GREENSBORO, N.C. — After finishing the stroke play portion of the ACC Championship as the top seed, Stanford women’s golf earned a bye into the semifinals of match play. Their opponent, fourth-seeded and ninth-ranked Wake Forest, beat North Carolina earlier in the morning to advance to the quarterfinals. A battle between two of the best teams in the country came down to the final hole, but the defending ACC champion Wake Forest squad prevailed over Stanford, winning 3-2 and advancing to the championship match.
It came down to the final three holes between reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Macy Pate and potential 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year Meja Örtengren. The match became tied through 15 after Örtengren leveled up the score, but dropped a stroke on 17, setting up an important 18th hole. Örtengren missed the green on her second shot and despite a great effort to set up a birdie putt, Pate was able to hit a birdie putt to win 1up and secure the 3-2 win for the Demon Deacons. It is the first loss in match play this year for Örtengren.
The first point of the match came for Wake Forest after Kelly Xu lost to Sarah Lydic, but the Cardinal came back strong with wins from Paula Martín Sampedro and Andrea Revuelta. Martín Sampedro won 5&4 over Anne-Sterre Den Dunnen after winning the first hole and never trailing. Her pivotal stretch was holes 6-8, winning all three to go four strokes up. Yesterday’s ACC individual champion Revuelta took the lead over Carolina Lopez-Chacarra on the second hole and won four-straight holes from 7-10, pulling ahead by five.
A pivotal swing match came between Megha Ganne and Chloe Kovelesky. Ganne was 3up through 10 holes, but then Kovelesky played 6-strokes under par over the final eight to flip the match and win 2up, including an eagle on 18.
The defeat is Stanford’s first loss this season, ending its bid for the second perfect season in collegiate women’s golf history. It also snaps a streak of eight-straight wins in match play for the Cardinal, dating back to the 2023 East Lake Cup, when the Cardinal lost to Wake Forest in the title match.
Stanford will now await its seeding and placement for the NCAA Regionals. Golf Channel will announce the teams for the NCAA Regionals on Wednesday, April 23. It is expected that Stanford will still be the top seed in the field, which could place them in Arizona from May 5-7 during the regionals.
No. 9 Wake Forest def. No. 1 Stanford, 3-2
1. Sarah Lydic (WF) def. Kelly Xu (STAN) 8&6
2. Chloe Kovelesky (WF) def. Megha Ganne (STAN) 2up
3. Paula Martín Sampedro (STAN) def. Anne-Sterre Den Dunnen (WF) 5&4
4. Andrea Revuelta (STAN) def. Carolina Lopez-Chacarra (WF) 4&3
5. Macy Pate (WF) def. Meja Örtengren (STAN) 2up
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 2, 5*