STANFORD, Calif. – The third-ranked Stanford women's golf team concludes its fall schedule Monday through Wednesday in the East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.
Now in its second year and televised on Golf Channel, the tournament is limited to men's and women's semifinalists from the 2016 NCAA Championship. The Cardinal, who finished second, will play against Washington, UCLA and Duke.
On Monday, the teams compete in stroke play to determine an individual national champion and match play seeding for the semifinals on Tuesday. Monday tee times begin at 7:55 a.m. Pacific Time and players will be paired in foursomes. The best four of five scores for each team will be counted.
On Wednesday, the finals and consolation finals will be contested.
Golf Channel coverage is noon to 3 p.m. PT all three days.
Last year, Stanford lost to Duke 4-1 in the semifinals in a rain-delayed match that started Monday and carried over to Tuesday. Mariah Stackhouse was the lone winner for the Cardinal. In the afternoon, Stanford defeated Baylor, 4-0-1.
"It's great exposure for college golf and a chance to test ourselves against the best," said Anne Walker, the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf. "We are excited for the opportunity."
Stanford will be represented by senior Casey Danielson, freshman Andrea Lee, freshman Albane Valenzuela, junior Shannon Aubert and sophomore Sierra Kersten.
"It's a really fun tournament and cool format because we don't have a lot of match play events during the regular season," Danielson said. "It gives us a chance to experience that against teams that have been really competitive at nationals. It's an advantage for our team and the other teams that are going to be there in preparation for nationals to get that competitive feel, especially in front of TV cameras."
On Saturday night, Danielson received the Tom Cousins award at a gala celebration for exceling in and out of the classroom. A public policy major and two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention selection from Osceola, Wisconsin, she helped start "Birdies for a Cause" in high school, obtaining pledges from family and friends for each birdie she made, raising $7,500 to provide food for impoverished people around the world. At Stanford, she started a similar program and helped generate $2,500 for the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital.
In three events this fall, the Cardinal has finished second in the Windy City Classic, second in the rain-shortened Stanford Intercollegiate, and third in the Pac-12 Preview.
Lee won the season-opening Windy City Classic and tied for second at the Stanford Intercollegiate. She leads the team with a 71.62 scoring average and is ranked No. 2 nationally by Golfstat.
Danielson has two top 10's and tied for seventh in the Pac-12 Preview in Hawaii. She matched her career best with a 5-under 68 in Hawaii and is averaging 72.00.
Playing in only her second event for the Cardinal, Valenzuela placed third in the Pac-12 Preview and closed with a 3-under 70. Her average is 73.40.
Aubert tied for 17th in Hawaii and sports a 74.87 average, while Kersten checks in at 74.40.
Home of legendary golfer Bobby Jones, East Lake Golf Club has hosted many important championships including the 1950 U.S. Women's Amateur, 1963 Ryder Cup and 2001 U.S. Men's Amateur. It is also the site of the TOUR Championship, the final tournament of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.
For live scoring, visit gostanford.com.
