Stanford to face Northwestern in finals of NCAA women's championship
The Cardinal will face Northwestern Wednesday at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, as they look to become the first team in the match-play era (beginning in 2015) to win back-to-back national titles.
Following morning quarterfinal matches, Stanford defeated Florida State, 3 ½ to 1 ½. Northwestern beat Oregon, 3-2.
With the Cardnial leading FSU, 2-0, thanks to a 5-and-3 win by Paula Martin Sampedro and a 5-and-4 victory by Kelly Xu, Stanford forced extra holes in all three remaining matches.
Seminole junior Mirabel Ting, the second-ranked amateur in the world and recently named player of the year, was unable to close out her match in regulation against Andrea Revuleta. Woad, meanwhile, was 1 up through 14 holes over Ganne but needed to birdie the 17th to help force sudden death.
On the second playoff hole, the par-4 15th, Ganne hit her approach shot to 7 feet and Woad followed to 12 feet. Woad failed to convert her effort while Ganne center-cut hers to earn the clinching point.
The Northwestern-Oregon tilt came down to the final match, with Wildcat junior Dianna Lee taking down decorated sophomore Kiara Romero. Lee had two separate putts on the 17th hole to defeat the world No. 3, but missed both. Romero, however, hit her approach shot into the back greenside bunker on the par-4 18th and couldn't escape after two swings. She conceded the hole and the match.
The last team to repeat as DI women's national champions was Duke, in 2007, when 72 holes of stroke play determined the winner. Golf Channel will air live coverage of the final at 6 p.m. EDT.
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