SEATTLE – With the third-lowest team score of the day, No. 11 Sun Devil women's golf finished fifth at the 2018 Pac-12 Championships, improving one place from a season ago in which they went on to win the NCAA Regional and National Championship.
"We are very pleased with the effort and determination of this team, led by our seniors Roberta [Liti] and Sophia [Zeeb]," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "A top-five finish in the best conference for women's golf is a solid achievement."
Olivia Mehaffey earned the Sun Devils' highest finish (T5), shooting a 1-under 71 on Tuesday to finish 2-under for the tournament, and earned First Team All-Conference honors.
Raquel Olmos shot a four-under 68 on Tuesday, a new collegiate low, while Madison Kerley finished just outside the top-25 in sole possession of 26th. Olmos' seven birdies helped her tie for the lowest score of the final round.
"Olivia [Mehaffey]'s top-five this week while battling the flu was nothing short of miraculous. Raquel had her best round of the year today while Madison played very well the first two days."
No. 1 UCLA won their second consecutive championship while No. 6 USC finished second and No. 9 Arizona and No. 4 Stanford tied for third. Individually, Patty Tavatanakit won a one-hole playoff vs. her own teammate, Lilia Vu, for the championship.
"We are headed home to take finals and get everyone healthy and ready for NCAA Regionals."
The Sun Devils will find out where they'll compete at NCAA Regionals on Wednesday, Apr. 25 at 2:30 pm PT. The show will be on Golf Channel's Golf Central and will be streamed live on the Golf Channel website.
Seventy-two teams and 24 individuals will be selected to compete at one of four regional championships, each featuring 18 teams and six individuals May 7-9. The four regional sites for 2018 include TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, Calif. (hosted by Stanford), University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas (hosted by Texas), University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisc. (hosted by Wisconsin), and Don Veller Seminole Golf Course & Club in Tallahassee, Fla. (hosted by Florida State).
From there, 24 teams and 12 individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 18-23 in Stillwater, Okla.
Last week, senior Roberta Liti was named 2018 Pac-12 Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the fifth in Sun Devil women's golf history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhUBd0yAToo and Liti was also honored for this award during the post-tournament awards ceremony.
Pac-12 All-Conference Honorees
First Team – Haley Moore (Arizona), Olivia Mehaffey (Arizona State), Jiyoon Jang (Cal), Robyn Choi (Colorado), Andrea Lee (Stanford), Mika Liu (Stanford), Albane Valenzuela (Stanford), Jennifer Chang (USC), Mariel Galdiano (UCLA), Patty Tavatanakit(UCLA), Lilia Vu (UCLA), Wenyung Keh (Washington)
Honorable Mention – Yu-Sang Hou (Arizona), Bianca Pagdanganan (Arizona), Brittany Fan (Colorado), Alyaa Abdulghany (USC), Allisen Corpuz (USC), Bethany Wu (UCLA), Alivia Brown (Washington State)
"We are very pleased with the effort and determination of this team, led by our seniors Roberta [Liti] and Sophia [Zeeb]," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "A top-five finish in the best conference for women's golf is a solid achievement."
Olivia Mehaffey earned the Sun Devils' highest finish (T5), shooting a 1-under 71 on Tuesday to finish 2-under for the tournament, and earned First Team All-Conference honors.
Raquel Olmos shot a four-under 68 on Tuesday, a new collegiate low, while Madison Kerley finished just outside the top-25 in sole possession of 26th. Olmos' seven birdies helped her tie for the lowest score of the final round.
Congrats to @OliviaMehaffey on a top-5 finish at @pac12's and Raquel for shooting her career low today! #SunDevilTradition pic.twitter.com/Pc2rL68Cln
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) April 24, 2018
"Olivia [Mehaffey]'s top-five this week while battling the flu was nothing short of miraculous. Raquel had her best round of the year today while Madison played very well the first two days."
No. 1 UCLA won their second consecutive championship while No. 6 USC finished second and No. 9 Arizona and No. 4 Stanford tied for third. Individually, Patty Tavatanakit won a one-hole playoff vs. her own teammate, Lilia Vu, for the championship.
"We are headed home to take finals and get everyone healthy and ready for NCAA Regionals."
The Sun Devils will find out where they'll compete at NCAA Regionals on Wednesday, Apr. 25 at 2:30 pm PT. The show will be on Golf Channel's Golf Central and will be streamed live on the Golf Channel website.
Seventy-two teams and 24 individuals will be selected to compete at one of four regional championships, each featuring 18 teams and six individuals May 7-9. The four regional sites for 2018 include TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, Calif. (hosted by Stanford), University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas (hosted by Texas), University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisc. (hosted by Wisconsin), and Don Veller Seminole Golf Course & Club in Tallahassee, Fla. (hosted by Florida State).
From there, 24 teams and 12 individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 18-23 in Stillwater, Okla.
Last week, senior Roberta Liti was named 2018 Pac-12 Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the fifth in Sun Devil women's golf history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhUBd0yAToo and Liti was also honored for this award during the post-tournament awards ceremony.
"It was very exciting for me. It's been a goal of mine since my freshman year when my teammate Noemi [Jimenez] won it." - @RobiLiti on being named #Pac12Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. pic.twitter.com/fO2LQiR6bd
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 24, 2018
Pac-12 All-Conference Honorees
First Team – Haley Moore (Arizona), Olivia Mehaffey (Arizona State), Jiyoon Jang (Cal), Robyn Choi (Colorado), Andrea Lee (Stanford), Mika Liu (Stanford), Albane Valenzuela (Stanford), Jennifer Chang (USC), Mariel Galdiano (UCLA), Patty Tavatanakit(UCLA), Lilia Vu (UCLA), Wenyung Keh (Washington)
Honorable Mention – Yu-Sang Hou (Arizona), Bianca Pagdanganan (Arizona), Brittany Fan (Colorado), Alyaa Abdulghany (USC), Allisen Corpuz (USC), Bethany Wu (UCLA), Alivia Brown (Washington State)