SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – No. 1 seed Stanford women's golf defeated No. 8 Pepperdine, 3-1, on Tuesday morning in the NCAA Quarterfinal match at Grayhawk Golf Club. With the victory, the Cardinal advances to take on No. 5 seed USC this afternoon, starting at 1:35 p.m. on GOLF Channel.
Rose Zhang went out first for the Cardinal and made quick work of her opponent, winning six of the first 13 holes to claim a 6&5 victory.
Sadie Englemann followed Zhang and had a back-and-forth match that was tied through 15. On the 16th, Englemann hit her tee shot to five feet on the Par 3, and converted the birdie putt to go 1 up. On the 17th, Englemann would register her second straight birdie to close out the win, 2&1.
Kelly Xu clinched the match for Stanford on the 18 th with a par. Although she led for much of the match, Xu was tied for five of six holes from the 12th through the 17th. Pepperdine's drive went far right on the final hole and the Waves took an unplayable, and Xu's safe par play clinched the match.
Brooke Seay, despite trailing for the entire front nine, pulled even on No. 10 and took her first lead of the match on No. 15, a one-hole lead she maintained into the 18th fairway when the match was halted.
Stanford 3, Pepperdine 1
Zhang (Stanford) def. Guzman (Pepperdine), 6&5
Englemann (Stanford) def. Romero (Pepperdine), 2&1
Wong (Pepperdine) def. Ganne (Stanford), 5&3
Xu (Stanford) def. Higo (Pepperdine), 1 up
Seay (Stanford) led Gomez (Pepperdine), 1 up through 17