ATLANTA – In a rematch of May's NCAA semifinals, the score remained the same but the outcome proved different as Stanford earned a 3-2 victory over Arizona State women's golf in the East Lake Cup semifinals.
The Sun Devils were not alone on Tuesday as all four matchups between the men's and women's sides were identical to May but all four provided different outcomes five months later.
Head coach Missy Farr-Kaye knows they have had a target on their back throughout the entire tournament.
"I said to the girls, 'they're going to want to beat us'. There's going to be pride at stake tomorrow, and we will need to be ready. No matter what happens, 2017 has been a fantastic year for the Sun Devil women's golf team, so we're going to hold our heads high. I'm very proud of them – as people and how they compete. We're going to come out stronger tomorrow for one more round."
Olivia Mehaffey, very similar to May's national championships, finished first, giving the Sun Devils an early 1-0 advantage with an 8&7 victory.
"She just loves to be in the No. 1 slot, and I just don't see any way she'd change that. She's just so good at it, so she wanted to go out, get the point, and then support her team."
Mehaffey wrapped up another impressive day, saying, "I just really felt in control today as well as yesterday. If I missed the fairway, I got it in a position to make a par. If I hit the green, I gave myself a chance at a birdie. I went out with a purpose and I got the job done for my team."
The second and fifth matches went Stanford's way, as they took a 2-1 lead, but Linnea Strom tied the match, 2-2, finishing the round 1-up.
"How [Linnea] manages herself on a daily basis and thinks her way around the golf course is a thing of beauty and fun to watch," said Farr-Kaye. "I'm just there to support and cheer and that's about it. She does it all on her own; she's amazing."
"It's always exciting playing match play, but it's so much fun playing and having a TV camera behind you," said Strom. "It's a great experience and I feel like we learn through every moment out here; it's so much fun to have the opportunity to play on such an amazing golf course."
All coming down to the fourth match, Roberta Liti and Albane Valenzuela were all square late in their round, but Valenzuela sank a three-foot putt to grab the final point.
"They have some really good players, and I'm pretty sure they wanted to beat us this time since we beat them at nationals, so I guess it's 50/50," said Strom. "We knew it was going to be tough and it came down to the last match, as we expected it to."
The Sun Devils will play in the consolation finals on Wednesday in a rematch of May's national title match vs. Northwestern. Olivia Mehaffey will once again kick things off at 11:05 am ET/8:05 am PT, followed by Sophia Zeeb (11:25 am ET/8:25 am PT), Roberta Liti (11:45 am ET/8:45 am PT), and Madison Kerley (12:05 pm ET/9:05 am PT). Linnea Strom will switch positions tomorrow and will be the final Sun Devil in play, starting at 12:25 pm ET/9:25 am PT.
Fans can follow Golfstat from the beginning of the match at http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/nonav.cfm?pg=match&tid=15046&rid=2.
Golf Channel coverage will start with Morning Drive from 7-9 am ET (4-6 am PT) followed by Golf Central before and after live match play coverage, at 2-3 pm ET/11 am-12 noon PT and 6-7 pm ET/3-4 pm PT.
Live match play finals on the Golf Channel will be from 3-6 pm ET/12-3 pm PT, with a replay an hour earlier than on Monday and Tuesday, at 7-10 pm ET/4-7 pm PT.
Results
Olivia Mehaffey def. Madie Chou, 8&7
Shannon Aubert def. Sophia Zeeb, 1-UP
Linnea Strom def. Andrea Lee, 1-UP
Albane Valenzuela def. Roberta Liti, 1-UP
Ziyi Wang def. Madison Kerley, 4&3
The Sun Devils were not alone on Tuesday as all four matchups between the men's and women's sides were identical to May but all four provided different outcomes five months later.
Head coach Missy Farr-Kaye knows they have had a target on their back throughout the entire tournament.
"I said to the girls, 'they're going to want to beat us'. There's going to be pride at stake tomorrow, and we will need to be ready. No matter what happens, 2017 has been a fantastic year for the Sun Devil women's golf team, so we're going to hold our heads high. I'm very proud of them – as people and how they compete. We're going to come out stronger tomorrow for one more round."
Olivia Mehaffey, very similar to May's national championships, finished first, giving the Sun Devils an early 1-0 advantage with an 8&7 victory.
"She just loves to be in the No. 1 slot, and I just don't see any way she'd change that. She's just so good at it, so she wanted to go out, get the point, and then support her team."
Mehaffey wrapped up another impressive day, saying, "I just really felt in control today as well as yesterday. If I missed the fairway, I got it in a position to make a par. If I hit the green, I gave myself a chance at a birdie. I went out with a purpose and I got the job done for my team."
The second and fifth matches went Stanford's way, as they took a 2-1 lead, but Linnea Strom tied the match, 2-2, finishing the round 1-up.
"How [Linnea] manages herself on a daily basis and thinks her way around the golf course is a thing of beauty and fun to watch," said Farr-Kaye. "I'm just there to support and cheer and that's about it. She does it all on her own; she's amazing."
"It's always exciting playing match play, but it's so much fun playing and having a TV camera behind you," said Strom. "It's a great experience and I feel like we learn through every moment out here; it's so much fun to have the opportunity to play on such an amazing golf course."
All coming down to the fourth match, Roberta Liti and Albane Valenzuela were all square late in their round, but Valenzuela sank a three-foot putt to grab the final point.
"They have some really good players, and I'm pretty sure they wanted to beat us this time since we beat them at nationals, so I guess it's 50/50," said Strom. "We knew it was going to be tough and it came down to the last match, as we expected it to."
The Sun Devils will play in the consolation finals on Wednesday in a rematch of May's national title match vs. Northwestern. Olivia Mehaffey will once again kick things off at 11:05 am ET/8:05 am PT, followed by Sophia Zeeb (11:25 am ET/8:25 am PT), Roberta Liti (11:45 am ET/8:45 am PT), and Madison Kerley (12:05 pm ET/9:05 am PT). Linnea Strom will switch positions tomorrow and will be the final Sun Devil in play, starting at 12:25 pm ET/9:25 am PT.
Fans can follow Golfstat from the beginning of the match at http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/nonav.cfm?pg=match&tid=15046&rid=2.
Golf Channel coverage will start with Morning Drive from 7-9 am ET (4-6 am PT) followed by Golf Central before and after live match play coverage, at 2-3 pm ET/11 am-12 noon PT and 6-7 pm ET/3-4 pm PT.
Live match play finals on the Golf Channel will be from 3-6 pm ET/12-3 pm PT, with a replay an hour earlier than on Monday and Tuesday, at 7-10 pm ET/4-7 pm PT.
Results
Olivia Mehaffey def. Madie Chou, 8&7
Shannon Aubert def. Sophia Zeeb, 1-UP
Linnea Strom def. Andrea Lee, 1-UP
Albane Valenzuela def. Roberta Liti, 1-UP
Ziyi Wang def. Madison Kerley, 4&3