Virginia Finishes 14th at NCAA Golf Championships
Fayetteville, Ark. – The No. 17 Virginia women’s golf team tied for 14th at the NCAA Championships by shooting its lowest score in three rounds of play at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. The Cavaliers shot 13-over 305 on Monday for a 54-hole total of 50-over 926. UVA shared 14th place with No. 14 Arizona State and No. 30 Ole Miss.
The top eight teams following Monday’s third round advanced to the match play portion of the tournament slated to begin Tuesday. The tournament’s format was reduced to three rounds of stroke play when a weather delay postponed Saturday afternoon’s play. The original format called for the field to be cut to 15 teams after 54 holes with the final eight teams and NCAA individual champion being crowned after four rounds.
Senior Anna Redding (Concord, N.C.) was UVA’s top finisher, placing 29th at 8-over 227. She shot 3-over 76 during her final round as a Cavalier. Redding’s finish was her best in three NCAA Championship appearances. Her second-round score of 3-under 70 was the second-best score versus par by a Cavalier during NCAA Championship play.
Freshman Riley Smyth (Cary, N.C.) posted the team’s best closing-round score. She used a birdie on her final hole to finish at 1-over 74. She was 61st overall at 14-over 233. Smyth did not play for the Cavaliers during the fall portion of their season but appeared in seven tournaments this spring.
Sophomore Beth Lillie (Fullerton, Calif.) carded a score of 5-over 78 during the third round and was 43rd overall at 14-over 230. As a freshman, Lillie finished 105th at the NCAA Championships.
Senior Katharine Patrick (Houston, Texas) shot 77 and finished 97th at 240. Senior Morgan Gonzales (Chandler, Ariz.) was 113th at 244, including a final-round score of 79.
“Morgan, Katharine and Anna have been incredibly impactful players and people to our program,” said UVA coach Ria Scott. “We love that each of these captains brought unique leadership perspectives to our team, and all high quality, but very different golf games. Anna and Morgan were part of the 2016 ACC Championship team and NCAA quarterfinalists in the same year. Katharine has improved each year that she’s been here, and has been a vital part of this team’s success. Each one of our players truly played a role in our national finish this year.
“Our seniors played with so much heart, especially this postseason. Their desire to compete for both conference and national championships was motivating and very evident. They are all driven individuals with great work ethic and we can’t wait to see where life takes them.”
Arkansas’ Maria Fassi, playing on the Razorbacks’ home course, shot 5-under 68 during the final round to win the individual title at 8-under 211. She was one of just four players in the 132-player field to shoot under par.
The eight teams that advanced to match play included Texas (883), Duke (890), USC (893), Arkansas (900), Wake Forest (902), Arizona (904), Stanford (906) and Auburn (915).
Virginia was making its 11th NCAA Championships appearance in the 16-year history of the program. UVA’s finish tied as its eighth best at the championship. UVA was 22nd at last year’s event.
NCAA Championships
Blessings Golf Club
Fayetteville, Ark.
Par-73, 6,379 yards
Third Round Results
Team Results
1. Texas 302-294-287-883
2. Duke 305-281-304-890
3. USC 306-289-298-893
4. Arkansas 302-296-302-900
5. Wake Forest 309-299-294-902
6. Arizona 304-294-306-904
7. Stanford 304-300-302-906
8. Auburn 313-295-307-915
9. Illinois 320-296-301-917
9. Purdue 312-294-311-917
11. Florida 321-294-303-918
12. Florida State 321-298-305-924
13. Northwestern 313-294-318-925
14. Arizona State 310-302-314-926
14. Virginia 314-307-305-926
14. Ole Miss 314-297-315-926
17. Kent State 325-308-297-930
18. Washington 311-311-315-937
19. San Jose State 324-302-312-938
20. UCLA 315-308-318-941
21. Indiana 322-313-309-944
22. UCF 321-309-316-945
23. Vanderbilt 319-316-311-946
24. Tennessee 328-311-311-950
Individual Leaders
1. Maria Fassi, Arkansas 72-71-68-211
2. Sierra Brooks, Florida 75-67-73-215
3. Bianca Pagdanganan, Arizona 69-74-74-217
Virginia Results
29. Anna Redding 81-70-76-227
43. Beth Lillie 77-75-78-230
61. Riley Smyth 77-82-74-233
97. Katharine Patrick 79-84-77-240
113. Morgan Gonzales 85—80-79-244