April 9, 2017
ATHENS, Ga. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's golf team earned its biggest match-play win in several years Sunday, defeating No. 2 Southern California 3-2 in the fifth-place match at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.
Auburn went 2-0-1 in match play for the weekend, ending the regular season on a high note with the SEC Championship coming up in two weeks.
"Today was a great day for Auburn golf," head coach Melissa Luellen said. "The team proved they are mentally tough through adversity and kept fighting to the end."
Freshman Kayley Marschke provided the clinching win for the Tigers in dramatic fashion. Trailing by one hole with four to play, she carded four consecutive birdies on the final four holes to defeat USC's Victoria Morgan, 2 up, and provide the clinching point. Junior Michaela Owen defeated Allisen Corpuz, 2 and 1, and sophomore Mai Dechathipat took down Muni He, 2 and 1, to provide the other two team points for Auburn.
Marschke went 3-0 on the weekend while Dechathipat and Owen each went 2-0-1 in their individual matches.
"Kayley had never played match play before this tournament, and she is great at it," Luellen said. "To go 3-0 is fantastic. Michaela was very strong today; she played really well and was impressive to watch. Mai found fearless today. Her short game, creativity and tenacity never allowed her competitor to have a chance.
"Kelli Murphy was pitted against some of the top-ranked players in college golf each match, and she was never out of it and had a chance to halve the match on the 18th hole. Elena (Hualde) was key in allowing us to win yesterday by winning her final two holes (to halve the match) and allow us the opportunity to play USC."
Auburn's fifth-place finish equals its best at this event since it went to its current match-play format in 2014. The Tigers also tied for fifth in the stroke-play qualifying portion of the tournament Friday.
"This was a total team effort and a great confidence boost heading into the SEC Championship," Luellen said.
The SEC Championship is Auburn's next event, set for April 21-23 at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham.
Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Fifth-Place Match
Auburn 3, Southern California 2
Tiffany Chen (USC) def. Kelli Murphy (AU), 1 up
Michaela Owen (AU) def. Allisen Corpuz (USC), 2 and 1
Gabriella Then (USC) def. Elena Hualde (AU), 5 and 4
Mai Dechathipat (AU) def. Muni He (USC), 2 and 1
Kayley Marschke (AU) def. Victoria Morgan (USC), 2 up