NCAA women's regionals: Final-round recaps as NCAA Championship tickets are punched
One regional is already in the books in Lubbock, Texas, while only a few holes were left to be played Wednesday morning in Norman, Oklahoma. Four other regionals have 18 holes remaining on what should be a wild final day.
The top five teams from each regional advance to next week's 30-team NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California. Also, the top individual not on an advancing team moves on.
As the regionals finish, we'll recap everything you need to know from each of the six sites, from who's advancing to who's not to the best stories:
Lubbock Regional
The Rawls Course, Lubbock, Texas, Par 72
Advancing teams: 1. Wake Forest (-2), 2. Texas (+2), 3. Iowa State (+10), 4. Tennessee (+22), 5. Purdue (+25; def. Texas A&M in one-hole playoff, -2 to even)
Eliminated: 6. Texas A&M (+25), 7. UC Davis (+26), 8. Arizona (+28), 9. Florida Gulf Coast (+38), 10. Campbell (+43), 11. Tarleton State (+54), 12. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (+96)
Individual champion: Carolina Chacarra, Wake Forest (-7)
Advancing individual: 4. Lousiane Gauthier, Florida Gulf Coast (E)
The story: Purdue's run-up to regionals left little indication that the Boilermakers would qualify for a second straight NCAA Championship, where they finished solo 29th a year ago. Purdue finished a disappointing eighth at its home event, then tied for 11th at the Big Ten Championship, where head coach Zack Byrd subbed out his best player, three-time winner Natasha Kiel, after an opening-round 80. But trailing the fifth spot by six shots with a few holes left, the Boilermakers rallied; Kiel and fellow senior Jocelyn Bruch birdied each of their last two holes, Nos. 8-9, to force a sudden-death playoff with Texas A&M. That's where Kiel delivered the best 3-iron that Byrd had ever seen before polishing it off with a 12-foot eagle make to send Purdue through. Click here for the full story.
Chip shots: After two days in miserable weather conditions, Wake Forest built an eight-shot lead over top-seeded Texas. Tuesday's final round, a day earlier than originally scheduled because of the dicey forecast, brought much better weather and lower scores, as the Demon Deacons cruised to their seventh straight NCAA Championship appearance. Chacarra is the third NCAA regional individual champion in school history, joining Rachel Kuehn and Jennifer Kupcho (twice). … In Laura Ianello's first season as head coach, Texas is through to its ninth straight NCAA Championship. The Longhorns have now finished second at regionals in four of the past five years. … Iowa State advanced through regionals for just the second time in program history, first since 2014. … Tennessee finished three shots clear of the playoff, in large part thanks to Martina Lopez Lanchares' 6-under 66 in the final round, as the Vols qualified for their first nationals since 2019. … Texas A&M, the fourth seed, snapped a streak of three straight NCAA Championship trips as it misses for the first time under head coach Gerrod Chadwell. … UC Davis fell two spots on the final day to miss out on qualifying for its first nationals since 2015. … Third-seeded Arizona has failed to advance past regionals in three of the past four years.
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