May 24, 2016

Eugene, Ore. — The 15th ranked Virginia women’s golf team was eliminated from the NCAA Championships by No. 14 Washington in the quarterfinal round of match play. The Huskies won three of the four completed matches for a 3-1-1 victory.

The matchup marked the first time Washington advanced to match play in NCAA Championships history. The Cavaliers finished 72 holes of medal play in fifth place to advance to the eight-team match play field.

“I was sorry to see our season come to a close, but these student-athletes have had a wonderful year and they have a lot to be proud of,” said Virginia coach Kim Lewellen. “This was significant step for our program to make it to the match play round at the NCAA Championships. That is an important measuring point in our sport. They made some history this week and helped our program grow.”

Freshman Anna Redding (Concord, N.C.) picked up the UVA’s lone win in match play. She defeated Sarah Rhee of Washington 2&1. Redding posted a birdie on her first hole and never trailed, leading by two holes for more than half of their matchup.

The Cavaliers fell behind early in their other four matches against Washington, made a late rally, but could not overcome the Huskies’ lead.

Freshman Morgan Gonzales (Chandler, Ariz.), junior Lauren Diaz-Yi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and seniors Elizabeth Szokol (Winnetka, Ill.) and Lauren Coughlin (Chesapeake, Va.) all trailed in their matches when they made the turn at the Eugene Country Club.

Szokol managed three consecutive wins on her 14th, 15th and 16 holes to go 1-up on UW’s Ying Luo, but lost the 17th hole and their match ended at all square when the Huskies picked up their decisive third win.

Gonzales pulled to within 1-down with two holes to play, but could not pick up another victory and lost 2&1 to Julianne Alvarez. Diaz-Yi lost 4&2 to Wenyung Keh and Coughlin fell 4&3 to Charlotte Thomas.

In other quarterfinal matches, Stanford defeated South Carolina 3&2, Duke upset USC 4&1 and medal play champion UCLA ousted Oregon 4-0-1 on the Ducks’ home course. The semifinals of match play were scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The NCAA Champion is set to be crowned Wednesday.

NCAA Championships
Match Play Quarterfinals
Washington defeats Virginia 3-1-1

Julianne Alvarez (UW) defeats Morgan Gonzales (UVA) 2&1
Anna Redding (UVA) defeats Sarah Rhee (UW) 2&1
Elizabeth Szokol (UVA) vs. Ying Luo (UW) all square thru 18 (final)
Wenyung Keh (UW) defeats Lauren Diaz-Yi (UVA) 4&2
Charlotte Thomas (UW) defeats Lauren Coughlin (UVA) 4&3