MADISON, Wisc. – Fighting to the finish, No. 12 Arizona State women's golf finished in the top six teams in their Regional to earn a spot at the 2018 NCAA Championships, which starts next weekend (May 18-23) in Stillwater, Okla. For the Sun Devils, it was their best score as a team since their second tournament of the season in early October 2017.
"After a very slow start, this team played their hearts out on the back side to earn an NCAA bid," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "They played with resilience and mental toughness that was awesome. Every single player on our team made this happen and we are so proud of them. We're thrilled to get to play the NCAA Championship in Stillwater."
With one of the strongest traditions in NCAA women's golf, Arizona State will make their 34th all-time NCAA Championships appearance in 2018. The Sun Devils won the 2017 national title, their nation-leading eighth championship, led in part by individual medalist Monica Vaughn.
Alongside the Sun Devils, coming out of the Madison NCAA Regional are No. 4 Duke, No. 31 Virginia, No. 6 USC, No. 44 Ohio State, and No. 13 Northwestern, the 2017 national runner-up.
Joining these six teams in Stillwater out of the remaining three NCAA Regional sites are as follows: Tallahassee Regional (No. 2 Alabama, No. 28 Florida State, No. 7 Furman, No. 10 Arizona, No. 15 Washington, No. 18 Wake Forest), San Francisco Regional (No. 5 Stanford, No. 1 UCLA, No. 40 Ole Miss, No. 32 Louisville, No. 16 Kent State, No. 26 Colorado), Austin Regional (No. 3 Arkansas, No. 8 Texas, No. 19 Auburn, No. 14 Florida, No. 35 Baylor, No. 21 Oklahoma).
The Pac-12 advances seven of the league's 11 programs, 10 of which competed at NCAA Regionals this season – No. 12 Arizona State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 1 UCLA, No. 6 USC, No. 15 Washington, No. 26 Colorado, and No. 10 Arizona.
Arizona State recorded 11 birdies on the back nine led by freshman Raquel Olmos who birdied four-straight between holes 12 and 15.
Individually, senior Roberta Liti earned her second top-10 finish of the season (T7th), shooting a 1-under 71 on Wednesday while Olmos finished T17th, even par for the tournament.
Senior Sophia Zeeb and sophomore Olivia Mehaffey tied for T23rd (+1) to round out ASU's four scoring players. Junior Madison Kerley shot at or below par on eight of the back nine holes, birdieing two.
The first four days of NCAA's will be stroke play with the final two days as match play. The 24 advancing teams and 12 other individuals will compete starting next weekend.
"After a very slow start, this team played their hearts out on the back side to earn an NCAA bid," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "They played with resilience and mental toughness that was awesome. Every single player on our team made this happen and we are so proud of them. We're thrilled to get to play the NCAA Championship in Stillwater."
With one of the strongest traditions in NCAA women's golf, Arizona State will make their 34th all-time NCAA Championships appearance in 2018. The Sun Devils won the 2017 national title, their nation-leading eighth championship, led in part by individual medalist Monica Vaughn.
Alongside the Sun Devils, coming out of the Madison NCAA Regional are No. 4 Duke, No. 31 Virginia, No. 6 USC, No. 44 Ohio State, and No. 13 Northwestern, the 2017 national runner-up.
Joining these six teams in Stillwater out of the remaining three NCAA Regional sites are as follows: Tallahassee Regional (No. 2 Alabama, No. 28 Florida State, No. 7 Furman, No. 10 Arizona, No. 15 Washington, No. 18 Wake Forest), San Francisco Regional (No. 5 Stanford, No. 1 UCLA, No. 40 Ole Miss, No. 32 Louisville, No. 16 Kent State, No. 26 Colorado), Austin Regional (No. 3 Arkansas, No. 8 Texas, No. 19 Auburn, No. 14 Florida, No. 35 Baylor, No. 21 Oklahoma).
The Pac-12 advances seven of the league's 11 programs, 10 of which competed at NCAA Regionals this season – No. 12 Arizona State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 1 UCLA, No. 6 USC, No. 15 Washington, No. 26 Colorado, and No. 10 Arizona.
Arizona State recorded 11 birdies on the back nine led by freshman Raquel Olmos who birdied four-straight between holes 12 and 15.
Individually, senior Roberta Liti earned her second top-10 finish of the season (T7th), shooting a 1-under 71 on Wednesday while Olmos finished T17th, even par for the tournament.
Senior Sophia Zeeb and sophomore Olivia Mehaffey tied for T23rd (+1) to round out ASU's four scoring players. Junior Madison Kerley shot at or below par on eight of the back nine holes, birdieing two.
The first four days of NCAA's will be stroke play with the final two days as match play. The 24 advancing teams and 12 other individuals will compete starting next weekend.