Senior Alessandra Fanali (-7/209) could not have asked for a better result in the final regular season tournament of her career, as she claimed an impressive victory by three strokes. Fanali was great throughout the first two days, but still found herself trailing by three strokes with 18 holes left. The deficit did not faze her, as she quickly made it up and then some, cruising past the competition by a comfortable margin. By carding a 69 (-3) today, Fanali was one of only two golfers to hit the 60's twice this week.
It is her second career victory, but the first at a counting tournament, as she won the Match in the Desert as a sophomore back in 2020. She has proved to be extremely comfortable at this golf course, as she finished in the Top-5 at the 2021 Silverado Showdown. Fanali had to beat out an extremely competitive field at the Silverado Showdown, finishing ahead of 24 of the Top-100 ranked golfers in the nation.
One of those worthy competitors was her teammate and fellow senior Alexandra Forsterling. Forsterling was one of four Top-10 ranked golfers in Napa and she was the one that finished the highest, claiming a tie for fourth place after a magnificent third round. She shot a 67 (-5) on the final day to move up eight spots, tied for the lowest round by any golfer at the tournament. Forsterling improved her score each round until breaking out with a masterful finale, showing her ability to make adjustments.
As a team, Arizona State had by far their best round of the tournament, moving up into a tie for seventh in the 16-team event. The Sun Devils shot a 290 (+2) today, ten strokes better than yesterday's score. That allowed them to move up two spots and also represented the third best score by any team on Wednesday. Playing without All-American Ashley Menne allowed the depth of the Sun Devil lineup to shine, with Amanda Linner, Grace Summerhays, and Calynne Rosholt filling in admirably in Menne's absence. Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye's team continues to build momentum heading into postseason play, with the senior duo of Alessandra Fanali and Alexandra Forsterling having now won back-to-back Individual Medalist honors.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye
"I am so proud of Alessandra! She has worked really hard and her determination is starting to pay off. The timing is awesome. And Alexandra played a great round of golf today. Her 3 week stretch has been tough and it was great to see her finish so strong! As a team we have a few things to work on and we will be ready for the post season which starts in less than 2 weeks."
Alessandra Fanali
On getting the win at such a strong event
"It feels very good to win right now! That's what I was waiting for in the past 1.5 years and I've been working so hard to finally demonstrate myself that I'm capable to do it and I have to say that it feels amazing!"
On trailing by three strokes entering the final round
I was not thinking about the final outcome today. Coach this morning told me to go out there and have fun and if it's meant to be my day, then it's going to be. So instead of going out there and look for birdies, I've been thinking of playing hole by hole, shot by shot and accept what was gonna come. I started off on the trickiest side of the golf course with a bogey and I just tried to be patient and positive throughout the round. I hit some good irons to the greens that helped me put less pressure on my putting.
On her confidence heading into the postseason
I felt confident about my game in the past month and this week even more, I really wanted to win and I knew that the golf course was going to be a good fit for me. I'm excited to play and see what's coming next in the post season, my game feels good and I think it will be fun, who knows what could happen!
- Alessandra Fanali win at the Silverado Showdown is the 96th time a Sun Devil has won an Individual Championship.
- This is the second time she has won an event, also claiming the title at the 2020 Match in the Desert with UCLA, Arizona, and Denver participating.
- She beat out 24 of the Top-100 golfers, including four of the Top-10
- Fanali now has nine Top-10 finishes in her career.
- Alexandra Forsterling finished in the Top-10 yet again, continuing her phenomenal play.
- This is her fourth-straight Top-10 placement, finishing no lower than sixth since back in mid February.
- She now has 12 career Top-10 finishes, five of which have come this season.
- Arizona State was the only team with two finishers in the Top-5.
- Grace Summerhays had her best round of the tournament, improving her score by four strokes from her first two rounds.
- As a team, Arizona State lowered their score each day, eventually making a 12-stroke improvement from day one to day three.
- A Sun Devil has now won an individual championship 15 times in the Missy Farr-Kaye era.
TEAM RESULTS
| Place | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | To Par |
| T7 | Arizona State | 302 | 300 | 290 | +28 |
| T7 | Northwestern | 300 | 293 | 299 | +28 |
| T9 | Colorado | 302 | 296 | 302 | +36 |
| T9 | Washington | 301 | 303 | 296 | +36 |
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
| Place | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | To Par |
| 1 | Alessandra Fanali | 69 | 71 | 69 | -7 |
| T4 | Alexandra Forsterling | 75 | 72 | 67 | -4 |
| T75 | Amanda Linner | 78 | 78 | 79 | +19 |
| T78 | Grace Summerhays | 80 | 80 | 76 | +20 |
| T80 | Calynne Rosholt | 81 | 79 | 78 | +22 |
UP NEXT
Arizona State kicks off postseason play in Eugune at the 2022 Pac-12 Women's Golf Championships hosted by Oregon at the Eugene Country Club. The event runs from Apr. 18-20, with a round taking place each day. An individual and team championship will be crowned on Wednesday, Apr. 20, with live coverage starting at 10:30 am MST on the Pac-12 Networks. Visit the following link more information on how to watch the event.
No team has enjoyed more success at the Pac-10/12 Women's Golf Championships than Arizona State. Their 13 individual champions are six more than any other team, while their eight team championships are tied for first. Most recently, Olivia Mehaffey claimed the 2019 Individual Championship and is the reigning Pac-12 Champion. The Sun Devils last one as a team back in 2009 on their way to the program's seventh of eight NCAA Championships, with Coach Farr-Kaye serving as an Assistant Coach that year.
Legendary Sun Devil Women's Golf Head Coach Linda Vollstedt could be considered the queen of the Pac-10/12 Championships. Her teams won it a total of six times, including the first two in 1987 & 1988. Later in her career, Arizona State ran off four straight titles during their dominant run in the mid-90s, a feat that has never been matched since. ASU has two Top-3 finishes at the conference championships under Coach Farr-Kaye, finishing third in 2016 & 2019.
ROAD TO GRAYHAWK
In the second of a three-year run as host, Grayhawk Golf Club will welcome the top men's and women's collegiate teams to decide a national champion. The event will be contested on Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor course, a par-72, 6,337-yard and broadcasted live on Golf Channel. Sun Devil fans showed their support last year and will have another chance to do so this year should Coach Farr-Kaye's squad qualify for the NCAA Championship. A veteran of NCAA Championship events, Farr-Kaye recognized that Grayhawk and Arizona State exceeded the standard set by previous hosts.
"We're really excited we got that extra year back so we get to do the three-year run. I think that the Grayhawk Golf Club and our event management staff in Sun Devil Athletics does a fantastic job. I've heard a lot of really good feedback from a lot of coaches and that it felt like a championship and that was the goal all along."
HOW TO FOLLOW
For the latest updates and information on the Sun Devil Women's Golf program, follow our Twitter/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWGolf), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/sundevilwgolf/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com).