With a fifth-place finish at the NCAA East Regional, the Stanford women’s golf team advanced to the NCAA Championships. The national finale will be contested between May 20 and 24 at the Tulsa Country Club.
The fourth-ranked Cardinal was one of eight teams to make it out of the NCAA East Regional, as the 56-hole event at Southwood Golf Club was completed Saturday.
Stanford was 11th through the first round and sixth after 36 holes before moving up one spot on the final day.
The Cardinal (291-286-289) was 2-over for the event at the par-72 track and 1-over Saturday, 13 shots better than eight-place Campbell to secure its upcoming trip to Tulsa.
Stanford will be making its fifth straight NCAA Championships appearance. The Cardinal tied for 13th in 2013.
Vanderbilt ran away with the team win at 24-under in front of South Carolina (-10), North Carolina State (-4) and Duke (-4). The Commodores also saw Jenny Hahn place first among individuals with a 9-under.
“Regionals is all about surviving and advancing,” Stanford coach Anne Walker said. “It’s always a crazy week with a lot of teams playing with nothing to lose, and a handful of teams playing with everything to lose. This creates a lot of drama and Cinderella stories, and we’re glad to have clinched a spot.”
Leading the uphill climb were Mariah Stackhouse and Lauren Kim, who each tied for 11th at 3-under. Stackhouse, the clubhouse leader through two rounds, was 2-over in the final 18.
Kim began Saturday on the 10th with an eagle, adding a birdie on 12 to move to 3-under, which would be her finishing score.
“We got better each day on the course,” Walker said. “We were more comfortable on the greens and in the rough by the end of the tournament. We were the only team besides Pepperdine not from the East Region, so the climb was uphill . . . and we made it.”
Two double bogeys were not enough to tarnish an even-par Saturday for Casey Danielson. Danielson had four birdies to check in at a tie for 18th after a 1-under for the tournament.
Marissa Mar had three birdies on her back nine while finishing at 2-under for the day and 9-over for the tournament. She tied for 79th, and Mariko Tumangan placed inside the top-100 at 14-over.
Women’s tennis
Caroline Doyle notched her second victory of the weekend, clinching No. 11 Stanford’s 4-0 win over No. 53 Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
With the win, defending champion Stanford (18-2) qualified for the NCAA round of 16 in Athens, Ga. The Cardinal, which has advanced to the round of 16 for the 29th consecutive season, will be looking to repeat as national champions and capture its 18th NCAA crown.
Making its 33rd straight postseason appearance, Stanford emerged with a 1-0 lead following a hard-fought doubles point, as Long Beach State (21-3) pushed the Cardinal on all three courts in a competition that lasted just over an hour.
Taylor Davidson and Ellen Tsay created some separation with an 8-5 win on court two before Doyle and Amelia contributed an 8-7 (5) clincher next door at No. 3.
Tsay, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 triumph yesterday, continued her torrid singles play with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Hayley Thompson on court five.
Stanford extended its lead to 3-0 when Carol Zhao prevailed 6-1, 6-1 against Julie Gerard at the No. 3 spot for her first career NCAA win and 26th of the year overall.
Doyle then provided the clincher, breezing past Holly Reid 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 6 position.
Long Beach State reached Saturday’s match after outlasting Tulsa 4-3 on Friday in an entertaining contest that required four hours and 53 minutes to complete.
Men’s tennis
No. 27 Stanford dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 43 Tulsa on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
In a hard-fought match that lasted nearly four hours, Stanford built an early lead but was unable to convert several three-setters as Tulsa rallied for the win.
The Cardinal (14-6) claimed the doubles point and received a 6-1, 6-1 victory from Robert Stineman at the No. 6 spot.
Softball
tanford outhit Oregon State and held two leads during the game, but the Cardinal was unable to overcome an eight-run Beavers fifth inning and dropped the series-finale, 13-9.
The loss brought Stanford’s (30-25, 5-19 Pac-12) regular season to a close, marking the 18th consecutive year the Cardinal has finished with a winning record. Stanford will find out its postseason fate Sunday at 7 p.m. (PT) when the 2014 tournament field is announced on ESPNU.
The Cardinal has made each of the past 16 postseason tournaments.
Despite the loss, Stanford figures to be in a good position to earn a postseason berth after entering the weekend ranked 41st in the RPI rankings and coming off a strong showing at No. 2/2 UCLA where it became the only non-top five team in the country to defeat the Bruins.
Stanford also has key wins over No. 10/10 Washington, North Carolina State and Northwestern which are ranked 14th, 30th and 37th in the RPI rankings, respectively.
Stanford came out swinging in Saturday’s finale and compiled 15 hits on the day. Kylie Sorenson and Tylyn Wells each went 4-for-4, while Leah White and Hanna Winter tallied two hits apiece.
Madi Schreyer (22-14) made her 39th start in the circle on the season and allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out two.
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics
By Palo Alto Online Sports/Stanford Athletics