STANFORD, Calif. - The 30th appearance proved to be charm for the Stanford women’s golf team as it captured the program's first-ever NCAA title with a dramatic, nationally-televised victory against Baylor. Competing in match play for the first time, the Cardinal beat Arizona and top-ranked USC to reach the final televised by the Golf Channel at the Concession Golf Club in steamy Bradenton, Florida.
Stanford trailed 2-1 and was on the ropes until sophomore Casey Danielson birdied the final two holes to win her match and even the score. The final deciding point was contested for by All-Americans Mariah Stackhouse and Haley Davis, with Stackhouse carding clutch birdies on 17 and 18 to force sudden death. Her two-putt par on the 19th hole lifted the Cardinal to the title.
It marked only the ninth time in NCAA history that a men’s and women’s program from the same school have won national titles in the same sport. Danielson and freshman Shannon Aubert both posted 3-0 match play records.
Lauren Kim earned first team All-American honors for the second straight season, while Stackhouse received honorable mention. Both players were All-Pac-12 first team selections.
Anne Walker, the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women’s Golf, was named the WGCA National Coach of the Year and Pac-12 Coach of the Year. She became only the fifth coach to win an NCAA title at Stanford in three or fewer seasons.
The Cardinal battled through injuries to claim four top-10 finishes during the season, highlighted by a tie for first in the Stanford Invitational. Kim led the team in scoring with a 72.0 average, 21st-best in the country, and recorded seven top-10 showings.
Five Stanford players were picked to the Pac-12 All-Academic Team -- Danielson (undecided), Quirine Eijkenboom (undecided), Kim (science, technology and society), Stackhouse (communication) and Mariko Tumangan (psychology).
Stackhouse represented the United States in the Curtis Cup Match and helped lead the team to victory. She was the first Stanford player to appear in the matches since Sally Watson in 2011 and first African-American ever selected to the American squad.