UCLA bests crosstown rival USC in Gifford Great 8 Title Match
Gifford Great 8 winning UCLA
(UCLA Athletics Photo)
LOS ANGELES, CA (March 14, 2016) -- In the inaugural Gifford Great 8 Collegiate Match Play title tilt two crosstown rivals went head-to-head with No. 9 UCLA outlasting No. 2 USC 3-2 to win the title.
Playing at Brentwood Country Club all five matches on Tuesday went to the final hole but UCLA was able to hold on thanks in large part to an early 2-0 advantage. On Tuesday UCLA received full points from Lilia Vu and Erin Choi both by 1 up tallies.
UCLA ended up earning the deciding point thanks to a pair of halves as Bethany Wu of UCLA halved with the Trojans Victoria Morgan and Bruin Clare Legaspi halved with Robynn Ree of USC.
The only full USC point came from Tiffany Chan after she won the last two holes to escape 1 up.
Overall eight teams appeared in the tournament with the first two rounds matches being played on Monday.
UCLA made their way through the bracket with a 3-2 semifinal win over Colorado and a 4-1 quarterfinal victory over Oregon.
For USC, they were able to produce a 3.5-1.5 semifinal triumph over No. 22 Purdue and a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Oregon State.