Stanford reclaims the crown

Victory for Cardinal capped a dominant week in which they out-lasted all competitors in the four rounds of stroke play qualifying, and a superb season in which they won six times and recorded nine top-3 finishes. They came into the tournament ranked No.1 in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings and more than lived up to their billing.

“They played hard, they’re a close knit team that are the best of friends,” said Anne Walker after celebrating on the green with her players. “It’s so special to celebrate this with them. Every player on our roster has contributed to this win. This entire season has taken a whole team effort and it was no different today.

Coach Walker called out her sophomore players for particular praise. Once again, Kelly Xu and Megha Ganne (pictured above) provided steel in the middle order for Stanford. Xu defeated Meghan Royal to extend her perfect match play record in the NCAA Championships to 5-0-0. Ganne was also unbeaten in match play.

Ganne finished 2nd at Regionals, 2nd at the Pac-12s and recorded a top-10 in the individual tournament here. She was rock solid in the final and her 3&2 win over Natalie Vo was embroidered with a host of quality golf shots, not least the deft up and down she made from the back of the 9th and the birdie on the testing par-3 12th.

With Paula Martin Sampredo locked in a see-saw battle with Caroline Canales in the top match, and UCLA's Zoe Campos in charge against Sadie Englemann in match four, Xu and Ganne provided the foundations for Stanford’s victory. 

Behind them, playing in the anchor match, Rachel Heck opened with three birdies in the first four holes to establish a three-hole lead. It was an advantage she never looked likely to relinquish. The five birdies she made in total were simply too much for Villegas.

“That is Rachel Heck for you,” said Coach Walker. “She deserves that, but it’s also like it was scripted to be that way. It wasn’t by accident we decided to put Rachel in that last spot. She is a mature kid and it takes a lot to rattle her.”

UCLA battled hard and can be proud of themselves at the end of a momentous week. Getting to the Championship match for the first time in program history, and in the Head Coach Alicia Um Holmes’ first season in charge, is an achievement to be celebrated. Caroline Canales also won all three of her matches in the knockout rounds.

Four of the five players that represented UCLA in the final will return next year, so this could well be the start of something special for the Bruins.

“When we first started, it was a brand-new bunch and we had four new players along with four returners,” said the UCLA Coach. “I really didn’t know what to expect. I was just hoping they would mesh well together and that maybe we could do something. Right off the bat at one of our first tournaments, we shot one of our lowest team scores in the record books, so I thought maybe we do have something here.

It was, however, fitting that the final moment should belong to Rachel Heck, who crowned a superb collegiate career with a second National Championship. What a journey it has been for her, and what a journey for Stanford women’s golf under Anne Walker’s leadership. 

“This is a great group of young women,” said an emotional Walker amid the joyous celebrations. “We never take anything for granted and we are fortunate for all the things we have and we speak about that a lot. We are privileged to be in this position. We keep our eye on the ball, literally and we talk a lot about staying patient, staying grateful and enjoying the moment.”