Ticket Punched

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With a fifth-place finish at the NCAA East Regionals, the Stanford women’s golf team advanced to the NCAA Championships. The national finale will be contested May 20-24 in Tulsa, Okla.

The fourth-ranked Cardinal was one of eight teams to make it out of the NCAA East Regional, as the 56-hole event at Southwood Golf Club wrapped up Saturday.

We qualified for the NCAA Finals!! Heading to Tulsa, OK next week to compete for the National Championship! pic.twitter.com/gXiftLR5a1

— Stanford W Golf (@StanfordWGolf) May 10, 2014

Stanford was 11th through the first round and sixth after 36 holes before moving up one spot on the final day. The Cardinal (291-286-289) was 2-over for the event at the par-72 track and 1-over Saturday, 13 shots better than eight-place Campbell to secure its upcoming trip to Tulsa.

Stanford will be making its fifth straight NCAA Championships appearance. The Cardinal tied for 13th in 2013.

Vanderbilt ran away with the team win at 24-under in front of South Carolina (-10), North Carolina State (-4) and Duke (-4). The Commodores also saw Jenny Hahn place first among individuals with a 9-under.

“Regionals is all about surviving and advancing,” said Anne Walker, Stanford’s Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf. “It’s always a crazy week with a lot of teams playing with nothing to lose, and a handful of teams playing with everything to lose. This creates a lot of drama and Cinderella stories, and we’re glad to have clinched a spot.

“We got better each day on the course. We were more comfortable on the greens and in the rough by the end of the tournament. We were the only team besides Pepperdine not from the East Region, so the climb was uphill -- and we made it.”

Leading the uphill climb were Mariah Stackhouse and Lauren Kim, who each tied for 11th at 3-under. Stackhouse, the clubhouse leader through two rounds, was 2-over in the final 18.

Kim began Saturday on the 10th with an eagle, adding a birdie on 12 to move to 3-under, which would be her finishing score.

Two double bogeys were not enough to tarnish an even-par Saturday for Casey Danielson. Danielson had four birdies to check in at a tie for 18th.

Danielson was 1-under for the tournament.

Marissa Mar had three birdies on her back nine while finishing at 2-under for the day and 9-over for the tournament. She tied for 79th, and Mariko Tumangan placed inside the top-100 at 14-over.