LAKE BLUFF, Ill. — Something about Stanford and Wake Forest always makes for nail-biting match play. That was the case again in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup championship match between No. 1 Stanford and No. 12 Wake Forest, taking place all afternoon at Shoreacres. The Cardinal looked to be in good shape at the midway point, but a couple of close matches flipped late, resulting in the Demon Deacons taking the crown.
Despite teeing off last, Andrea Revuelta finished first among Stanford winners, taking her match 4&3 against Chloe Kovelesky. She won the first two holes and dropped only one hole all afternoon, pushing it to 4up through 11. She closed it out with a birdie on 15 to take the match, earning her third career match play victory.
Megha Ganne earned the second point for the Cardinal, a crucial one given the state of the overall match and the quality of the opponent. Macy Pate was her opposite for the Demon Deacons, the individual champion of the Stephens Cup. Ganne never trailed after winning the first hole, and pushed the lead to 2up through 10. Pate got one back on 15, creating a lot of drama with three holes remaining. Ganne squashed that drama quickly, winning on 16 and knocking down a par putt on 17 to secure a 2&1 win, tying the overall match at 2-2.
The first group that teed off, Kelly Xu and Anne-Sterre den Dunnen, was the group that decided the match. den Dunnen won the first hole, but Xu battled back on three to win, the first of four hole wins for Xu to erase deficits. The last of those came on 17, where she trailed by one hole with two remaining. Xu came up clutch with a birdie, and after both golfers went for par on 18, the match went into a playoff.
They reset on the tenth hole, where both Xu and den Dunnen were even at par. On nine, both golfers scored a four again, so they went back to 10 for the 21st hole of the match. Xu got off the fairway on her tee shot, and that put her in a tough spot compared to den Dunnen, who was centered. den Dunnen got onto the green on her third shot and went for par, while Xu was just off on an 11-foot par putt that would have extended the match, securing the win for Wake Forest.
Match play continues for Stanford with the annual Big Match against No. 25 California, taking place on Thursday, Sept. 25 at Menlo Country Club in Woodside. The women will pair up with the men in a seven-match, mixed-gender, best-ball match play format. Tee times begin at 12:00 p.m.
No. 12 Wake Forest def. No. 1 Stanford, 3-2
1. Anne-Sterre den Dunnen (WF) def. Kelly Xu (STAN), 21 holes
2. Casey Weidenfeld (WF) def. Meja Örtengren (STAN), 1up
3. Morgan Ketchum (WF) def. Paula Martín Sampedro (STAN), 4&3
4. Megha Ganne (STAN) def. Macy Pate (WF), 2&1
5. Andrea Revuelta (STAN) def. Chloe Kovelesky (WF), 4&3
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 5, 4, 1*