Nov. 3, 2008
REUNION, Fla. - The No. 12 Auburn women's golf team went 1-1 Monday in the first day of match play at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at the Ginn Reunion Resort in Reunion, Fla. The Tigers fell to Alabama in its first match on a tiebreacker, but turned around to defeat No. 2 seed Virginia in the second match of the day.
Conducted by the National Golf Coaches Association, the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship is a three-day tournament that pits 16 of the top college women's golf teams against each other in a combination stroke play/match play format. Sunday's 36-hole qualifier seeded the teams for the match play portion as the top eight teams go to the championship bracket and the bottom eight go to the consolation.
The tournament is being played at the Ginn Reunion Resort, using nine holes from the Independence Course and nine holes from the Legacy Course - the same layout used for the LPGA's Ginn Open.
"I was really proud of the team today and the way we bounced back after the loss," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "Anytime you play against Alabama it is going to be emotional, and after losing in a tiebreaker I thought we did a great job of going right back to business to beat Virginia."
Auburn was also playing with a last-minute substitution after Sarah Thead had to pull out because of an illness. She was replaced in the lineup by freshman Madison Overbey for Monday's matches, but could possibly come back for Tuesday's match.
The team match play format is set up where players are ranked 1-5 and play the corresponding player on the other team. With five players on each team, the winner of at least three individual matches earns the win.
Starting off against in-state rival Alabama, the Tigers fell behind 2-1 early after Overbey lost to Alabama's Camilla Lennarth, 6 and 5, and senior Mariana Macias lost to UA's Laura Goodwin, 5 and 4. Freshman Patricia Sanz gave Auburn its first win of the match with a 6 and 4 win over Helena Blomberg.
Cydney Clanton tied things up for Auburn, going all 18 holes against Alabama's Courtney Harter to take a 1-up victory.
With the match tied, the outcome came down to the top seeds as Auburn's Candace Schepperle faced off against Alabama's Kathleen Ekey. Neither player led by more than one and they stood all square for the last five holes of the match, ending in a halve. With the final team score at 2.5-2.5, it went to the tiebreaker of most holes win, a category that Alabama led by four for the win.
With the loss, Auburn moved into the consolation portion of the bracket to take on No. 2 seed Virginia. The Cavaliers fell to seventh-seeded Denver, 3-1-1, in the first round.
The match with Virginia proved to be even closer than the Alabama match. The teams fell into a tie early as Virginia's Calle Nielson defeated overbuy, 5 and 4. Auburn tied the score right away as Clanton picked up a 4 and 3 win over UVA's Kristen Simpson.
The final three matches went all 18 holes and all ended with a 1-up score. Joy Kim defeated Auburn's Sanz while Macias defeated Virginia's Eleana Collins, again sending the fate of the match to the top seeds.
This time it was Schepperle going up by one on the 15th hole of the match, an advantage she would hold on to the rest of the way in for the win over Whitney Neuhauser.
"With all the quality teams at this tournament, it is such a great experience for the team and we can really learn a lot from these close matches," said Evans. "You really have to be on your game all the time because you are playing head-to-head with your opponent. I think our team has really responded to that and it shows by how close we are playing teams that came into match play ranked higher than us."
With the win, Auburn moves on to the fifth-place match against No. 1 seed UCLA. The Bruins suffered a similar fate to the Tigers in the first round, going 2-2-1 against Michigan State, losing in a tiebreacker. UCLA came back in its next match to earn a 4-1 victory over Southern California to set up its meeting with Auburn.
Fans can follow all the action at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship by accessing live stats at www.GolfStat.com.
REUNION, Fla. - First-and second-round match play results from the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship hosted by the National Golf Coaches Association at the Ginn Reunion Resort's Independence and Legacy Courses. Par: 72. Yardage: 6,245
First Round: Auburn vs. Alabama, 2-2-1
Candace Schepperle (Auburn) vs. Kathleen Ekey (Alabama), Halved
Cydney Clanton (Auburn) def. Courtney Harter (Alabama), 1 up
Camilla Lennarth (Alabama) def. Madison Overbey (Auburn), 6 and 5
Patricia Sanz (Auburn) def. Helena Blomberg (Alabama), 6 and 4
Laura Goodwin (Alabama) def. Mariana Macias (Auburn), 5 and 4
Alabama won four more holes than Auburn to take tiebreaker
Second Round: Auburn def. Virginia, 3-2
Candace Schepperle (Auburn) def. Whitney Neuhauser (Virginia), 1 up
Cydney Clanton (Auburn) def. Kristen Simpson (Virginia), 4 and 3
Calle Nielson (Virginia) def. Madison Overbey (Auburn), 5 and 4
Joy Kim (Virginia) def. Patricia Sanz (Auburn), 1 up
Mariana Macias (Auburn) def. Eleana Collins (Virginia), 1 up