Five Pac-12 Women's Golf teams to compete at NCAA Championships
SAN FRANCISCO – Five Pac-12 Conference women’s golf teams will be in action this week as the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships get underway May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. Representing the Pac-12 will be ARIZONA STATE, CALIFORNIA, OREGON, STANFORD and USC.
No other conference has more teams in the 24-team field. While the individual champion will be decided during the four days of stroke-play competition from May 19-22, the top eight teams after four days will participate in a match-play format on May 23-24 to determine the NCAA Champion.
ARIZONA STATE – The top-ranked (Golfweek) Sun Devils are preparing for their 33rd appearance in the NCAA Championship. This will be the first time the Sun Devils have advanced to the NCAA Championship under head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. The Sun Devils own seven national titles (1990, 1993-95, 1997-98, 2009). ASU finished first at the Lubbock Regional led by a strong showing by Monica Vaughn, Olivia Mehaffey and Linnea Strom who finished 1-2-3 in the tournament, respectively. Vaughn (71.53 avg.) posted a first-place finish after recording an 8-under 208. Both Mehaffey and Strom followed suit, finishing with an impressive 7-under 209 and 6-under 210 at the NCAA regionals.
CALIFORNIA – California will be making its third trip to the NCAA Championship in the last four years. All 10 of the Bears’ appearances in the NCAA Championship have been under head coach Nancy McDaniel, who is in her 21st season at Cal. The Bears finished tied for fifth at the Albuquerque Regional where junior Marthe Wold led the Bears with a 3-over 219. Wold’s season-best showing secured a tie for 11th place.
OREGON – The Ducks are making back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championship and their 10th in program history. The Ducks placed a program-best third at the Lubbock Regional. Senior Marcella Pranovia led the Ducks with her finishing score of 1-under 215, which secured a tie for ninth place overall. Fellow senior Cathleen Santoso finished the Lubbock Regional at even-par, recording a 12th place finish.
STANFORD - The third-ranked Cardinal will be making their eighth consecutive NCAA Championship appearance after capturing their first outright NCAA Regional title at the Albuquerque Regional. The Cardinal are looking to capture their second NCAA title after winning the championship in 2015. Freshman Albane Valenzuela (73.05 avg.) earned medalist honors at the Albuquerque Regional after recording a 6-under 210. Valenzuela was named a member of the 2016-17 All-Pac-12 First Team.
USC – The 10th-ranked Trojans head to their 20th straight NCAA Championships seeking their fourth national title. Senior Victoria Morgan (73.27 avg.) led USC to a fourth-place finish at the Albuquerque Regional. Morgan, who finished sixth overall, recorded a final score of 1-over 217. Morgan also birdied three of her final four holes at the Albuquerque Regional.
Pac-12 Success: The Pac-12 Conference has claimed 17 NCAA women’s golf team titles, including six of the last nine, and produced 14 NCAA individual champions. Since 2008, the Pac-12 has netted six team champions by five different members (2008 - USC; 2009 – Arizona State; 2011 - UCLA; 2013 - USC; 2015 - Stanford; 2016 - Washington) and three individual champions (2008 – Azahara Muñiz, ASU; 2013 – Annie Park, USC; 2014 – Doris Chen, USC).
2017 Pac-12 Championship Results (April 24-26, Sewailo Golf Club, Tucson, Ariz.):
Pac-12 Championship Team Score (Par 72, 6,583)
| 1. UCLA | 290-285-287 – 862 (-2) |
| 2. Colorado | 296-286-301 – 883 (+19) |
| 3. Stanford | 296-298-290 – 884 (+20) |
| 4. Arizona | 305-293-289 – 887 (+23) |
| 5. USC | 304-303-287 – 894 (+30) |
| 6. Arizona State | 307-292-296 – 895 (+31) |
| 7. Washington | 308-292-301 – 901 (+37) |
| 8. Oregon State | 317-299-302 – 918 (+54) |
| 9. Oregon | 318-308-293 – 919 (+55) |
| 10. California | 316-309-306 – 931 (+67) |
| 11. Washington State | 316-314-305 – 935 (+71) |
Pac-12 Championship Top 10 Individuals
| 1. Lilia Vu, UCLA | 71-66-72 – 209 (-7) |
| 2. Mariel Galdiano, UCLA | 73-73-69 – 215 (-1) |
| T3. Andrea Lee, Stanford | 72-70-75 – 217 (+1) |
| T3. Linnea Strom, Arizona State | 74-74-69 – 217 (+1) |
| T5. Haley Moore, Arizona | 78-69-72 – 219 (+3) |
| T5. Krystal Quihuis, Arizona | 77-71-71 – 219 (+3) |
| T7. Brittany Fan, Colorado | 74-72-74 – 220 (+4) |
| T7. Tiffany Chan, USC | 75-70-75 – 220 (+4) |
| T9. Esther Lee, Colorado | 76-71-74 – 221 (+5) |
| T9. Julianne Alvarez, Washington | 78-70-73 – 221 (+5) |
2017 PAC-12 WOMEN’S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
First Team
Casey Danielson, Stanford
Mariel Galdiano, UCLA
Andrea Lee, Stanford
Olivia Mehaffey, Arizona State
Haley Moore, Arizona
Victoria Morgan, USC
Krystal Quihuis, Arizona
Robynn Ree, USC
Linnea Strom, Arizona State
Albane Valenzuela, Stanford
Monica Vaughn, Arizona State
Lilia Vu, UCLA
Honorable Mention
Lucia Gutierrez, California
Kirsty Hodgkins, Colorado
Esther Lee, Colorado
Gabriella Then, USC
Bethany Wu, UCLA
Sophia Zeeb, Arizona State