ATLANTA, Ga. – Playing at full strength for the first time this season, the Stanford women's golf team captured the stroke play title at the East Lake Cup on Monday by 10 strokes over No. 1 USC.
With all five players placing ninth or higher, led by individual winner Albane Valenzuela, the Cardinal earned the top seed for the third consecutive year and will face fourth-seed Alabama in the match play semifinals on Tuesday.
Competing for the fourth straight year in the prestigious and nationally-televised event, limited to women's and men's semifinalists from the 2018 NCAA Championships, Stanford combined for a 2-under-par 286 at famed East Lake Golf Club.
USC placed second at 8-over 296, followed by Arizona at 11-over 299 and Alabama at 24-over 312.
Valenzuela, a junior, buried an eagle putt at the par-5 18th hole to shoot a 4-under 68 and edged playing partner Yu-Sang Hou of Arizona by one shot (69).
It was the second career victory for Valenzuela, who became the second Cardinal to capture stroke play honors. In 2016, Andrea Lee clipped teammate Casey Danielson on the sixth playoff hole.
"It feels great," said Valenzuela. "I didn't win anything this year, and I really wanted to get that feeling. Today is probably the best I've felt in a long time. I needed to pull one really good round and I was happy I could make it today. I feel great physically, I'm really happy where I am, and I love Stanford."
Lee had another strong showing and tied for third, saving her best for last. The two-time All-American carded six birdies, with five coming on the back nine. She birdied 11, 13, 15, 16 and 18 to tour the side in 4-under 32 and finished with a 71.
Freshman Aline Krauter got Stanford started with an eagle at the par-5 first. She reached 3-under before stumbling with an eight at the par-4 seventh, then regrouped to fire a 2-under 34 on the back nine with birdies at 16 and 18 to finish even and tied for fifth.
Junior Ziyi Wang and sophomore Mika Liu shared ninth with 75's. Each recorded one birdie: Wang at No. 18 and Liu at No. 16.
"I'm thrilled," said Anne Walker, the Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf. "It was really fun on the back nine. No one lost their patience, everyone stayed with it and it paid off."
The format switches to match play on Tuesday. The Stanford-Alabama semifinal starts at 11:15 a.m. ET. The winner advances to the championship final on Wednesday against USC or Arizona, while the losers square off in the consolation final.
In the men's division, top-seed Duke meets Auburn and Oklahoma State opposes Alabama.
Live coverage is available on the Golf Channel from noon-3 p.m. PT. Live scoring can be found on GoStanford.com.
Tuesday's Matches
Andrea Lee vs. Mary Mac Trammell
Aline Krauter vs. Kenzie Wright
Ziyi Wang vs. Carolina Caminoli
Mika Liu vs. Jiwon Jeon
Albane Valenzuela vs. Angelica Moresco
