ATLANTA — After getting through stroke play as the top seed, Stanford women's golf had a target on its back. With Texas A&M as the opponent and a spot in the East Lake Cup Championship on the line, the Cardinal got the best the Aggies could deliver. Stanford needed to come from behind, but did so in thrilling fashion, turning an almost-certain defeat into a 3-2 win, sending the Card into Wednesday's title match.
Bianca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio def. Caroline Sturdza, 2&1
Caroline Sturdza has been great in match play this season, and got off to a great start on Tuesday. She won the second hole by knocking down a birdie put, and maintained a one-stroke lead until the eighth hole, with Fernandez Garcia-Poggio won consecutive holes to turn a deficit into a lead. Sturdza did not win a hole the rest of the way, where it ended on 17, as both golfers hit par. This point gave Texas A&M the first secured point of the match, and handed Sturdza her first defeat in match play this season.
Sadie Englemann def. Mia Nixon, 4&3
The individual champion of the East Lake Cup got off to a shaky start, but rebounded well to take care of Mia Nixon with ease. Sadie Englemann flipped back and forth a lot early with Nixon and was trailing through eight holes, but the match changed on the back nine. Englemann won four-straight holes (11-14), including one birdie, which put her four strokes up with time running out for Nixon. Englemann closed it out just one hole later with a par putt and secured the first point of the match for Stanford.
Jennie Park def. Kelly Xu, 3&1
Things were tight through the first few holes between Kelly Xu and Jennie Park, but once Park got a hold on the match, Xu could never recover. Xu lost the fifth, ninth, and tenth holes to slip into a three-stroke deficit, and despite efforts to climb back, she could never get even. Xu battled to win the 11th and 15th holes, which got her within one stroke of Park, but the last two holes were won by Park which gave the Aggies their second point.
Paula Martin Sampedro def. Lana Calibuso-Kwee, 2&1
At one point, it seemed like Paula Martin Sampedro had an easy win in the bag. She was four strokes up through 11 over Lana Calibuso-Kwee, but that's when things began to get dicey for the freshman. She dropped consecutive holes to bring it within two, and then dropped the 15th hole which made it a one-stroke score. The deciding hole was the 17th, where Martin Sampedro birdied to secure the win and tie the score at 2-2 overall.
Megha Ganne def. Zoe Slaughter, Fourth Playoff Hole
The most drama-filled match of the day came between Megha Ganne and Zoe Slaughter. The senior for the Aggies appeared to have the match won, with a two-stroke lead entering the final two holes. Ganne then made a par putt on 17 to close the deficit to just one point and put the pressure on for the final hole. Slaughter put it in the water twice, giving Ganne a very easy path to tying the match and sending it to playoff holes.
On 19, Slaughter was able to two-putt her way to a par, which forced Ganne into a tough spot after she got onto the green on her second shot. Ganne delivered, though, with a solid par putt to send it to a second playoff hole. Ganne wound up in the bunker for the second consecutive hole, but made two great shots to salvage a par and again keep the match going. After another push on the third hole, the pair went back to 18 where the match was decided.
Ganne was on the edge of the green after her third shot, while Slaughter was about 15 feet away from the pin. An incredible long putt from Ganne put her within sinking distance for par, which she was able to knock down after Slaughter missed her birdie putt. With all the pressure on Slaughter, she was just off on her par putt, and Ganne was able to survive in 22 holes to send the Cardinal to the championship match of the East Lake Cup.
This marks the third time in program history that the Cardinal will be competing for the title at the East Lake Cup. In the previous two trips, Stanford fell to USC, but this time draws the defending NCAA national champions in Wake Forest, who took down USC 3-2 earlier on Tuesday. Opening tee times are set for 9:20 am PT.
