Andrea Lee (Stanford Athletics/Twitter photo)
ATLANTA (Oct. 30, 2018) – Stanford women’s golf has become synonymous with match-play success. The Cardinal always seem to excel in this format, and Tuesday at the East Lake Cup was no different. As the top-seeded team, Stanford easily defeated Alabama, 4-1, in the semifinals.
Stanford didn’t need many holes to get the job done at East Lake Golf Club. To be fair, Alabama suffered in the spots left empty by two of its top players, Kristen Gillman and Lauren Stephenson, who are away at LPGA Q-Series.
At the top of the lineup, junior Andrea Lee got Stanford started by posting a 7-and-5 win against Mary Mac Trammell. Lee won the first two holes and was 4 up at the turn.
Stanford junior Ziyi Wang opened her match against Carolina Caminoli by winning eight consecutive holes. She cruised to an easy 8-and-6 victory.
Albane Valenzuela, the individual medalist, logged a 4-and-3 victory against Angelica Moresco, the only Alabama player in the East Lake lineup who competed on the Alabama team that was runner-up to Arizona at last spring’s national championship.
Mika Liu had to grind out a close 1-up win over Alabama junior Jiwon Jeon. Another Alabama junior, Kenzie Wright, picked up the Crimson Tide's lone win on the day when she took down the Cardinal's Aline Krauter with a birdie on the 19th hole.
“We're in this position every year because of the way we play in May," said Stanford head coach Anne Walker. "So we're doing something right that gets us to the right spot in May. I just give all the credit to my players."
After its win, Stanford will again meet USC in Wednesday’s East Lake Cup final. The Trojans, who defeated the Cardinal, 3-2, in the final last year, will be seeking their third consecutive tournament win and their third overall East Lake Cup title.
“After our round yesterday we knew that getting off to a fast start was going to be huge,” USC head coach Justin Silverstein Said. “I’m thrilled to see that this group was able to make the necessary adjustments to do just that. We’re excited to get a chance to go up against Stanford, who has had an incredible week thus far.”
USC had a similar result as Stanford in Tuesday’s semifinal match against Arizona. Three USC never trailed in their matches and the Trojans ultimately beat the defending national champions, 4-1.
Information from Stanford Athletics, USC Athletics used in this report
View results for Women's East Lake Cup
ABOUT THE Women's East Lake Cup
Started in 2015 and hosted by the historic
East
Lake Golf Club Atlanta, this collegiate, two-day
match
play competition features the top-performing
teams
from the previous year's NCAA Women's
Golf Championships.
View Complete Tournament Information