Arizona to Contend for NCAA Championship
05/17/2016 | Women's Golf
Date: May 20-25
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Course: Eugene Country Club
Tee Times: 7:30 a.m. PST Friday through Sunday, 11:50 a.m. PST Monday, 7 a.m. PST Tuesday, 2:10 p.m. PST Wednesday
Live Scoring: Click here
Tucson, Ariz. - The Arizona women's golf team will head to Eugene, Oregon to compete in the NCAA National Championship, beginning Friday. Arizona will be joined by 23 other teams and 12 individuals from across the nation, including Pac-12 rivals UCLA, USC, Stanford, Oregon and Washington.
The five Wildcats scheduled to compete in the team competition are Haley Moore, Jessica Vasilic, Gigi Stoll, Krystal Quihuis and Lindsey Weaver.
The tournament, which is being hosted by Oregon, will be played at the Eugene Country Club, a par-72, 6,468-yard course. All 24 teams and 12 individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play, then the top 15 teams and the top nine individuals (not on an advancing team) will advance to one additional day of stroke play. This will determine the top eight teams for match play as well as the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in match play for the championship.
Last year at the NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Florida, Arizona placed fifth in the stroke play competition led by Weaver, a returning senior. Weaver tied for 18th in that section of the competition, finishing11-over par. The other returner, Quihuis, tied for 25th at 13-over par. The Cats were then seeded fifth in the match play competition, but eventually falling to the Stanford Cardinal 4-1.
“We are excited for the week in Eugene,” said head coach Laura Ianello. “The team has been working hard and it's all about pacing ourselves. It's a long week to the championship match but I know the team is up for the challenge. It's going to be exciting and we will be led by our senior Lindsey Weaver and sophomore Krystal Quihuis.”
At the NCAA Bryan Regional two weeks ago, the Wildcats finished second led by Quihuis and Weaver, who both tied for eighth at 2-under par. Stoll also managed to earn a top-20 spot at 218 (+2) and tied for 19th. The Cats were only six strokes behind the leader, Georgia, who they will compete against again this weekend.
“We've been working harder than ever,” said assistant head coach Derek Radley. “I truly believe in our lineup. I wouldn't want to go into battle with anybody else. It's going to be an extremely long week both mentally and physically so we need to save as much energy as possible. I feel that everyone's game is peaking and I can't wait to get started and give it everything we have got.”
Stoll, Quihuis, Weaver, Moore, and Vasilic have all driven the team as the top contender at different times throughout the season.
This will be Weaver's final NCAA Championship with the Wildcats, as she will be graduating and pursuing a career in professional women's golf. Looking back at her last two performances at the NCAAs, both put her in the top-20 of the stroke-play competition, finishing 16th her sophomore year and 18th her junior year. Arizona will look to her for one more year to lead the team against the tough championship field.
Following the NCAA Bryan Regional, the Women's Golf Coaches Association announced its All-Region Teams for Division I Women's Golf in the 2015-16 season. Weaver and Quihuis were both named to the All-Region team for the Bryan Regional, both having finished in the top-ten of the competition.
For live scoring of the NCAA Championship, visit the NCAA website at http://ncaa.com. For more information and updates about the University of Arizona women's golf team, follow @UAWomensGolf on Twitter, uawomensgolf on Instagram and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/ArizonaWomensGolf
