NORMAN, Okla. – The Sun Devil Women's Golf team finished the Norman Regional in fifth place and will be advancing to the NCAA Championships for the 35th time in program history.
Battling through tough conditions and weather delays, Arizona State matched yesterday's total, putting together a 289 (+1) on the final day to seal their spot in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is the third consecutive season that ASU has advanced under Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye, who was at the helm when the 2017 team captured the program's eighth National Championship.
Individually, Olivia Mehaffey put a cap on a fantastic three rounds of golf. She finished the Norman Regional with a 208 (-8), good enough to earn her a share of the Regional Medalist honors with Oklahoma's Kaitlin Milligan. Mehaffey becomes the eighth Sun Devil to accomplish the feat, last coming when Monica Vaughn won the Lubbock Reigonal and started her run to the 2017 NCAA Individual National Title.
"So proud of Olivia with her Co-Medalist finish," Coach Farr-Kaye stated about the junior. "Arkansas, here we come!"
ASU ALL-TIME REGIONAL MEDALISTS (8):
Olivia Mehaffey, 2019
Monica Vaughn, 2017
Noemi Jimenez, 2014
Carlota Ciganda, 2009
Miriam Nagl, 2000
Grace Park, 1998
Wendy Ward, 1995
Linda Ericsson, 1993
Arizona State is one of 24 teams that moves on to the 2019 NCAA Women's Golf Championship, hosted by the University of Arkansas. The tournament will take place from May 17th-22nd at Blessing Golf Club in Fayetteville. The first four days of NCAA's will be stroke play with the final two days switching to match play format, which will determine the National Champion.
Mehaffey's performance will go down into the school record book, as she takes home her third individual title of the season. Finishing at eight-under, Mehaffey's 54-hole score to par is the tied for the fourth lowest at NCAA competition in program history. She has now captured back-to-back crowns at postseason events, playing her best golf at the right time after taking home the Pac-12 Individual Championship last month.
The depth of the Sun Devil lineup was on full display throughout the day. A pair of freshmen stepped up on the biggest stage of their career. "Everyone contributed this week and we are excited to get home to train to reach our next goal which is the Top-8 in stroke play in order to reach match play," Coach Farr-Kaye mentioned in regards to her team's mindset moving forward.
Alexandra Forsterling improved her position by 16 spots after shooting a 70 (-2), finishing the tournament tied for 27th with the Sun Devils second best score at 218 (+2). Forsterling registered four birdies, including on back-to-back on the first and second holes. She finished three-under over her final 12 holes, a big reason why the Sun Devils created separation from sixth place.
Fellow freshman Alessandra Fanali completed her first Regional strong, posting her second consecutive 73 (+1). Her score of 220 (+4) was the team's third-best score, as she tied for 36th overall. Fanali recorded a pair of birdies over her final five holes.
Senior Madison Kerley ended her final NCAA Regional on a high note, putting together her best round by posting a 73 (+1). She started and finished the day strong, registering birdies on her first and final hole of the day. Kerley's finish in the Top-50 means four Sun Devils accomplished the feat in a 96-player field.
Arizona State is joined by No. 1 seed Texas, who won Norman Regional as a team. Other teams to qualify from the Norman Regional included No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 3 Florida, No. 8 Purdue, and No. 9 Ole Miss. Kaitlin Milligan (Oklahoma), Michaela Fletcher (Memphis), and Amanda Hollingsworth (Virginia Tech) qualified for the NCAA Championship as individuals.
It is worth noting that the NCAA Regionals routinely knock out good programs, as this year eight teams will be staying home who were ranked in the Golfstat top-25 coming into this week. Teams in the top-25 staying home include No. 9 South Carolina, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 21 Campbell, No. 22 Furman, No. 23 Miami, No. 24 TCU and No. 25 Pepperdine. Six teams from the Pac-12 and SEC lead the conferences to be represented in Arkansas.
Pac-12 (6): Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington
SEC (6): Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Big Ten (4): Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue
ACC (4): Duke, Florida State, Virginia, Wake Forest
American (1): UCF
MAC (1): Kent State
Big 12 (1): Texas
MWC (1): San Jose State
Stayed tuned for information on Arizona State's appearance at the NCAA Championship in the coming days. Follow us on all of our social media platforms (@SunDevilWGolf) for the latest updates and content on Sun Devil Women's Golf.
Battling through tough conditions and weather delays, Arizona State matched yesterday's total, putting together a 289 (+1) on the final day to seal their spot in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is the third consecutive season that ASU has advanced under Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye, who was at the helm when the 2017 team captured the program's eighth National Championship.
"What a day," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye remarked after her team qualified. "We fought hard all day long and hung in there to punch our ticket to the NCAA Championship next week in Arkansas."?? MOVING ON ??@SunDevilWGolf finishes in the Top-6 and clinches a berth in their 3?5?th NCAA Championship! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/aKGkejGn4r
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) May 8, 2019
Individually, Olivia Mehaffey put a cap on a fantastic three rounds of golf. She finished the Norman Regional with a 208 (-8), good enough to earn her a share of the Regional Medalist honors with Oklahoma's Kaitlin Milligan. Mehaffey becomes the eighth Sun Devil to accomplish the feat, last coming when Monica Vaughn won the Lubbock Reigonal and started her run to the 2017 NCAA Individual National Title.
"So proud of Olivia with her Co-Medalist finish," Coach Farr-Kaye stated about the junior. "Arkansas, here we come!"
ASU ALL-TIME REGIONAL MEDALISTS (8):
Olivia Mehaffey, 2019
Monica Vaughn, 2017
Noemi Jimenez, 2014
Carlota Ciganda, 2009
Miriam Nagl, 2000
Grace Park, 1998
Wendy Ward, 1995
Linda Ericsson, 1993
Arizona State is one of 24 teams that moves on to the 2019 NCAA Women's Golf Championship, hosted by the University of Arkansas. The tournament will take place from May 17th-22nd at Blessing Golf Club in Fayetteville. The first four days of NCAA's will be stroke play with the final two days switching to match play format, which will determine the National Champion.
Mehaffey's performance will go down into the school record book, as she takes home her third individual title of the season. Finishing at eight-under, Mehaffey's 54-hole score to par is the tied for the fourth lowest at NCAA competition in program history. She has now captured back-to-back crowns at postseason events, playing her best golf at the right time after taking home the Pac-12 Individual Championship last month.
After finishing the Norman Regional 8?-under par, Olivia Mehaffey becomes the 8?th Sun Devil to earn at least a share of the Regional Medalist honor! pic.twitter.com/LfXHTblXFC
— Sun Devil W. Golf (@SunDevilWGolf) May 8, 2019
The depth of the Sun Devil lineup was on full display throughout the day. A pair of freshmen stepped up on the biggest stage of their career. "Everyone contributed this week and we are excited to get home to train to reach our next goal which is the Top-8 in stroke play in order to reach match play," Coach Farr-Kaye mentioned in regards to her team's mindset moving forward.
Alexandra Forsterling improved her position by 16 spots after shooting a 70 (-2), finishing the tournament tied for 27th with the Sun Devils second best score at 218 (+2). Forsterling registered four birdies, including on back-to-back on the first and second holes. She finished three-under over her final 12 holes, a big reason why the Sun Devils created separation from sixth place.
Fellow freshman Alessandra Fanali completed her first Regional strong, posting her second consecutive 73 (+1). Her score of 220 (+4) was the team's third-best score, as she tied for 36th overall. Fanali recorded a pair of birdies over her final five holes.
Senior Madison Kerley ended her final NCAA Regional on a high note, putting together her best round by posting a 73 (+1). She started and finished the day strong, registering birdies on her first and final hole of the day. Kerley's finish in the Top-50 means four Sun Devils accomplished the feat in a 96-player field.
Arizona State is joined by No. 1 seed Texas, who won Norman Regional as a team. Other teams to qualify from the Norman Regional included No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 3 Florida, No. 8 Purdue, and No. 9 Ole Miss. Kaitlin Milligan (Oklahoma), Michaela Fletcher (Memphis), and Amanda Hollingsworth (Virginia Tech) qualified for the NCAA Championship as individuals.
It is worth noting that the NCAA Regionals routinely knock out good programs, as this year eight teams will be staying home who were ranked in the Golfstat top-25 coming into this week. Teams in the top-25 staying home include No. 9 South Carolina, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 20 Michigan State, No. 21 Campbell, No. 22 Furman, No. 23 Miami, No. 24 TCU and No. 25 Pepperdine. Six teams from the Pac-12 and SEC lead the conferences to be represented in Arkansas.
CONFERENCE BREAKDOWNCongrats to @ArizonaWGolf, @SunDevilWGolf, @StanfordWGolf, @UCLAWomensGolf, @USCWomensGolf, and @UW_WGolf on advancing to the NCAA Women's Golf Championships - May 17-22 in Fayetteville, Ark. at The Blessings Golf Club. #Pac12Golf represents 25 percent of the Championships field. pic.twitter.com/DiUE0oDcBW
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) May 9, 2019
Pac-12 (6): Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington
SEC (6): Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Big Ten (4): Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue
ACC (4): Duke, Florida State, Virginia, Wake Forest
American (1): UCF
MAC (1): Kent State
Big 12 (1): Texas
MWC (1): San Jose State
Stayed tuned for information on Arizona State's appearance at the NCAA Championship in the coming days. Follow us on all of our social media platforms (@SunDevilWGolf) for the latest updates and content on Sun Devil Women's Golf.