Tennessee senior Bailey Davis got off to a flying start, leading with a first-round 67 (-5). Vanderbilt was the team at the top of the leaderboard after day one, one of only two sides to finish under par. The other was Oklahoma State, who Vandy was paired with. No.1 ranked Stanford finished the first round in 11th place.

Cal State Fullerton (left) appeared in the National Championship for the first time. Just the eighth Big West team to qualify and the first since 2015, the Titans made program history by winning The Big West Championship and then advancing to the NCAA Championships as the first-ever No. 10 seed in a regional.

Known as 'Little Terror', the par-3 8th hole on the North Course lived up to its name on day one. Playing at just 102 yards to a front left pin position, it produced 18 double-bogeys and was the second hardest hole on the course.

Coach Derek Radley's Oregon Ducks got stronger and stronger as the tournament wore on, led by Kiara Romero who shot a best-of-the-week 65 in the fourth round. They were unfortunate to run into an inspired Northwestern in the semifinal.

Anyone who saw Eila Galitsky (above), the brilliant South Carolina sophomore, striking her 2-iron off the deck will not forget it in a hurry. What a swing and what a talent. She finished T5 in the individual standings.

UCLA (#31) and Tennessee (#28) were the lowest ranked teams to qualify for the fourth and final day of stroke play. Northwestern, at #11, was the lowest ranked side to get over the line in the race for eight.

Stanford continued its outstanding season by lapping the field over 72 holes, completing an entire season unbeaten in stroke play. The Cardinal qualified as top seeds with a championship scoring record 27-under-par total, 21 shots better than Oregon in second. Kelly Xu (above) was in contention in the individual race right up until the 16th hole of her final round. She was the best of four Stanford players who finished inside the top 10.

It was the fifth-straight year Stanford claimed the No. 1 seed entering match play. “I'm most excited about the NCAA record,” said Head Coach Anne Walker, “because I feel like now, with the tournament format, the strictly champions are often forgot, even though they deserve to be considered. It's such a big deal to come into the field with the top teams and play over four days and finish at the top of the leaderboard.”

Mirabel Ting of Florida State was the dominant player of the season and made five birdies on her inward nine on the last day of stroke play to finish second individually, two shots back of the winner. Consolation came in the form of the ANNIKA Award, which she was presented after the round. “Everyone on this trophy, they’re all pretty successful on the LPGA Tour,” Ting said. “I’m just hoping to be like that as well one day.”

Jose Maria Marin of Arkansas might not be the longest hitter but her precision, course management and clutch putting saw her become only the third Arkansas player after Maria Fassi and Stacey Lewis to win the NCAA DI Individual Championship. The Colombian sophomore held off a a host of top-ranked players to take the title by two shots.

“She’s been an amazing rock for our team," said Arkansas Head Coach Shauna Taylor. “When she came in last year as a freshman, I think she elevated all of us. I am not surprised she was in a position to win this tournament this week.”

In the knockout stages, Stanford saw three matches go to sudden-death playoff holes before advancing to the Championship Match with a 3-2 semifinal win over Florida State. After Paula Martin Sampedro and Kelly Xu had put points on the board, match play specialist Megha Ganne sealed the deal on the second playoff hole in an unforgettable match with Lottie Woad.

“I went in with the mindset that I was so grateful to be playing Lottie,” said Ganne. “I think she is an incredible player and world No. 1 for a reason. I was honestly so excited about the match-up and I have so much respect for her. I knew a day like today with seven birdies is what it was going to take. Florida State is a great team and I was happy to be out here and glad we got the job done.”

San Diego native Dianna Lee (above, with Head Coach Emily Fletcher) secured the decisive point for Northwestern in another thrilling semi-final against Oregon. Sophomore Ashley Yun and freshman Elise Lee won the other points for the Wildcats, who had beaten Arkansas in the quarterfinal.

“It’s absolutely everything to me and my team,” Lee said afterwards. “From day one this is all we have ever wanted to do. Our team has so much support and belief in each other. I knew all I had to do was focus on my match because we all had each other’s backs.” 

In an incredible final, Northwestern caused a major upset by defeating top-seeded Stanford 3-2 to claim its first NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. In the anchor match, Dianna Lee continued her winning run by defeating Andrea Revuelta on the final green in to clinch victory.

“I was so nervous and my hands were shaking,” she revealed afterwards. “Who wouldn’t be nervous? Sometimes you have to let muscle memory do its job and that’s what I think I did.”

Stanford, which was making its second-straight appearance in the match play final and third in the last four years, fell behind on the front nine in three of of the matchups that clinched the win for Northwestern.

“They are all coming back next year,” said Coach Walker. “We had a great year and I know there is going to be some learning from this. You learn the most when you lose and it’s a great opportunity to do that and to grow from this moment.”

A jubilant Emily Fletcher revealed that it felt "surreal" after Lee had sparked joyous scenes on the final green. “They went out to be themselves,” she said. “They went out to compete as hard as they could and that was going to be enough. Stanford is an incredible program and I have so much respect for them. I think the belief and the way our players kept on fighting, they hung in and it paid off in the end.”