This one wasn’t even close.
USC made a mockery of the NCAA women’s golf Cle Elum regional, running away with the team title at 20-under par, 15 shots clear of runner-up Washington (5-under). The Trojans tied the low round of the day Wednesday, joining Northwestern with a 10-under par during the final round.
Rounding out the top six and joining the Trojans and Huskies in Fayetteville: Northwestern (E), Arkansas (+5), San Jose State (+8) and UCF (+10).
REGION SCORES: Auburn | Cle Elum | Norman | East Lansing
The Cle Elum region boasted seven of the top 25 teams in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, with just four of those seven advancing.
USC’s Jennifer Chang held on for medalist honors at 11-under, just beating out Washington’s Rino Sasaki and UCF’s Ana Laura Collado (-10).
As a No. 13 seed, UCF was the second-lowest seeded team to advance to the NCAA Championship in any of the four regions behind No. 14 Indiana in East Lansing.
“We just kept telling the girls to believe that we could advance and they all pulled together,” said UCF coach Emily Marron.
She continued:
“We went 8-under on our back nine today and that was the key to us advancing. Sophomore Ana Collado was clutch for us firing an opening round 66 and finishing runner-up but we advanced because of our team chemistry. This team plays for each other and never gives up. I am so proud of them and can’t wait to compete for a National Championship!”
