Arizona State breaks through with Stanford Invite team title

Arizona State’s roster is small but mighty, something the Sun Devils proved on Sunday as they finished off a season-first victory at the Stanford Intercollegiate hosted by Condoleeza Rice.

The Sun Devils were the only team to get double digits under par at Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif. At 10 under for 54 holes on the par-71 course, Arizona State finished five shots ahead of the home team.

Important in Arizona State’s win were two eagles made by Alexandra Forsterling and Olivia Mehaffey at the par-5 seventh hole. The real charge, however, came on the back nine, where Sun Devil counters went 2 under to reach their 5-under 279 final-round score.

Arizona State needed every shot, considering that a tough Stanford team, currently ranked No. 1 in the country in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, went 5 under on the back.

Arizona State placed two players – Linn Grant (third) and Raquel Olmos (T-5) – in the top 5 while senior Olivia Mehaffey checked in at T-13. Stanford freshman Angelina Ye, also the reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, reached 10 under (67-70-66) to win the individual title.

USC and Arizona tied for third at 4 under, while Florida – one of the only East Coast teams to make the trip – tied for fifth with Oregon.