By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
San Antonio, Texas—Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn is heading to the 2015 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships after tying for sixth at the NCAA San Antonio Regional on Saturday afternoon. The sophomore carded a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish at 4-under 212 (71-72-69) through 54 holes.
Vaughn, ranked 22nd in the nation according to Golfstat, tallied 10 birdies and an eagle throughout the tournament. She was also 7-under on par-five holes, second behind Texas’ Bertine Strauss, with whom Vaughn shared the individual title at the PING/ASU Invitational last month.
"As happy as I am that I made it to Nationals as an individual, it will not be the same without my team," said Vaughn of advancing to NCAA Finals later this month.
The top six teams and top three individuals from non-advancing teams move on to the NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Fla., hosted by the University of South Florida, May 22-27. The following teams will advance from the San Antonio Regional: No. 21 Baylor, No. 3 UCLA, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 6 Washington, and No. 37 Texas Tech.
Strauss and Oregon State’s Anica Yoo will be joining Vaughn as the top three individuals advancing from San Antonio. All three individuals tied for sixth place overall.
The Sun Devils fought hard during the final round in attempts to nab one of the qualifying spots on the leader board. The squad carded 16 birdies on the day, but traded too many for bogeys on the front nine. Arizona State missed the cut by three spots, finishing in ninth with a 7-over 871 (296-282-293). Through 54 holes, the squad was second in par-five scoring (-15) behind Texas A&M.
Vaughn was the only Sun Devil under par on Saturday, while freshman Roberta Liti shot an even-par 72. Liti, who tied for 26th place overall, carded five birdies in round three and led the squad with 12 birdies total.
In her final tournament as a Sun Devil, senior Noemi Jimenez tied for 34th place. Jimenez had an uncharacteristically bad round on Saturday, carding a 4-over 76 to finish at 2-over 218 (74-68-76). Throughout the tournament, Jimenez tallied eight birdies and was 3-under on par-five holes. The senior led the squad this year with a scoring average of 72.40 and five top-10 finishes.
| 9 | Arizona State | 296 | 282 | 293 | 871 | +7 |
| T6 | Monica Vaughn (2) | 71 | 72 | 69 | 212 | -4 |
| T26 | Roberta Liti (4) | 75 | 70 | 72 | 217 | +1 |
| T34 | Noemi Jimenez (1) | 74 | 68 | 76 | 218 | +2 |
| T71 | Sophia Zeeb (3) | 76 | 72 | 79 | 227 | +11 |
| T82 | Ashleigh Greenham (5) | 80 | 77 | 76 | 233 | +17 |