NCAA National Champion W Golf HOF
2018 Women's Golf Team
Rarely in sport does one remarkable moment so magically transform the fate of a team as happened for the 2018 Arizona women’s golf team. Needing to make a 30-foot eagle putt to force a playoff on the final hole of team stroke play, Bianca Pagdanganan did exactly that. The junior’s heroics delivered a jolt of confidence and fearlessness that sparked a team championship performance for the ages over the next two days. Arizona dispatched Baylor in a playoff to earn the final spot in the eight-team match play championship. Once in match play, head coach Laura Ianello and assistant Derek Radley expertly paired their five individuals over the three match play rounds, with Pagdanganan, Yu-Sang Hou, Haley Moore, Sandra Nordaas and Gigi Stoll each winning crucial matches. The Wildcats stunned No. 1-seed UCLA with a 3-2 win in the quarterfinal match and then cruised to a 4-1 victory over fifth-seeded Stanford in the semifinals later in the afternoon. In the championship, Arizona had the daunting task of facing No. 2 Alabama, which placed its three first team All-Americans at the top of the lineup. The Wildcats matched the Crimson Tide all day long, with the match tied 2-2 coming down to a playoff in the final match. Moore sank a birdie putt on her 19th hole of the match to secure the program’s first national championship since 2000 and its third overall.
Rarely in sport does one remarkable moment so magically transform the fate of a team as happened for the 2018 Arizona women’s golf team. Needing to make a 30-foot eagle putt to force a playoff on the final hole of team stroke play, Bianca Pagdanganan did exactly that. The junior’s heroics delivered a jolt of confidence and fearlessness that sparked a team championship performance for the ages over the next two days. Arizona dispatched Baylor in a playoff to earn the final spot in the eight-team match play championship. Once in match play, head coach Laura Ianello and assistant Derek Radley expertly paired their five individuals over the three match play rounds, with Pagdanganan, Yu-Sang Hou, Haley Moore, Sandra Nordaas and Gigi Stoll each winning crucial matches. The Wildcats stunned No. 1-seed UCLA with a 3-2 win in the quarterfinal match and then cruised to a 4-1 victory over fifth-seeded Stanford in the semifinals later in the afternoon. In the championship, Arizona had the daunting task of facing No. 2 Alabama, which placed its three first team All-Americans at the top of the lineup. The Wildcats matched the Crimson Tide all day long, with the match tied 2-2 coming down to a playoff in the final match. Moore sank a birdie putt on her 19th hole of the match to secure the program’s first national championship since 2000 and its third overall.
