Stanford, eyeing back-to-back titles, facing Northwestern in NCAA women's national championship
Megha Ganne made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 20th hole to defeat world No. 1 Lottie Woad and vault Stanford into the NCAA DI women's national championship final.
The Cardinal will face Northwestern Wednesday at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, as they look to become the first team in the match-play era (beginning in 2015) to win back-to-back national titles.
Advertisement
Following morning quarterfinal matches, Stanford defeated Florida State, 3 ½ to 1 ½. Northwestern beat Oregon, 3-2.
With the Cardinal leading FSU, 2-0, thanks to a 5-and-3 win by Paula Martin Sampedro and a 5-and-4 victory by Kelly Xu, Stanford forced extra holes in all three remaining matches.
Seminole junior Mirabel Ting, the second-ranked amateur in the world and recently named player of the year, was unable to close out her match in regulation against Andrea Revuleta. Woad, meanwhile, was 1 up through 14 holes over Ganne but needed to birdie the 17th to help force sudden death.
On the second playoff hole, the par-4 15th, Ganne hit her approach shot to 7 feet and Woad followed to 12 feet. Woad failed to convert her effort while Ganne center-cut hers to earn the clinching point.
Advertisement
The Northwestern-Oregon tilt came down to the final match, with Wildcat junior Dianna Lee taking down decorated sophomore Kiara Romero, 2 up. Lee had two separate putts on the 17th hole to defeat the world No. 3, but missed both. Romero, however, hit her approach shot into the back greenside bunker on the par-4 18th and couldn't escape after two swings. She conceded the hole and the match.
The last team to repeat as DI women's national champions was Duke, in 2007, when 72 holes of stroke play determined the winner. Stanford has won three titles since the format change — 2015, 2022, 2024.
Golf Channel will air live coverage of the final at 6 p.m. EDT.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Ole Miss' Chris Malloy, Stanford's Anne Walker win Golfweek's 2025 Coach of the Year honors
Ole Miss' Chris Malloy, Stanford's Anne Walker win Golfweek's 2025 Coach of the Year honors The 2024-25 college golf season is complete, which means it's time for postseason awards. There was a monumental upset on the women's side while one of college golf's best programs of all-time took home the trophy at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, where the championships were contested for a second time with three more years to come. However, when it comes to the Coach of the Year conversation, there are two who stood out among the rest, and they've been selected as the Golfweek 2025 Coaches of the Year. Golfweek selects men's and women's All-America teams and honorable mention selections, as well as Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year. All-America selections were released Wednesday, and Player of the Year honorees will be announced Friday. Here's a look at Golfweek's 2025 Coaches of the Year and a look at past winners: Golfweek 2025 Men's College Golf Coach of the Year: Chris Malloy, Ole Miss Malloy guided the Rebels to their best season in school history. Ranked 12th in the preseason, Ole Miss made match play at NCAAs for the first time in school history and fell 3-2 in extra holes against Oklahoma State in the semis, pushign the eventual national champions to the brink. Malloy also coached the individual national medalist, junior, Michael La Sasso, and helped Ole Miss win three times this season and finished fourth in the NCAA golf rankings. Golfweek 2025 Women's College Golf Coach of the Year: Anne Walker, Stanford Stanford just completed arguably the greatest season in women's college golf history (that's a discussion for another time), and it walks away without winning the national title or its conference crown. Stanford played nine stroke play events and won every single won, falling only in match play against Northwestern in the national championship match and to Wake Forest in the semis of ACCs. Walker constructed a roster that featured contributions from numerous players, with four players collecting individual wins this season. Past men's winners 2024 – Nick Clinard, Auburn 2023 – Mike Small, Illinois 2022 – John Fields, Texas 2021 – Mike Small, Illinois 2020 – None 2019 – Conrad Ray, Stanford 2018 – Alan Bratton, Oklahoma State 2017 – Casey Martin, Oregon 2016 – John Fields, Texas 2015 – Chuck Winstead, LSU 2014 – Alan Murray, UAB 2013 – Steve Desimone, California 2012 – John Fields, Texas 2011 – Mike McGraw, Oklahoma State 2010 – Josh Gregory, Augusta State 2009 – Matt Thurmond, Washington 2008 – Chris Zambri, USC 2007 – Conrad Ray, Stanford 2006 – Mike McGraw, Oklahoma State 2005 – Rod Myers, Duke 2004 – Steve Desimone, California 2003 – Larry Penley, Clemson 2002 – Bruce Heppler, Georgia Tech 2001 – Buddy Alexander, Florida 2000 – Mike Holder, Oklahoma State 1999 – Chris Haack, Georgia Past women's winners 2024 – Alicia Um Holmes, UCLA 2023 – Laurie Gibbs, Pepperdine 2022 – Dana Dormann, San Jose State 2021 – Kory Henkes, Ole Miss 2020 – None 2019 – Dan Brooks, Duke 2018 – Andrea Gaston, USC 2017 – Missy Farr-Kaye, Arizona State 2016 – Mary Lou Mulflur, Washington 2015 – Mary Lou Mulflur, Washington 2014 – Therese Hession, Ohio State 2013 – Andrea Gaston, USC 2012 – Mic Potter, Alabama 2011 – Carrie Forsyth, UCLA 2010 – Devon Brouse, Purdue 2009 – Melissa Luellen, Arizona State 2008 – Andrea Gaston, USC 2007 – Dan Brooks, Duke 2006 – Devon Brouse, Purdue 2005 – Laurie Gibbs, Pepperdine 2004 – Martha Freitag, Vanderbilt 2003 – Nancy McDaniel, California 2002 – Dan Brooks, Duke 2001 – Mike Morrow, Kent State 2000 – Todd McCorkle, Arizona 1999 – Dan Brooks, Duke How were winners chosen? Coach of the Year winners were selected based on performance of their teams throughout the season and into the postseason.
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
It's hard for Bo Nix to explain how big this factor is in 2025
It's hard for Bo Nix to explain how big this factor is in 2025 Bo Nix hasn't had this kind of continuity since high school. For the first time since playing prep football in Pinson, Alabama, in 2018, Nix is approaching a football season with the same play caller from his previous season. Yes -- you read that right -- in three years at Auburn and two years at Oregon, Nix never had the same play caller in back-to-back seasons. That is set to change in 2025 as Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton -- the team's play caller -- is entering his third season with the club and second year with Nix as his QB. 'It's huge," Nix said after the first week of organized team activities. "It's kind of weird going back to the first install, it's not new verbiage and not new things. It made it a lot easier this year. Now, it was tough to learn it last year, but being in a system and getting right back to where we were, just being able to call plays and understanding what it's like — going longer than 365 days just hearing the same thing, I think it's going to be really beneficial. "Honestly, it felt weird because it hasn't been since high school. I'm just used to learning different things, so it's good not to have to learn an entire new system this year and have the same play caller and have the same quarterback coach. [Also], the same guys you're throwing it to. The same center and the same [offensive] line. Being the same, it's going to be — it's hard to even explain. You're going to see it in ways that you can't even understand. It's just a natural thing to go out there and just pick up right where you left off and not have to restart.' Payton said when Nix hears and then delivers plays in the huddle this year, they "run off his tongue," unlike last year when Payton had to repeat the plays for Nix. "It's just a lot different," the coach noted. Nix having familiarity with the offense -- and coaching staff -- going into Year 2 only increases the likelihood of the young QB taking a big leap in his second season. Stay tuned. It's almost Bo Time. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
5-star Oregon Football commit schedules official visits to multiple schools
Earlier this spring, the Oregon Ducks received great news on the recruiting trail, landing a surprise commitment from five-star edge rusher Richard Wesley. The 247Sports composite lists the 6-foot-5, 250-pound edge as the No. 14 player overall and the No. 2 player at his position in the 2026 class. While his commitment added a needed boost to the Ducks' recruiting class in 2026, it doesn't appear his pledge ended the process. Reports emerged in the days following Wesley's commitment that name, image and likeness licensing issues still needed to be ironed out, and the commitment came as a surprise to even the player's parents. Advertisement Now, Wesley has announced he will take a number of official visits this summer and fall while he continues to weigh his options. The first official visit will be to Eugene on June 6. A trip to the Texas Longhorns follows on June 20. The date for the visit to the Texas A&M Aggies has not yet been finalized. Wesley will go to see the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30, the weekend they host the Longhorns for the season-opener in Columbus. In the world of recruiting, it has generally been beneficial for teams to have the final official visit, giving them the "last word," so to speak. However, in the NIL era, that seems to be less predictable. The highest bidder usually wins out. While Wesley is committed to Oregon, it has become clear this recruitment is far from over. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon Football: 5-star Richard Wesley sets multiple official visits
