University of Washington
NCAA Regionals
Dawgs Advance to NCAA Finals For Third-Straight Year
May 07, 2016 | Women's Golf
BATON ROUGE, La. – The 13th-ranked University of Washington Women's Golf team clinched a spot in the 2016 NCAA Championships field for the third-straight year on Saturday as the Huskies finished third at the Baton Rouge Regional with a three-day total of 1-under 863 (286-289-288). It will be the Dawgs 13th appearance in the National Championship and it is the second time in program history that the UW squad will be represented for three-straight years, having also done so from 2004-06.
“I'm just totally proud of this group,” said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. “It's the hardest week for sure, they just handled it like troopers and were just great about the whole process. With that young team it was really perform in that environment with something on the line. We were a total team this week and that's what we wanted to see.”
Washington's spot in the field was never in question over the 54 holes even with three freshman in the lineup as the Huskies never left the top three. The top six advanced to the NCAA Finals, held May 20-25 at Eugene Country Club in Oregon. UW's third-place effort in Baton Rouge ties for its second-best showing at the Regional having finished second in 2014 and third in 2006. It was also the Huskies' sixth top-three effort this season.
“It says values about the type players that were attracted to our program and the level of competition that we have had on our squad this season, despite the youth,” added Mulflur. “For us to be in the Pac-12 and move through all the way to NCAAs, is a testament to the work we've put in. There have been some ups and downs this year but this group just went out there and played so solidly this week allowing us to advance and we couldn't be more proud.”
Senior Charlotte Thomas continued her stellar senior campaign with the Huskies best showing since 2014 (SooBin Kim-T2nd) as she placed third with a three-day score of 5-under 211 (73-67-71). Thomas' regional round featured 13 birdies, five of which came Saturday during the final 18 holes.
“She's just ridiculous with how well she's doing right now and just with the consistency she is showing at the end of the year when you need it most,” said Muflur. “You want players to feel good as they leave their program and she and Ying (Luo) have been a huge part of why we've been able to advance three years in a row.”
It marks Thomas' second-straight top five finish and her fourth-straight top 10 showing this season. She now has eight top 10 efforts which ties the UW single-season record set by Dodie Mazzuca in 1997 and extends her UW-leading career top 10 record to 25.
Senior Ying Luo and freshman Julianne Alvarez each posted a three-day total of 1-over 217 to tie for 15th. With the effort, Luo earned her 12th top-25 scorecard of the season in 13 events played. She knocked in 12 birdies over the 54 holes as she went 69-74-74 with her day one score was her third sub-70 round of the year. Ying will be just the second Husky to compete either as an individual or with the team all four years of her career, joining UW legend Paige Mackenzie.
Alvarez's spot on the leaderboard was her best finish since the SMU/Dallas Athletic Club Invitational (T9th-April 1-2) and was her fifth top-15 showing of her first collegiate season. Fellow New Zealand native Wenyung Keh closed out her regional appearance tied for 30th with a 7-over 223 (74-76-73). Her best round came Saturday as she knocked in five birdies, three over the front nine.
Freshman Sarah Rhee had UW's best round of the day as she climbed 23 spots up the leaderboard following her 2-under 70 Saturday. Rhee closed out the tournament at 10-over 226 (78-78-70) to tie for 42nd.
The six teams to advance out of Baton Rouge were No. 5 Florida, No. 24 South Carolina, Washington, No. 4 Duke, No. 20 Oregon and No. 37 BYU.
The Huskies will be guaranteed three days of stroke play and will need to finish in the top 15 (or top nine individuals not on a top -15 team) to advance to the final day of stroke play. The fourth day will determine the eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The match-play format contested over two days will determine a single team champion. The event will be covered in depth by the Golf Channel for the second-straight year starting on Monday, May 23.
Players Mentioned
