On to Grayhawk: NCAA Women's Championship field set

May 11, 2022 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Twenty-four teams and 12 individuals are onto Grayhawk for the NCAA Championships

Two of the nation's top young stars going head-to-head for an individual title, a sudden-death playoff between two conference rivals, dominating performances, and tears of joy and heartbreak added to the drama of the final day of the NCAA Division I Women's Regionals, where 24 teams and 12 individuals punched their tickets to the national finals at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

Top seeds Oregon (Albuquerque) and San Jose State (Ann Arbor) won their respective regionals, along with Florida State (Tallahassee), Baylor (Stillwater), Vanderbilt (Franklin) and USC (Stanford).

Auburn staged a furious comeback to snag the fourth spot in Stillwater, prompting Tiger head coach Melissa Luellen to say, "I'm going to see my hairstylist to cover the gray hairs that popped."

For the most part, the seedings held true to form, as eight-seeded Purdue advanced out of the Stanford Regional, along with three other six seeds (Vanderbilt, TCU, Mississippi State) and a five seed (Georgia). Florida, seeded second in the Albuquerque Regional, was the highest seed not to advance to Grayhawk, while Ole Miss will not be defending its national championship after finishing well outside the cutline in Tallahassee.

There were four sweeps, with Beatrice Wallin of Florida State, Brianna Chacon of Oregon, Natasha Andrea Oon of San Jose State and USC's Amari Avery leading their squads to team titles.

Here's a rundown of final round action from the six regional sites around the country.

• • • • •

Tallahassee Regional; Seminole Legacy Golf Club; Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida State, the three-seed, ran away from the field on its home course for a nine-stroke victory over South Carolina and UCLA while Mississippi State is also headed to Grayhawk after finishing fourth at 27-over. Ole Miss, the fourth seed, will not defend its national championship after the Rebels finished sixth at 35-over.

Florida State wins the Tallahassee Regional

Florida State's Beatrice Wallin fired a final round 68 to claim medalist honors at 6-under par, one stroke ahead of Florida Atlantic's Letizia Bagnali, one of two individuals to earn a spot in the national finals along with Chiara Tamburlini of Ole Miss, who shot a final round 66 to finish at 2-over, which moved her into a tie for sixth place.

Top four seeds: 1. South Carolina; 2. UCLA; 3. Florida State; 4. Ole Miss

Advancing teams: Florida State (-4); t-2. South Carolina (+13); UCLA; 4. Mississippi State (+27).

On the outside looking in: 5. Miami (+32); 6. Ole Miss (+35).

Advancing individuals: Letizia Bagnali, Florida Atlantic (-5); Chiara Tamburlini, Ole Miss (+2).

They said it:"Every player stepped up today. Great teams are resilient – they know how to win and also know how to dig themselves out of holes. We've done both all year. Looking forward to heading to the National Championship with this group!" South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson

• • • • •

We like the sound of this! ⬇️#SpartanUp | #MakingHerMark | #RegionalChamps pic.twitter.com/L3vLq1yqJo
— San Jose State Women's Golf (@SanJoseStWGOLF) May 11, 2022

Ann Arbor Regional; University of Michigan Golf Course; Ann Arbor, Mich.

The seedings held true in Ann Arbor, where San Jose State won the regional with a 10-over score of 862, overcoming a three-shot deficit to overtake Virginia for the title. Arkansas and Michigan are also through to Grayhawk after tying for third at 28-over.

San Jose State's Natasha Andrea Oon claimed medalist honors at 6-under 207, five strokes clear of Emily Mahar of Virgina Tech, who will also be headed to Grayhawk as a qualifying individual. Mahar will be joined by Old Dominion's Jana Melichova, who tied for third at even par.

Top four seeds: 1. San Jose State; 2. Virginia; 3. Michigan; 4. Arkansas

Advancing teams: 1. San Jose State (+10); 2. Virginia (+13); t-3. Arkansas (+28); Michigan.

On the outside looking in: 5. Virginia Tech (+31).

Advancing individuals: Emily Mahar, Virginia Tech (-1); Jana Melichova, Old Dominion (E).

They said it:"This was awesome, especially with Natasha Oon winning the individual championship. What a great day. We're really excited about heading to Nationals. It has been an amazing spring. The team is firing on all cylinders and we can't wait to keep on playing.San Jose State head coach Dana Dormann

• • • • •

Stillwater Regional; Karsten Creek Golf Club; Stillwater, Okla.

With apologies to the Baylor Bears who won this regional by 14 strokes, the storyline from Stillwater wasn't about which team finished first, but which team snagged the fourth spot. Auburn, which began the day 11 strokes of the cutline, fired a 12-under round of 276 on Wednesday to tie for third, overtaking Clemson, which dropped down to seventh place following a 20-over round of 308.

Baylor ran away with the Stillwater Regional

Oklahoma State's Maddison Hinson-Tolchard took medalist honors with a 4-under score of 212, three strokes clear of Baylor teammates Rosie Belsham, Britta Snyder and Gurleen Kaur.

Anna Morgan of Furman is also headed to Grayhawk as an individual after she tied for fifth at even par. She will be joined Michigan State's Leila Raines, who survived a 4-for-1 playoff with Furman's Sophia Burnett, Tulane's Carla Bernat and Clemson's Savannah Grewal after all four players finished at 3-over. Raines eagled the second playoff hole to take the second qualifying spot.

Top four seeds: 1. Oklahoma State; 2. Arizona State; 3. Baylor; 4. Auburn

Advancing teams: 1. Baylor (+1), 2. Arizona State (+15); 3. Oklahoma State (+17); 4. Auburn (+17).

On the outside looking in: 5. Michigan State (+21).

Advancing individuals: Anna Morgan, Furman (E); Leila Raines, Michigan State (+3; playoff).

They said it: "An absolutely amazing day. It was one of the greatest comebacks in Auburn history. They were locked in mentally. The goal was mental errors or less. I think we had five total. I'm so happy for our seniors who get another chance to win a championship. I'm going to see my hair stylist to cover the gray hairs that popped." Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen

• • • • •

Franklin Regional; Vanderbilt Legends Club; Franklin, Tenn.

Vanderbilt is through to Scottsdale

Sixth-seeded Vanderbilt took advantage of playing on its home course, where the Commodores raced to the regional title at 16-under par, eight strokes clear of Alabama. Top-seeded Wake Forest finished third at 3-under while Texas A&M overtook Duke for the fourth spot after the Aggies turned in a 5-under final round to finish one stroke ahead of the Blue Devils.

Alabama's Polly Mack won the individual title at 12-under 204 (65-73-66), two strokes clear of Wake Forest's Rachel Kuehn and Texas A&M's Jennie Park.

Texas-San Antonio's Camryn Carreon fired a final round 67 to tie for fourth at 5-under 211, earning a spot in the NCAA Championship field as an individual. She will be joined by Natalia Yoko of Augusta State, who tied for ninth at 3-under 213.

Top four seeds: 1. Wake Forest; 2. Alabama; 3. Texas A&M; 4. Duke

Advancing teams: 1. Vanderbilt (-16); 2. Alabama (-8); 3. Wake Forest (-3); 4. Texas A&M (+3).

On the outside looking in: 5. Duke (+4).

Advancing individuals: Camryn Carreon, Texas-San Antonio (-5); Natalia Yoko, Augusta (-3).

They said it: “While we were having rough finishes in the month of March, I kept telling them that our time was coming. They kept believing. This is our time.”Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen

• • • • •

Albuquerque Regional; The Championship Course at UNM; Albuquerque, NM

Oregon joined San Jose State as the only No. 1 seed to win its regional, as the Ducks went wire-to-wire in Albuquerque and finished at 4-under, which was good for a three-stroke win over Texas. Georgia (+2) and TCU (+10) are also headed to Scottsdale.

Brianna Chacon

Oregon's Briana Chacon became the first Duck ever to claim NCAA Regional individual medalist honors. At 9-under 207, Chacon claimed a four-stroke win over Georgia's Jenny Bae for her first collegiate title.

Top four seeds: 1. Oregon; 2. Florida; 3. Texas; 4. Arizona

Advancing teams: 1. Oregon (-4); 2. Texas (-1); 3. Georgia (+2); 4. TCU (+10).

On the outside looking in: 5. Florida (+11); Arizona (+12).

Advancing individuals as of today: Marina Escobar Domingo, Florida (-3); Viera Permata Rosada, Sam Houston (E).

They said it: "Incredibly proud of what our team was able to accomplish here this week. They came here with the mindset that they were going to win this Regional and make a statement going into the NCAA Championships, and they did just that. This is such a tight group of five and they've made so much history together already this season, but we're not done yet. I can't wait to see what we do in Scottsdale." Oregon head coach Derek Radley

• • • • •

Stanford Regional; Stanford Golf Course; Stanford, Calif.

USC wins the Stanford Regional

Out west, the Stanford Regional was filled with star power and drama, as two of the nation's brightest young stars went head-to-head for the individual title while it took a playoff between a pair of conference rivals to decide the fourth spot.

USC traveled north to claim the team title at 15-under par, eight strokes clear of top-ranked Stanford and Southeastern Conference champion LSU. It marked the Trojans 14th regional title, most in women's golf.

Purdue and Northwestern tied for fourth at 12-over, forcing a playoff to decide the final advancing team from this region. All five players from each squad played the 18th hole, with Purdue (21) taking the tiebreaker over the Wildcats (23).

Paired together for the final round, future Curtis Cup teammates Amari Avery of USC and Rose Zhang of Stanford staged a memorable dual for the individual title. Avery came out on top by a single stroke. The Trojan freshman took a two-stroke lead into the final round and fired a 3-under 67 and held off a hard-charging Zhang, who turned in a 5-under 66 only come up one stroke short. The two freshmen have each won three individual titles this season.

USC sophomore Brianna Navarrosa finished two back at 7-under.

Avery's 67 rocketed her into first at 6-under 136 (69-67) with a two-stroke lead over Navarrosa (70-68) and LSU's Carla Tejedo.

Top four seeds: 1. Stanford; 2. Southern California; 3. LSU; 4. Texas Tech

Advancing teams: 1. USC (-15); t-2. Stanford (-7); t-4. Purdue (+12); Northwestern. Purdue advances in a playoff

On the outside looking in: 5. Princeton (+21)

Advancing individuals:Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Iowa State (-1); Ruby Chou, Iowa State (-1). Jeeravivitaporn defeated Jieni Li (Northwestern) on the second playoff hole.

They said it: "This was an incredible week for a group that was very much deserving of it. They have worked very hard and very smartly the past few weeks to put themselves in position to make a deep postseason run. Amari's play this spring has been spectacular and this win should put her in the National Player of the Year discussion. Bri and Michaela did a great job this week and their finishes are a product of some incredible work at home. Although Cindy and Katherine didn't post the finishes they would have liked, their games look really good and I expect that they'll perform very well at Grayhawk." USC head coach Justin Silverstein

Results: NCAA Division I Women's Championship

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Rose Zhang	Irvine, CA	1500	68-70-69-75=282
2	Natasha Andrea Oon	, Malaysia	1000	77-68-70-70=285
T3	Jennie Park	Carrollton, TX	700	73-72-72-70=287
T3	Ingrid Lindblad	, Sweden	700	74-70-73-70=287
5	Tze-Han Lin	, Chinese Taipei	700	72-71-71-74=288

View full results for NCAA Division I Women's Championship

About the NCAA Division I Women's Championship

On to Grayhawk: NCAA Women's Championship field set

30 teams and 6 individuals not on a qualifying team make up the field for the championship of NCAA Division I women's golf. After 72 holes of stroke play, the individual champion is crowned, and the low 8 teams advance to match play to determine the ...