Huskies Finish Tied For 9th At NCAA Championships

Monday, May 21

Stillwater, Okla.

All Day

University of Washington

NCAA Championships

May 21, 2018 | Women's Golf

Team Leaderboard Individual Leaderboard

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Washington women's golf team finished in a tie for ninth place at the NCAA Championships, wrapping up the season with the fifth-best NCAA finish in the program's history.

The Huskies entered the day in 14th place and had their work cut out to reach a spot in the top eight, which would move them into the match-play rounds that will determine the national champion. Even after posting their best round of the tournament, with a team score of 290, the Huskies were unable to climb into the final eight, finishing just seven strokes shy of eighth place. Only three of the 15 remaining teams had a better Monday round than the UW, and two of those three were just one stroke better.

Washington, which entered the tournament ranked No. 15, finished 303-300-299-290, improving its score in each round, to finish at +40, 1,172 for the four-day, stroke-play tournament. The Huskies finished in 12th spot, but under the new style of NCAA Championship instituted in 2015 (24 teams, cut to 15, then to eight, followed by match play), the seven teams that make the cut to the final 15, but that don't make the final eight, are all considered in a tie for ninth place.

"I'm really pleased with the way we played today," UW head coach Mary Lou Mulflur said. "They gave it all they had and left it all out there as they have all year. They also learned the value of every shot. In a situation like this, you have to be on point all the time."

Junior Sarah Rhee turned in the Huskies' best round of the day, firing a 3-under 69 to move up 13 spots on the leaderboard. Starting on the 10th hole, Rhee made par on her first four holes before a birdie on the par-5 15th. She also birdied the 18th with another four, putting her two-under through her first nine holes. In her second nine holes, she posted birdies on holes four and nine, with a bogey on seven, to account for her 3-under round.

Rhee finished 7-over for the tournament, good for a tie for 36th place overall.

Freshman Rino Sasaki was the Huskies' next-highest finisher. She posted three birdies and three bogeys in her final round for an even-par 72. At 9-over for the tournament, she finished in a tie for 44th. Junior Wenyung birdied twice in her final four hole to finish with a 74 for the round. Her 15-over total for the championship was good for a tie for 56th place, alongside sophomore teammate Karen Miyamoto, who was 4-over for the round and +15 for the tournament.

Junior Julianne Alvarez finished three shots behind Keh and Miyamoto, carding a final-round score of 75 to finish +18 for the week, tied for 65th place overall.

"Overall, I'm really proud of them, and it's a young team," Mulflur said, noting that all five golfers who competed at NCAAs return next year. "It's a learning experience. We got farther than we did last year, and that's good. They got to experience a championship and learned from it. I'm proud of their effort and really looking forward to next year."

Prior to this season, Washington had finished higher than 12th just four times in its history. The Huskies won the title in 2016, finished fifth (quarterfinalists) in 2015, and tied for sixth in both 2004 and 2006.