WOODSIDE, Calif. – California men's and women's golf joined forces on Thursday afternoon to take down Stanford in the inaugural Big Match at Menlo Country Club.
 
For the first time, the men's and women's teams for both Cal and Stanford played a four-ball tournament and six matches could not separate the two Bay Area rivals. Cal won two matches, Stanford won two matches and the schools split the final two forcing the match into a playoff hole.
 
The teams agreed beforehand that the playoff would be contested between the top pairing. The Bears were represented by Cindy Oh and Collin Morikawa while the Cardinal sent Isaiah Salinda and Andrea Lee to the first tee box. Oh sank a birdie on the par-four first hole, but Salinda saved the hole for the Cardinal forcing another hole to settle the match.
 
Oh's second shot from the fairway landed on the 18th green, about 11 feet from the pin which put her in prime position. After the three other players conceded par, Oh sank the birdie to win the match and send Cal home as the champions.
 
"To have the first Big Match come down to the last hole, and to have our senior Cindy make a putt to win it. It was like a dream," head women's coach Nancy McDaniel said.
 
The tandem of Oh and Morikawa dominated throughout the day as they won their matchup in 14 holes by building a five-hole advantage. Oh recorded nine birdies in her 16 holes of play.
 
"I just felt good on the course, I was really relaxed," Oh said. "I trusted my game and my playing partner, Collin and everything just went in."

"It was awesome today to play against our rival," Morikawa added. "Both sides had very good teams and to tie and win in a playoff in the very first Big Match is amazing. Cindy played awesome all day and really helped the team to our win. Match play is always a great format and it will definitely be something I'll remember for awhile."
 
The match would not have made it to the playoff if not for senior Ben Doyle hitting par on the 18th hole. Doyle was paired with Amina Wolf in the fourth pairing and they were the last ones on the course after the two pairs behind them concluded their match early. After Stanford's pair both bogeyed the hole, Doyle forced the playoff with a two-putt on the green.
 
The freshman combination of Katherine Zhu and James Song secured the other Cal victory as they defeated David Snyder and Ziyi Wang 4 & 3. Playing in their first match play tournament of collegiate play the duo executed from start to finish. They built a big lead early, and kept it going throughout the day to secure a point for the Bears.
 
"I thought today was incredible," men's assistant coach Eric Mina said. "The support from Menlo Country Club gave the event the feel of a major championship. Obviously, the Cal-Stanford rivalry is one of the most storied around. It was a pretty cool format with the men's and women's team working together and helping each other read putts. The support between the two teams was special and to come away with a win was even better. It's pretty fitting for the inaugural event to end in a sudden death playoff and it was awesome to have Cindy make two putts in the playoff to win it."
 
The Big Match was a unique event in collegiate golf. The two teams played a fourball tournament. The two Cal players and two Stanford players played together with only the lowest score on each hole counting. The tension and drama of the first competition lasted nearly six hours with very little separation between the teams.
 
"I think it was a phenomenal golf course and just an amazing staff at Menlo that put together a special event," McDaniel said. "It felt like a national championship. It was exciting to bring the healthy rivalry of Cal vs. Stanford to the golf course and to do that with our men's team made for an incredible afternoon.
 
In addition to playing the inaugural Big Match, the Cal women's team had another focus. Maria Herraez Galvez and Elena Arias were mourning their friend and teammate on the Spanish National Team, Celia Barquin Arozamena. Barquin Arozamena, a former member of the Iowa State women's golf team, was murdered on Monday morning. The team honored her memory by wearing red bows on their hats and visors on Thursday.
 
"For us today, we had a bigger purpose," Herraez Galvez said. "We were playing for something else, not just playing Stanford. Losing Celia, that hit us pretty hard. Especially Elena and I, since we were on the National Team with her for a long time. We wanted to play the sport that she loved and honor her memory."
 
SCORE
Nate Menon / Kelsey Zeng  (S) def. Sofia Lundell / Marianne Li (C) - 3 & 2
Henry Shimp / Maddie Chou  (S) vs. KK Limbhasut / Elena Arias (C) - All Square
Ashwin Arasu / Mika Liu (S) vs. Ben Doyle / Amina Wolf (C) - All Square
James Song / Katherine Zhu (C)  def. David Snyder / Ziyi Wang (S) - 4 & 3  
Brandon Wu / Albane Valenzuela (S) def.  Seb Crampton / Maria Herraez Galvez (C) - 3 & 2
Collin Morikawa / Cindy Oh (C)  def. Isaiah Salinda / Andrea Lee (S) - 5 & 4
*Collin Morikawa and Cindy Oh defeated Isaiah Salinda and Andrea Lee in a two-hole playoff to decide the match.