SAN FRANCISCO – No. 5 Stanford won the NCAA Women's Golf San Francisco Regional Championships on Wednesday, posting a third-round best 6-under 282 at TPC Harding Park. It was Stanford's third straight NCAA Regional victory and first win on the season.
Stanford, tied for fourth and seven shots off the lead through 18 holes, chopped away at top-ranked UCLA's lead over the next two rounds to win the event by four strokes over the Bruins.
"We've known all year that this team had the ability to come in and compete with a great field such as this, and a great top-seed in UCLA," said Anne Walker, Stanford's Margot and Mitch Milias Director of Women's Golf. "To see that all come together has been great. We've had some close calls this season, and we're glad we were able to earn a victory.
"Now we're excited about giving it a run at the NCAA Championships."
The Cardinal (287-287-282) was 8-under for the three-day, 54-hole tournament, and one of six teams to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships at Stillwater, Oklahoma. UCLA (-4), Ole Miss (-1), Louisville (E), Kent State (+1) and Colorado (+5) also secured bids.
Coming off a career-best fourth-place finish at the Pac-12 Conference Championships, Ziyi Wang (71-69-69) again paced the Cardinal, this time with a second-place showing. Wang was 7-under for the tournament, one behind medalist Patty Tavatanakit of UCLA.
Wang produced six birdies Wednesday, including three straight from holes Nos. 9-11.
Mika Liu (75-72-69) went 3-under to bring her overall score to even-par for her season's eighth top-20 finish. Liu tied for 17th. Albane Valenzuela (75-72-71) was the third Cardinal to contribute a sub-par round in the finale, moving up 11 spots for a share of 27th at 2-over.
Andrea Lee (66-74-73) tied for eighth despite going 3-under through Wednesday's front nine. It was her eighth top-10 finish this season. Lee was 3-under for the tournament. Shannon Aubert (76-74-75) tied for 60th at 9-over.
The NCAA Championships will be contested May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
