CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Coming off the program's second national championship in three years, Stanford women's golf has been awarded a number of All-America selections by the WGCA. Announced on Friday morning, the entire lineup of Stanford Cardinal earned All-America nods, led by Megha Ganne and Paula Martin Sampedro, who were named First Team All-America.
Five All-America golfers is the most in Stanford history, eclipsing the mark of four earned by the 2022 national champion Cardinal. It is the sixth time in program history that multiple golfers have earned first team nods, with 2022 also representing the most recent time, and the third time in the last four years.
Paula Martin Sampedro was arguably the best freshman in the country during the 2023-24 season. She led Stanford with a 70.5 scoring average in 28 rounds and finished at par or better in 24 of those 28 rounds. Nine times she has shot in the 60s, including a 5-under 67 in both the Carmel Cup and Juli Inkster Invitational, and had nine top-10 finishes in 10 tournaments. Her worst finish this year came at the Pac-12 Championship when she still finished under par for the event. She placed third at the NCAA Championship, the highest-ranking freshman in the country.
Megha Ganne returns to the All-America stage after being named honorable mention in 2023. Her sophomore campaign started with a bang after she won the 2023 Carmel Cup, setting the scene for a great season. She was second on the team with an average round of 70.96 and piled up five top-five finishes, including third place at the NCAA Cle Elum Regional. She earned a tenth-place finish at the NCAA Championship and will be representing the United States at the Arnold Palmer Cup this summer.
A remarkable ending to the season helped land Kelly Xu as an All-America selection for the first time in her career. Xu was named Second Team All-America thanks in part to how she ended her sophomore season: second place at the Pac-12 Championship, second place at the NCAA Cle Elum Regional, and a perfect 3-0 in match play at the NCAA Championship. She had the clinching wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and was the first to earn a win in the title match against UCLA. Xu ended the year with four top-10 finishes and an All-Pac-12 selection.
Sadie Englemann and Rachel Heck were both named honorable mention All-America. Englemann won the 2023 East Lake Cup in October and helped Stanford advance to the national championship match with wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals of match play. 2024 marks her second All-America selection after garnering second team honors last year. Heck closes out her career with her third All-America selection after being entered into the lineup at the end of the season and placing seventh at the Pac-12 Championship and winning the NCAA Cle Elum Regional, her ninth career win. She also earned the clinching victory to give Stanford its third national championship.
No team in the country has as many All-Americans as Stanford and the Cardinal is the only team to land multiple first team selections in 2024.