Freshman Julianne Alvarez lipped out a six-foot par putt on the18th hole that would have given Washington the national championship.
Given another chance, Alvarez chipped to within inches of the cup for a winning par on the 20th hole to give the Huskies a 3-2 victory over defending national champion Stanford in the match-play final of the NCAA Women’s Championships at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.
Alvarez, from New Zealand, turned back senior Lauren Kim, who barley missed a 12-foot putt to prolong the match, and gave Washington its first NCAA women’s golf title.
“I knew Lauren is a good player and that she wasn’t going to give up,” said Alvarez, who had a 3-up lead before Kim won the last three holes of regulation to pull even. “I knew I had to do it for my team and had to just go on to the next shot.
“I was just focused on getting the ball in the hole as quickly as I could.”
Ying Luo, a Washington senior from China, put the Huskies on the verge of the national title when she wedged her third shot into the 18th hole to claim a 1-up victory over junior Casey Danielson, who was 5-0 in NCAA match play for Stanford the last two years before that moment.
Said Luo: “I stood behind my ball and imagined it going into the hole.”
Senior Mariah Stackhouse, who scored the decisive point for the Cardinal in the final against Baylor last year, kept Stanford alive by rallying from 3 down with four holes to play to get Stanford even at 2-2 when she beat Washington freshman Sarah Rhee of Seattle with a par on the 20th hole.
“I’m just so proud,” said Coach Mary Lou Mulflur, who has coached the Huskies for 32 years. “I knew today was going to be a battle. We just kept going and didn’t give in. And the chip-in on the 18th hole by Luo was unbelievable. To come through like that was just incredible. … It’s almost like it was fate, it was destiny.”
Said Coach Anne Walker of Stanford: “Washington earned the title, we didn’t give it to them. Some of the shots they hit, yesterday against UCLA and today against us, were amazing. The level of golf on both sides was so high. I told our team that there was no reason for tears because all the kids played well.”
Sophomore Shannon Aubert gave Stanford its first point with a 3-and-2 victory over senior Charlotte Thomas of England, while freshman Wenyung Keh of New Zealand put Washington on the board with a 4-and-3 win over freshman Sierra Kersten.
