ATLANTA – No. 7 ASU women's golf ended the fall season on a high note, defeating No. 10 Northwestern for the second time this season in match play, this time in the East Lake Cup consolation final.
"Our mindset today was to grind it out until the last hole and give it everything we had," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "Northwestern is a great team and it was a great match. It didn't matter what we were playing for, we were going to go out there and play really hard. This is the last day of the year; we wanted to go out on a good note to end our fall season. This has been a wonderful experience and we will work really hard to get back here."
Once again, Olivia Mehaffey did her part in the leadoff spot, earning a 3&2 victory and capturing the first point of the match for Arizona State.
"Today was huge," said Mehaffey. "We may be playing or third or fourth, but getting a win today, we leave the fall season with some momentum to carry us through the year. The hospitality this week has been amazing and the course is incredible."
After Hannah Kim won her match to earn Northwestern's only win of the match, Sophia Zeeb put the Sun Devils ahead, 2-1, finishing her match 1-up.
Of East Lake Cup, Zeeb said, "I think it's a great tournament because it teaches us to adjust. With one round of stroke play, you need to be ready right off the first couple of holes. Then, you turn around and change your attitude for match play. It's been a great experience."
With no extra holes in today's competition, both Roberta Liti and Linnea Strom finished their round all square, which gave a half point apiece to each team, ensuring a 3-2 Sun Devil victory.
"I was one down on 16, so I was just like 'just keep it going'," said Liti. "I didn't want to lose the match, so I birdied 16 and 17, then kind of got in trouble on 18 and got out with a par, so it was nice."
"It's been a great experience and a lot of fun," said Strom. "It's been fun to be here with my teammates and coaches, to be given the opportunity to play here, and to be here with three other great teams."
No. 13 USC and No. 19 Vanderbilt won the women's and men's 2017 East Lake Cup titles.
On Tuesday, the Golf Channel announced a $498,750 donation to the East Lake Foundation alongside presenting sponsor Hewlett Packard Enterprise and associate sponsor CSX. Nearly $1 million has been donated to the foundation since the tournament's inception in 2015.
"It's very significant," said Liti. "We didn't know at first what the East Lake Foundation was, but coming here and finding out about what these people do for young people and how they help the community, it's great. It means more than just a golf tournament."
The prestigious invite-only tournament concludes a busy fall season for the Sun Devils which took them from Nashville to Chicago, Austin to Hawai'i, and now Atlanta in the last seven weeks.
During this time, ASU earned four top-3 finishes in five tournaments, including a victory at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in early October.
Like last season, the Sun Devils will open the 2018 spring season with a dual vs. Denver at Superstition Mountain on Sunday, Jan. 28 before their spring tournament season begins at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge two weeks later.
Results
Olivia Mehaffey def. Stephanie Lau, 3&2
Sophia Zeeb def. Sarah Cho, 1-UP
Roberta Liti/Janet Mao, A/S
Hannah Kim def. Madison Kerley, 3&1
Linnea Strom/Brooke Riley, A/S
*bold = 1 point ; italics = half point
"Our mindset today was to grind it out until the last hole and give it everything we had," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "Northwestern is a great team and it was a great match. It didn't matter what we were playing for, we were going to go out there and play really hard. This is the last day of the year; we wanted to go out on a good note to end our fall season. This has been a wonderful experience and we will work really hard to get back here."
Once again, Olivia Mehaffey did her part in the leadoff spot, earning a 3&2 victory and capturing the first point of the match for Arizona State.
"Today was huge," said Mehaffey. "We may be playing or third or fourth, but getting a win today, we leave the fall season with some momentum to carry us through the year. The hospitality this week has been amazing and the course is incredible."
After Hannah Kim won her match to earn Northwestern's only win of the match, Sophia Zeeb put the Sun Devils ahead, 2-1, finishing her match 1-up.
Of East Lake Cup, Zeeb said, "I think it's a great tournament because it teaches us to adjust. With one round of stroke play, you need to be ready right off the first couple of holes. Then, you turn around and change your attitude for match play. It's been a great experience."
With no extra holes in today's competition, both Roberta Liti and Linnea Strom finished their round all square, which gave a half point apiece to each team, ensuring a 3-2 Sun Devil victory.
"I was one down on 16, so I was just like 'just keep it going'," said Liti. "I didn't want to lose the match, so I birdied 16 and 17, then kind of got in trouble on 18 and got out with a par, so it was nice."
"It's been a great experience and a lot of fun," said Strom. "It's been fun to be here with my teammates and coaches, to be given the opportunity to play here, and to be here with three other great teams."
No. 13 USC and No. 19 Vanderbilt won the women's and men's 2017 East Lake Cup titles.
On Tuesday, the Golf Channel announced a $498,750 donation to the East Lake Foundation alongside presenting sponsor Hewlett Packard Enterprise and associate sponsor CSX. Nearly $1 million has been donated to the foundation since the tournament's inception in 2015.
"It's very significant," said Liti. "We didn't know at first what the East Lake Foundation was, but coming here and finding out about what these people do for young people and how they help the community, it's great. It means more than just a golf tournament."
The prestigious invite-only tournament concludes a busy fall season for the Sun Devils which took them from Nashville to Chicago, Austin to Hawai'i, and now Atlanta in the last seven weeks.
During this time, ASU earned four top-3 finishes in five tournaments, including a victory at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in early October.
Like last season, the Sun Devils will open the 2018 spring season with a dual vs. Denver at Superstition Mountain on Sunday, Jan. 28 before their spring tournament season begins at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge two weeks later.
Results
Olivia Mehaffey def. Stephanie Lau, 3&2
Sophia Zeeb def. Sarah Cho, 1-UP
Roberta Liti/Janet Mao, A/S
Hannah Kim def. Madison Kerley, 3&1
Linnea Strom/Brooke Riley, A/S
*bold = 1 point ; italics = half point