon’s Briana Chacon sits in a tie for third at 1 under. Like Heck, Papp and Chacon and many others in the field are familiar with Grayhawk having played it a few times as juniors. The Raptor Course is home to the AJGA Thunderbird, one of the elite junior golf events every year which often attracts an international field.
“I think it plays very similar to the AJGA Thunderbird as far as the firm greens and it has a tendency to get windy out here,” said Papp, “It’s always hot, it’s desert golf. Brings back memories.”
“I know a lot of girls here played it,” said Heck. “It’s really cool to be back, we’re all in college now. It’s kind of nostalgic being back.”
Deep hole
South Carolina, the top-ranked team in women’s golf by Golfweek/Sagarin, seems to like to flirt with trouble.
The Gamecocks only escaped regionals by outlasting Arkansas in a playoff. Now, they find themselves dead last in the field of 24 after shooting 24 over. Paula Kirner had a 72 to lead South Carolina but Ana Pelaez shot a 76, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard shot an 81 while Mathilde Claisse had an 83.
Campus inspiration
The Arizona Wildcats shot 4 over to open their week and head coach Laura Ianello has her squad in a good spot after 18 holes, tied with Duke, Kent State and Wake Forest.
The Wildcats, whose campus is about 130 miles to the south, aren’t that familiar with Grayhawk.
“The first time we played it was April 29th, the day before the last day we could play. In the three weeks since we were here, it has changed tremendously,” she said, noting the thicker rough and slicker greens.
Ianello also said her Wildcats have been inspired by the recent run of the Arizona women’s basketball team, led by head coach Adia Barnes, which lost by one point to Stanford in the national title game, while energizing sports fans in Tucson along the way.
“Oh yea. Adia, her women’s team coming through COVID, with what they’ve gone through, the adversity this year and making it to the finals and of course, sadly, losing to Stanford,” Ianello said. “It was just so motivational for my team and my ladies. They’re good friends with a lot of the basketball players and they’re all so happy that they’re competing and so why not just compete for the championship.”
Home-team jitters
“I think my team felt that a little bit today,” ASU head coach Missy Farr-Kaye said when asked if her players felt any extra pressure being the host. “We had a lot of people on the first tee. We’re not used to that, and we had a lot of fans out, which is awesome. I think there’s a little bit of adjusting to that and being in the limelight with that.
“I keep telling them embrace it. Embrace that energy and that vibe of being home and seeing what we can do with it.”
The Sun Devils are going to have to do something with it starting Friday, as they are in 13th place at 12 over, four shots out of one of the coveted top eight spots.
“You have to grind,” said ASU fifth-year senior Olivia Mehaffey. “You have to fight for every single shot. You have to get through into the top 8 and then re-set and start again. It doesn’t matter where you’re seeded. I just told the girls, ‘We’re going to fight for every shot.'”
She added that the pressure of being the home team is nice.
“I think our girls quite like it. It’s nice having a lot of support out there.”
The top 10 teams
After the first round
Texas, 1 over
Oregon, 2 over
Stanford, 3 over
Arizona, 4 over
Kent State, 4 over
Duke, 4 over
Wake Forest, 4 over
LSU, 8 over
Ole Miss, 8 over
Oklahoma State, 9 over
Up next
The second round starts Saturday at 6:30 a.m. local time. Teams that played early on Friday will have later tee times Saturday; those who played late in the first round will get those early tee times in Round 2. On Sunday, tee times will be determined based on scoring.
