Danielson Goes 2-0 in NCAA Matches, But ASU Edges Cardinal on Way to 8th Title

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. -- When play was halted because of darkness on Tuesday, Stanford was on the verge of beating Arizona State in their semfinal match at the NCAA Championships. That changed Wednesday morning, thanks to Monica Vaughn and Linnea Strom. 

Vaughn had won the individual championship Monday on the final day of stroke play, but she was 1 down to Stanford freshman Albane Valenzuela with one hole to go when the ASU-Stanford match was put on hold late Tuesday. If Vaughn lost to Valenzuena, Stanford would have three points, the match would be over, and the Cardinal would be in the NCAA Women's final for the third time in the three years since the format was for determining the national team champion was switched to match play.

But the Sun Devils senior came up with exactly the shot she needed at precisely the right time. She nearly holed a 40-yard pitch shot on the par-5 18th hole at Rich Harvest Farms, leaving herself with a tap-in birdie that she had to stay alive against Valenzuela. The birdie squared their match, and Vaughn won it with a par on the first extra hole.

With that result in the books, ASU and Stanford were tied 2-2, with only Strom's match against Madeline Chou still on the course. Strom had been 1 down after 15 holes, but she won the 16th by making a 12-foot putt for par. She made another clutch putt, a 7-footer for par, at the 18th hole to force extra holes, and she won the 19th hole when Chou three-putted from 40 feet.

The comebacks by Vaughn and Strom transormed what had looked like a potential 4-1 defeat 12 hours earlier into a 3-2 victory.  

One of the things that was overshadowed by the Sun Devils' comeback was the performance of Stanford senior Casey Danielson. The four-time Wisconsin state high school champ from Osceola won both of her matches this year -- 3&2 over Baylor's Fiona Liddell in the quarterfinals, and 3&2 over ASU's Sophia Zeeb in the semis -- and improved her record in NCAA matches to 6-1. Stanford won the team championship at the 2015 NCAA tournament and was the runner-up to Washington last year. 

Compared with the drama against Stanford, Arizona State's 3-1-1 victory over Northwestern in the final seemed almostf like a cakewalk. The Sun Devils got ahead early and stayed there. Olivia Mehaffey beat Sarah Cho 4&3. Roberta Liti blitzed Janet Mao 5&4, and Strom cruised -- relatively speaking -- to a 5&3 triumph over Stephanie Lau. Mehaffey and Strom both concluded the tournament with 3-0 records.

Vaughn made things interesting in her match against Hannah Kim, falling 3 down after 10 holes. She then won three of the next five holes and wound up halving the match.

The 2017 national championship in women's golf is the eighth for Arizona State, the most for any school. Duke is second on that list with six.

ASU had qualified third out of the eight teams that got through the stroke-play portion of the NCAA and into match play. Northwestern was first and Stanford second. But once match play began, the Sun Devils were the best team. They demolished sixth-seeded Floriday 5-0 in the quarterfinals. Stanford and Northwestern both squeaked through the quarters, Northwestern beating eighth-seeded Kent State 3-2, and Stanford winning by the same score over seventh-seeded Baylor. Fifth-seeded USC was  the only lower seeded to make it past the quarterfinals, but the Trojans' 3-1-1 victory over fourth-seeded Ohio State wasn't really an upset.  

In the semis, Northwestern had to stage an even bigger comeback than Stanford. The Wildcats trailed USC in all five individual matches as they finished the front nine. Northwestern turned three of those matches around to win 3-2, and Janet Mao secured the deciding point by winning in 19 holes.   


WOMEN'S COLLEGE GOLF

NCAA Division I Championships

At Rich Harvest Farms

Par 72, 6,343 yards

Sugar Grove, Ill. 

Match Play

Quarterfinals (Seedings in parenthesis)

(1) Northwestern wins 3-2 over (8) Kent State 2

Sarah Cho, NW, def. Kelly Nielsen 6&5

Kacie Komoto, NW def. Michaela Finn 2 up

Hannah Kim, NW, def. Wad Phaewchimplee

Karoline Stormo, KS, def. Janet Mao 3&2

Pimnipa Panthong, KS, def. Stephanie Lau 1&3* (Panthong led 1 up after 15 holes)

* -- when the team match is decided all other matches are ended wherever they are on the course, and the player who is leading gets credit for the victory 

(5) USC  wins 3-1-1 over (4) Ohio State

Victoria Morgan (USC) def. Nikolette Schroeder  4&3 

Jessica Porvasnik, OSU), def. Muni He 5&4

Gabriella Then, USC, halved with Jaclyn Lee

Robynn Ree, USC, def. Rio Watanabe 1 up

Tiffany Chan, USC, def. Katja Pogacar 1 up

(2) Stanford wins 3-2 over (7) Baylor 

Maggie Beth Byers, B, def. Shannon Aubert 1&1

Albane Valenzuela, S, def. Dylan Baker 2&1

Andrea Lee, S, def. Maria Vesga 4&3

Casey Danielson, S, def. Fiona Liddell 3&2

Amy Lee, B, def. Madeline Chou 6&5

(3) Arizona State wins 5-0 over (6) Florida

Olivia Mehaffey, ASU, def. Samantha Wagner 5&4

Monica Vaughn, ASU, def. Karolina Vickova 2&1

Sophia Zeeb, ASU, def. Taylor Tomlinson 1&2

Roberta Liti, ASU, def. Maria Torres 5&4

Linnea Strom, ASU, def. Kelly Grassel 2&4

   
Semifinals

Northwestern wins 3-2 over USC 

Cho, NW,  def. Morgan 2&1

Kim, NW, def, Ree 2&1

He, USC, def. Komoto 19 holes

Mao, NW, def. Then 19 holes

Chan, USC, def. 2&1

Arizona State wins 3-2 over Stanford

Mehaffey, ASU, def. Andrea Lee 2&1

Vaughn, ASU, def. Valennzuela 19 holes

Danielson, S, def. Zeeb 3&2

Aubert, S, def. Liti 4&3

Strom ASU, def. Chou 19 holes 


Championship match

Arizona State wins 3-1-1 over Northwestern 

Mehaffey, ASU def. Cho 4&3

Vaughn, ASU, halved with Kim

Komoto, NW, def. Zeeb 3&1

Liti, ASU, def. Mao 5&4

Strom, ASU, def. Lau 5&3