Sun Devil Women's Golf Advances to Match Play

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Women's Golf survived and advanced to match play in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club.
 
Arizona State qualified as the No. 7 seed and will matchup with No. 2-seed Duke starting at 6:20 AM MST on hole one. A reminder that parking and admission are free, so join the many Sun Devil fans that have already showed their support over the past four days.
 
"It was a stressful day that required a lot of scoreboard watching, but we are grateful to be advancing to match play," Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye remarked. "This is the stage we wanted to get to all along and we are excited for the challenge of playing a very talented Duke team."
 
Freshman Ashley Menne was outstanding in her first NCAA Championship, proving to be one of the best in the loaded 132-golfer field. Menne finished in fourth place thanks to a strong ending, the highest finish by a Sun Devil at NCAA's since Monica Vaughn won the Individual Title back in 2017.
 
"Ashley Menne had some clutch birdies today, most importantly the last two holes," Coach Farr-Kaye complimented. "For a freshman to do that with so much pressure, it speaks to her maturity and comfort in the spotlight. Ashley finished fourth as an individual, which is a tremendous accomplishment. I can tell you she is not done succeeding at this golf course."
 
Menne becomes the 23 individual in the program since 1982 to finish in the Top-5, a list that includes current Associate Head Coach Michelle Estill. She came through with several clutch birdies down the stretch, including back-to-back on 17 & 18 responding well to the pressure. She shot a 72 (E), tied for the best round by a Sun Devil today to finish -3 (285).
 
"I am so thrilled to have been able to finish 4th this week on the biggest stage in women's collegiate golf," Ashley Menne reflected. "Having supportive teammates, coaches, and friends really make this week memorable and most of all ridiculously fun. I cannot wait to get it done in match play with my girls."
 
Matching Menne is shooting even par (72) was Linn Grant, who was steady throughout the round. She avoided any bogeys on the front nine and was able to sink a birdie putt on four. She came through with a clutch birdie on 17, helping the Sun Devils pick up what proved to be a crucial stroke moving her into the Top-30 in the individual standings.
 
Four-time All-American Olivia Mehaffey was huge when her team needed her the most, capping her round with a crowd-pleasing birdie putt. Amanda Linner was mistake-free over her final seven holes, an important part of the Sun Devils finishing at 1,173. Both Sun Devils finished in the top-half of the talented field. Alessandra Fanali also finished her round on a high note, going one-under over her final six holes.
 
"Very excited to get into match play tomorrow, this has been our teams goal since the start of the year," Olivia Mehaffey explained. "To have the opportunity tomorrow to play match play is amazing. Everyone is very excited to get going."
 
All five Sun Devils and Blue Devils will square off in a match play style best out of five battle to decide who advances to the semifinals. The winner would have a quick turnaround, with the next matchup against the winner of the Oklahoma State/Auburn schedule to start at 12:45 pm MST. Here are the matchups for the quarterfinal round:
 

 
 The other quarterfinal bouts include No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 Arizona and No. 4 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Texas. The Pac-12 Conference leads the way with three teams in the final eight.  
 
"So happy for the Pac-12 to get three of the final eight teams. It shows the strength of our conference and how well our schedules prepared us for these moments. Congratulations to Stanford and Arizona on achieving this goal."
 
If you can't join us out at Grayhawk Golf Club, GOLF Channel will be providing live coverage throughout the day, beginning at 9 AM MST and running until the conclusion of the quarterfinals. The semifinals will also be broadcasted nationally starting at 2 PM MST. Track the scores live with Golfstat at the following link.
 
Serving as the host institution, the Sun Devils found themselves surrounded by fans yet again, with Sun Devil Nation showing up strong. Grayhawk Golf Club has received rave reviews from Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye and company.
 
"The fans have been great all week and we would love to see a lot of Maroon & Gold out here tomorrow morning. Grayhawk has done a first-class job hosting this event, so it is definitely worth checking out."
 
CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT
 
The championship format consists of 24 teams and 12 individuals completing 54 holes of stroke play (Friday-Sunday). Following the first three rounds, the top-15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team proceed to the final day of stroke play Monday to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in match play for the NCAA Championship on Tuesday & Wednesday. 

Monday's fourth round of stroke play, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday's match play, will broadcast live on the Golf Channel. See below for the Golf Channel broadcast schedule throughout the championships (all times Eastern Time). The Golf Channel can also be viewed online at www.golfchannel.com or on the Golf Channel app.

GOLF CHANNEL LIVE COVERAGE SCHEDULE 
Monday, May 24 – 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. (Live final round, individual stroke play coverage)
Tuesday, May 25 – 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (Live quarterfinals coverage)
Tuesday, May 25 – 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. (Live semifinals coverage)
Wednesday, May 26 – 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. (Live finals, match play coverage)
 
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
 
Missy Farr-Kaye and the Sun Devils are no strangers to the challenge that the NCAA Championship presents. This is the fourth-consecutive time the team has qualified for nationals under Farr-Kaye, and the 36th time overall. After capturing the 2017 national championship, Farr-Kaye added to her already impressive resume. She has now won a national title at ASU as a player (1990), assistant coach (2009), and head coach (2017). Coach Farr-Kaye and assistant coach Michelle Estill, both Sun Devil alums, played under legendary head coach Linda Vollstedt. Vollstedt led the program to a total of six NCAA championship in the 1990's. Veteran Olivia Mehaffey was a member of the 2017 team that defeated Northwestern to earn the program's eighth crown.
 
The Sun Devil Women's Golf program has done something unmatched by any other NCAA Division I team in their sport – they have won eight NCAA National Championships, including three straight, five in six years, and six within nine years (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2009, 2017). ASU also has a nation-leading six individual NCAA champions including Danielle Ammaccapane (1985), Emilee Klein (1994), Kristel Mourgue d'Algue (1995), Grace Park (1999), Azahara Munoz (2008), and Monica Vaughn (2017). Prior to women's sports competing in the NCAA, the Sun Devils had four other national champions including Cathy Gaughan (1970), Jane Bastanchury-Booth (1969), Carol Sorenson (1962), and Joanna Gunderson-Carner (1960).

Arizona State is one of six teams to have both the women's and men's teams qualifying for NCAA championships in 2021. The Sun Devils are joined by Florida State, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Wake Forest. ASU is also the only school to have won a National Title in both men's and women's golf in the same season (1990).
 
NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

 
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
Golf Channel will have live coverage May 24-26, the final three days of the NCAA Championship. Stayed tuned for more details on the upcoming NCAA Women's Golf Championship, hosted by Arizona State at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. Visit the Championship Central webpage.
 
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).