Tag: WGCA

Stanford women’s golf stays on top in Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll

tanford University remains the unanimous No. 1 while University of Oregon holds steady at No. 2

The Women’s Golf Coaches Association has released the results of the latest Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll for women’s golf.

This is the third poll of the 2022 spring season.

In Division I, Stanford University remains the unanimous No. 1 while University of Oregon holds steady at No. 2. University of South Carolina moves up one spot to No. 3, followed by Wake Forest University and San Jose State University to round out the top five.

Stanford next heads to the Pac-12 Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks recently finished second at the Silverado Showdown in Napa, California, and will also head to the Pac-12 Championships.

South Carolina is currently playing in the SEC Championships and is in second place after two days of stroke play.

Rank University (First Place Votes) Points
1 Stanford University (20) 500
2 University of Oregon 476
3 University of South Carolina 454
4 Wake Forest University 435
5 San Jose State University 429
6 Oklahoma State University 390
7 Arizona State University 388
8 University of Virginia 346
9 University of Alabama 338
10 University of Florida 308
11 Texas A&M University 297
12 University of Southern California 295
13 University of Texas 235
14 Louisiana State University 227
15 Baylor University 220
16 Florida State University 205
17 University of California, Los Angeles 195
18 University of Arkansas 170
19 University of Michigan 166
20 Auburn University 120
21 Texas Tech University 85
22 University of Kentucky 61
23 University of Mississippi 54
24 Duke University 42
25 University of Illinois 37
Others Receiving Votes: University of Arizona (9); Texas Christian University (6); University of Central Florida (4); University of Georgia (4); Virginia Tech (3); Campbell University (1)

About the Women’s Golf Coaches Association

The Women’s Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women’s collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 650 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.

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Stanford women’s golf is No. 1 once again in Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll

The Cardinal maintained their grip on the top spot but a fellow Pac-12 school did nab two first-place votes.

The Women’s Golf Coaches Association has released the results of the latest Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll for women’s golf.

This is the second poll release for the 2022 spring season.

In Division I, Stanford remains No. 1 and collected all but two of the first-place votes. Fellow Pac-12 program Oregon is No. 2 and received the other two first-place votes. Wake Forest, South Carolina and San Jose State round out the top five.

Stanford has five wins and two seconds in seven outings this season. The last time out, the Cardinal finished runner-up to San Jose State in the Juli Inkster Invitational. San Jose State also got the better of Stanford earlier this spring in the Lamkin Invitational.

Arizona State, ranked eighth, hosts a loaded ASU/Ping Invitational starting Friday. The field includes Stanford, Oregon, Arizona, UCLA as well as Michigan, Baylor and Virginia, all ranked in this poll.

Rank University (First Place Votes) Points
1 Stanford (17) 471
2 Oregon (2) 455
3 Wake Forest 430
4 South Carolina 409
5 San Jose State 397
6 Oklahoma State 385
7 Virginia 363
8 Arizona State 331
9 Florida 322
10 USC 284
11 Texas 282
12 Michigan 277
13 Alabama 276
14 Florida State 224
15 UCLA 190
16 Arkansas 182
T17 LSU 163
T17 Texas A&M 163
19 Baylor 120
20 Auburn 110
21 Texas Tech 104
22 Ole Miss 99
23 Duke 54
24 Virginia Tech 54
25 Arizona 27
Others Receiving Votes: TCU (1); UCF (1); Illinois (1)

About the Women’s Golf Coaches Association

The Women’s Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women’s collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 650 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.

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Patriot All-America will expand to include top female amateurs in 2021

Organizers of the Patriot All-America have announced the tournament will now include a women’s division.

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Amateur golf is steeped in tradition, and the calendar normally repeats itself from year to year. One of the final stops for the nation’s best college players is the Patriot All-America Invitational at the Wigwam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Beginning in 2021, the “best” college players will mean all college players. Organizers of the Patriot All-America have announced that, in partnership with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association of America, the tournament will feature a women’s division for the first time. A field of 42 of college golf’s best women will join the field of 84 men on Dec. 28-31 to end the year.

“The WGCA is excited to partner with The Patriot,” said Angie Ravaioli-Larkin, WGCA President. “This is so special to our organization especially with our involvement and commitment to The Folds of Honor. What a tremendous opportunity to recognize some of the finest players in women’s college golf while honoring those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

The Patriot All-America Invitational features PING All-Americans from the previous season in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and NJCAA; as well as 2021 First Team All-America seniors from the AJGA. The tournament is unique in the way it allows players to honor fallen or severely wounded soldiers in partnership with the Folds of Honor Foundation. Each player receives a golf bag donated by PING Corporation at the event’s opening ceremony that carries the name and branch of service of a fallen or injured military member.  Participants also receive a card with the soldier’s story so they can be familiar with that soldier. The golf bags are then sold with proceeds donated to Folds of Honor to support the families affected.

“I’m grateful and excited about the return of the Patriot All-America Invitational in 2021,” said Lt Col Dan Rooney, founder and CEO of Folds of Honor. “This outstanding golf tournament honors those who have given so much for our country. I’m especially enthusiastic about the addition of women collegiate golfers in this year’s field. These are some of the best players in America. Women play an integral role in the military and have sacrificed so much.”

The Patriot All-America is the latest tournament to expand its field to include top women’s golfers or to offer a separate women’s division. This week marks the inaugural Sea Island Women’s Amateur. Sea Island, Georgia, has long been an important stop in men’s amateur golf, having hosted the Jones Cup tournaments (together with Ocean Forest Golf Club) since the early 2000s. Now, women get the chance to compete there annually, too.

The Southwestern Amateur added a women’s division recently and the Palmer Cup, a Presidents Cup-style match pitting the best American college players against their International counterparts, became a co-ed match in 2018.

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Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker, Solheim Cup captain Pat Hurst advise next generation of golfers

Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker and Solheim Cup captain Pat Hurst are no strangers to resiliency.

The 2020 WGCA/GCAA Virtual Member Convention has been a fitting representation of golf this year. While each looks a little different, both have been resilient.

On Wednesday, during a recorded session hosted by Golf Channel’s Steve Burkowski, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker and Solheim Cup captain Pat Hurst shared past experiences with facing adversity and gave a bit of advice for how coaches and players can continue to grow amid a pandemic.

“You have this dream of taking it to the next level but you never know what that means,” said Stricker. “Fortunately for me, I was able to see some success at each level. At each level I got a jolt of confidence knowing I could potentially play at that level.”

“You go through your ups and downs and you have to persevere, that’s what I did,” explained Stricker, winner of 12 PGA Tour titles. “It wasn’t always great, it took me my fourth time through qualifying school to get my Tour card, there’s always those challenges.”

The first-ever joint virtual convention began Dec. 1 and runs through Tuesday, Dec. 15. Instead of loading the schedule with hours of daily programming, events were spread out, allowing members to pick and choose various online meetings and sessions to attend, much like an a la carte menu.

Unlike Stricker, Hurst wasn’t as fortunate in the confidence department early in her professional career, despite a blistering amateur and collegiate career. The Bay Area native won the 1986 U.S. Girls’ Junior and 1990 U.S. Women’s Amateur. The year prior, Hurst was a medalist at the 1989 U.S. Women’s Amateur and won the team and individual NCAA title with San José State.

All that winning came with a price. After she left school, Hurst quit golf for a year. She had gotten to the point where she hated the game she used to love.

“I remember being out at Spyglass caddying for my now husband,” explained Hurst. “I’m at one of the most beautiful places in the world and I’m carrying his bag caddying and I’m like, ‘I hate golf. What am I doing?’”

Hurst ended up taking some time away from the game before getting the itch to return to competition. She worked her way to LPGA Rookie of the Year honors in 1995, a major championship at the 1998 ANA Inspiration and six LPGA victories. Not to mention decades of Solheim Cup experience, where she boats a 10-7-3 record (3-1-1 in singles).

As student-athletes face COVID-19 uncertainties, both captains stressed the importance of not only time, but body management, while also pointing out how the new generation of players is more prepared than ever.

“These kids start out so young, taking care of their bodies, eating right, practicing correctly, the drills that these kids do is mindblowing to me,” said Stricker. “I never did any drills, still don’t, and these kids come out on Tour with all their putting devices and drills and sticks and everything lined up just right and they’re working at it and they’re working at it correctly. They just dial it in.”

“Back in the day I don’t remember having workouts, which is kind of sad but its true,” added Hurst, who still remembers hitting balls on the football field through the uprights and picking her “range” on the soccer field. “We didn’t have study hall like they do. It’s more demanding on their time and I think it teaches them a lot of time management.”

“It’s definitely changed but for the better.”

 

Proposal that could have led to Division I cuts shot down by NCAA

Power Five athletic directors had asked for a blanket waiver that could have suspended non-revenue sports for up to four years.

College golf coaches and players worried that a blanket waiver from the NCAA might allow Division I programs to suspend non-revenue sports for up to a four-year period and still maintain their status can breathe a small sigh of relief after the Division I Council said it will not consider that provision.

At present, FBS schools must field at least 16 teams, with a minimum of six men’s teams and a minimum of eight women’s teams. Division I schools must field at least 14 teams.

According to a release from the NCAA:

The Council discussed the issue in response to a request from the majority of Division I conferences to consider providing a blanket waiver for all Division I members of several legislative requirements. The letter asked for the blanket waiver for a period of at least two years to allow schools to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While several legislative changes will be considered for blanket waivers, the Council indicated that sport sponsorship minimums should be removed from that list. Schools still can request sport sponsorship requirement waivers on an individual basis.

That means the schools that have been the hardest hit financially during the coronavirus pandemic are not out of the woods, but a formalized process for being granted a waiver has yet to be determined.

“Higher education is facing unique challenges, and the Division I leadership believes it’s appropriate to examine areas in which rules can be relaxed or amended to provide flexibility for schools and conferences,” said Council chair M. Grace Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania. “We will prioritize student-athlete well-being and opportunities balanced with reducing costs associated with administering college sports, but a blanket waiver of sport sponsorship requirements is not in keeping with our values and will not be considered.”

This surfaced after a letter to NCAA President Mark Emmert dated April 10, in which the commissioners of the Group of Five conferences – the American Athletic, Conference USA, the Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt – said: “In order to provide NCAA Division I institutions flexibility in addressing the challenges for the foreseeable future, we request temporary relief from several regulatory requirements for a period of up to four years. A blanket waiver for relief will provide institutions the ability to make prudent and necessary decisions for the financial well-being of the institution.”

Representatives of 17 coaches’ associations, including the Golf Coaches Association of America and the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, responded to Emmert.

Golfweek received a copy of the letter GCAA CEO Gregg Grost sent out to members, detailing the concern the group has over the potential waiver.

“If this waiver passes, it would mean the potential for fewer teams, fewer scholarships and fewer opportunities for student-athletes competing in Olympic and non-revenue producing sports,” the letter said. “The GCAA strongly opposes this drastic measure and has signed off on a letter with other coaches associations that was sent to NCAA President Mark Emmert.”

Although the blanket minimum was removed for the waiver, the Council still intends to work through a number of issues in upcoming weeks, including transfers and scheduling concerns.

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Natalie Srinivasan named WGCA national player of the year

She led the Southern Conference in wins and with a 70.78 stroke average, a full shot lower than her nearest competitor.

Furman golfer Natalie Srinivasan has been announced as the Division-I PING Women’s Golf Coaches Association National Player of the Year.

“You see all these people who win and think maybe that could be me one day and it’s just been surreal,” Srinivasan said. “Obviously I wasn’t able to finish (playing) my last semester so that’s been nice they’re still doing these postseason awards. It’s been really positive.”

The Spartanburg, S.C., native earlier this week was named a WGCA Division-I First-Team All-American, just the seventh first-team selection in Furman history and first since 1998. She is also one of 10 remaining in consideration for the ANNIKA Award given annually to the nation’s most outstanding Division-I golfer. It will be announced next month.

“First team is pretty hard to get, you have to play really well and I was lucky enough to be able to play well this year at the right time,” Srinivasan said. “That’s been really cool to represent Furman and give the name recognition.”

Natalie Srinivasan of Furman tees off during the final round of the 2017 Annika Intercollegiate golf tournament. Bruce Kluckhohn – USA TODAY Sports

Furman coach Jeff Hull said in a release, “I am so proud of Natalie for being the recipient of the PING WGCA Player of the Year award,” Hull said in a release. “She had an amazing career at Furman and for her to cap it off with this award is a testament to her hard work and dedication over the past four years. Natalie epitomizes what a student-athlete should be and has set a very high bar going forward.”

Srinivasan finished this past abbreviated season as the country’s top-ranked women’s player by Golfstat and is 14th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. She posted three victories, a solo second (finishing one back in her final Furman event at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Hilton Head’s Long Cove Club) and ties for 16th and 26th in her six starts as a senior.

[jwplayer KxqjZgKK-9JtFt04J]

She led the Southern Conference in wins and with a 70.78 stroke average, a full shot lower than her nearest competitor and her 72.6 career stroke average over 118 rounds is the lowest in Furman history. She earned a second-consecutive invitation to play in the now-canceled Augusta National Women’s Amateur and was likely to be selected for the prestigious U.S. Curtis Cup team before that event was postponed until next year.

″(The Curtis Cup) was kind of what I was looking forward to after the season got canceled and I probably would’ve been on the team so it’s unfortunate,” Srinivasan said. “But it’s been nice to have these other honors to kind of make up for that and have a little positivity right now.”

Srinivasan was the 2018 Southern Conference Player of the Year and a three-time all-conference selection. She has a 3.87 GPA in health and sciences and will graduate in May. She was the recipient of the Winston Babb Memorial Award, given by the Furman Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa to the woman in each class who has demonstrated the most outstanding qualities of leadership, scholarship, and service to the university.

She plans on turning professional after graduation.

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WGCA names Division I All-America teams after shortened season

Despite a shortened season, the Women’s Golf Coaches Association of America has released its All-America teams.

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Despite a shortened season, the Women’s Golf Coaches Association has released its All-America teams. In selecting this year’s honorees, the WGCA Awards Committee reduced its minimum round requirement from 15 to eight for Division I players.

Other criteria that goes into award selection includes head-to-head competition, comparison with common opponents, adjusted scoring average, regular-season finishes and tournament wins and strength of schedule.

Wake Forest, which finished its season with a 26-shot win at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate and ranked No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarins, has the biggest presence on the following list. The 2019 NCAA runner-up team landed two players on the first team, one on the second team and one on the honorable mention list. That’s a school record for most All-Americans in a single season.

First Team

Ana Belac, Senior, Duke

Linn Grant, Freshman, Arizona State

Vivian Hou, Freshman, Arizona

Rachel Kuehn, Freshman, Wake Forest

Ingrid Lindblad, Freshman, Louisiana State

Emilia Migliaccio, Junior, Wake Forest

Kaitlyn Papp, Junior, Texas

Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Freshman, South Carolina

Emma Spitz, Freshman, UCLA

Natalie Srinivasan, Senior, Furman

Kaleigh Telfer, Junior, Auburn

Second Team

Allisen Corpuz, Senior, USC

Sofia Garcia, Junior, Texas Tech

Renate Grimstad, Miami

Sophie Guo, Freshman, Texas

Yu-Sang Hou, Junior, Arizona

Julia Johnson, Junior, Mississippi

Aline Krauter, Sophomore, Stanford

Siyun Liu, Senior, Wake Forest

Pimnipa Panthong, Senior, Kent State

Kenzie Wright, Senior, Alabama

Angelina Ye, Freshman, Stanford

Honorable Mention Team

Alyaa Abdulghany, Junior, USC

Jaravee Boonchant, Junior, Duke

Ya Chun Chang, Sophomore, Arizona

Elodie Chapelet, Redshirt-Senior, Baylor

Alessandra Fanali, Sophomore, Arizona State

Isabella Fierro, Freshman, Oklahoma State

Amelia Garvey, Junior, USC

Allyson Geer-Park, Senior, Michigan State

Ashley Gilliam, Freshman, Mississippi State

Lauren Hartlage, Senior, Louisville

Momoka Kobori, Senior, Pepperdine

Caley McGinty, Freshman, Kent State

Olivia Mehaffey, Senior, Arizona State

Sofie Nielsen, Freshman, Oregon

Natasha Andrea Oon, Sophomore, San Jose State

Emilie Paltrinieri, Freshman, UCLA

Valery Plata, Sophomore, Michigan State

Priscilla Schmid, Junior, Indiana

Karoline Stormo, Senior, Kent State

Beatrice Wallin, Sophomore, Florida State

Lauren Walsh, Freshman, Wake Forest

Jennifer Zhou, Sophomore, North Carolina

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Substitution, .500 Rule likely to be big topics at college golf coaches convention

Substitution, NCAA regional seeding, the .500 rule and even an NIT-type tournament for college golf will be on the table in Las Vegas.

Next week, the college golf coaching community assembles in Las Vegas for the annual Golf Coaches Association of America and Women’s Golf Coaches Association national conventions.

The one topic that is certain to be discussed is the substitution rule. This past fall, it appeared that substitutions would be permissible during regular-season tournaments, however there was some confusion on exactly how it would work. That resulted in the following announcement being sent to coaches in August:

The Division I Men’s Golf Committee has delayed the implementation of substitutions for regular-season play until the 2020-21 season. The committee is fully supportive of substitutions for regular-season play and will confer with coaches during the 2019-20 season and at the GCAA Convention for implementation. 

How substitution will work when it is finally implemented next fall should be a hot topic in Las Vegas, especially considering that some coaches don’t support the idea.

A few questions must be addressed. For example, will teams be allowed to have individuals competing in the event and will that individual be allowed to be inserted into the lineup as a substitute? Or can a coach only substitute a player who has not yet played that event? Maybe an even bigger question is how substitution will figure into individual rankings.

San Jose State prepares for the 2019 NCAA Women’s Championship at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

Also expect a discussion on NCAA regional sites. Seeding conversations will likely continue around the possibility of awarding hosting opportunities to top seeds, which rewards a team for having a good season.

There has been some chatter in the college-golf world that some coaches would like to see the.500 Rule eliminated in men’s golf. The .500 Rule requires a team to have a head-to-head won-loss record of 50 percent or higher against Division I teams.

The rule was first implemented for the 2007-08 season, and four teams did not meet the requirement that year. As a result, those teams – Arizona, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Minnesota – all missed out on at-large berths into the NCAA postseason.

Since that initial year, only seven teams total have missed playing in the postseason. For the most part, coaches have figured out how to schedule accordingly.

On the women’s side, .500 Rule conversations continue mostly in the mid-major community. However, it’s doubtful this discussion has any momentum heading into Las Vegas.

My take on the .500 Rule remains unchanged. It has been good for the men’s game and I am in favor of it for both men and women, but it is not necessary.

Duke women’s golf coach Dan Brooks, left, shakes hands with Wake Forest women’s golf coach Kim Lewellen after setting pairings for the final match at the 2019 NCAA Women’s Championship. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)

If there’s another topic that should be discussed at the convention, it would be the addition of a postseason tournament – picture something like the National Invitation Tournament in college basketball.

Why? There are many schools investing in their golf programs, but the reality is many of those schools, which are mid-majors, can’t keep up and compete year after year with teams in the Power Five conferences.

On the women’s side the Power Five schools dominate the NCAA championships, to the tune of 90 percent of the field coming from the Power Five leagues in each of the past four years. It’s just below 80 percent for the past three years on the men’s side.

An NIT for college golf could be a good reward for a program that is investing in the sport. It could provide the opportunity to compete for a championship against programs that are both similarly sized and similarly funded.

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