UVa Women's Golfers Finish 14th at NCAA Championships

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May 23, 2014

Tulsa, Okla. – The No. 18 Virginia women’s golf team shot its lowest round of the week to move up to a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championship held in Tulsa, Okla. The Cavaliers shot 1-under 279 during the final round of the 72-hole tournament for a four-day total of 45-over 1165.

Duke took the team title at 10-over 1130. The third-ranked Blue Devils edged top-ranked USC by two shots. Second-ranked UCLA was second at 1145 and No. 7 Oklahoma placed fourth at 1147 after leading the field at the halfway point.

Virginia was one of just seven schools in the 24-team field to break par during at least one round of the tournament. It also marked the first time a Cavalier team has bettered par at an NCAA Championship event. Virginia has placed in the top-15 in all seven of its NCAA Championship appearances.

“We played well today and we moved up from where we started the day and that was our goal going into the final round,” said Virginia head coach Kim Lewellen. “The first two days, we dug ourselves a hole with the way we played in the strong winds, but I was very impressed how the young ladies bounced back and played over the final two days. This was a terrific experience for our three players who will be returning next season.”

Virginia was led during Friday’s final round by a strong 3-under 67 from junior Briana Mao (Folsom, Calif.). After struggling in the strong winds that buffeted the course in the first two rounds, shooting 16-over par, Mao played the final two days at 3-under. She finished 50th at 293.

“Briana is a talented, young player and she did a good job of adjusting to the course during the tournament,” Lewellen said. “I think her course management was better during the final two rounds and she hit a lot of close shots and she made a lot of birdies over the final two days. She played with a lot of confidence during those final 36 holes. That’s the sign of a veteran player. She made the adjustments necessary to improve her game.”

Mao accounted for 12 birdies during her final two rounds after recording just three in her opening 36 holes of play. Her final round score of 3-under 70 was the second best performance against par by a Cavalier in NCAA Championship competition.

UVa’s top overall finisher was freshman Lauren Diaz-Yi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). She placed 28th at 8-over 288. Friday, she shot 1-over 71, the same score she recorded during the first two days of play.

Diaz-Yi’s finish was the sixth best by a freshman in the field.

Junior Lauren Coughlin (Chesapeake, Va.) was 48th overall at 292. She had her best round Friday, shooting even par 70 for a 72-hole total of 292. The tournament marked the first time she has competed at the NCAA Championships.

“I was really proud of the two Laurens this weeks, and really this whole season,” Lewellen said. “They’ve showed steady improvement and really played well for us down the stretch. It think it says a lot about the impact they’ll have on our team in the future.”

UVa saw two seniors tee it up for the final times in their careers. Seniors Portland Rosen (Sugar Land, Texas) and Elizabeth Brightwell (Nellysford, Va.) capped their four-year careers at the event. Rosen shot 1-over 71, her best score of the week, to place 74th at 296. Brightwell was 118th at 309, including a 78 on Friday.

“They both contributed to our team scoring during the week and helped us to achieve a top-15 finish,” Lewellen said. “We’ll miss them both. They were outstanding representatives for our program.”

USC’s Doris Chen carded a final round 67 to win the individual title at 6-under 274. Duke’s Celine Boutier was the runner up at 276.

NCAA Women's Golf ChampionshipsTulsa Country ClubTulsa, Okla.Par-70, 6,194 yardsFinal Results
Team Results 1. Duke                293-285-278-274-1130 2. USC                 293-291-278-270-1132 3. UCLA                291-293-283-278-1145 4. Oklahoma            288-287-291-281-1147 5. Arizona State       293-287-291-279-1150 6. Mississippi State   302-285-283-287-1157 7. Arizona             298-286-287-287-1158 7. Ohio State          299-291-288-280-1158 9. Alabama             305-285-289-282-116110. Vanderbilt          303-290-286-284-116310. Texas A&M           305-292-288-278-116310. NC State            307-284-280-292-116313. South Carolina      301-299-283-281-116414. Virginia            303-295-288-279-116515. Northwestern        305-289-284-288-116615. Tulane              303-294-278-291-116617. Washington          299-289-293-286-116718. Florida             305-292-290-282-116918. Stanford            300-286-294-289-116920. Michigan State      305-283-302-288-116920. Campbell            305-303-289-288-117822. California          296-305-289-281-117823. Iowa State          306-298-292-290-118624. Kansas              313-293-303-292-1201
Individual Leaders1. Doris Chen, USC                  67-72-68-67-2742. Celine Boutier, Duke             70-70-67-69-2763. Lauren Kim, Stanford             67-71-72-67-2774. Ally McDonald, Mississippi State 73-68-71-67-2774. Stephanie Meadow, Alabama        76-69-68-66-2796. Marijosse Navarro, Texas A&M     73-73-68-66-280
Virginia Results 28. Lauren Diaz-Yi        71-71-75-71-288 48. Lauren Coughlin       77-73-72-70-292 50. Briana Mao            79-77-70-67-293 74. Portland Rosen        76-74-75-71-296118. Elizabeth Brightwell  82-78-71-78-309="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>