Tuesday, March 14
Brentwood Country Club / Los Angeles, Calif.
8:30 AM
UCLA
vs
USC (Gifford Great 8 Collegiate Match Play Championship)
The Bruins won their second tournament of the season.
Bruins Win Inaugural Gifford Great 8 Match Play
March 14, 2017 | Women's Golf
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LOS ANGELES - In the closest match of the inaugural edition of the Gifford Great 8 Collegiate Match Play, second-seeded UCLA knocked off #1-seed USC, 3-2, to win the tournament championship on Tuesday at Brentwood Country Club.
The only match in any round to see all five groups reach the 18th hole, junior Erin Choi and sophomore Lilia Vu posted 1-up victories and sophomore Bethany Wu and freshman Clare Legaspi each earned half-points by tying their opponents.
Vu recorded the Bruins' first point, defeating Gabriella Then. The match was all square through seven, with Vu winning #1 and #4 and Then taking #2 and #6. Wins on #8, #10 and #11 gave Vu a 3-up lead, which she maintained through 15 holes before dropping #16 and #17. However, a couple of pars on the 18th gave UCLA the full point.
Choi knocked off Muni He. After dropping the first, Choi won #2 and #3 to take a brief lead, as a He win on #4 evened the match. He re-took the lead on #7, but Choi won #10 and #11 to take a 1-up lead, which would not be relinquished. Choi went ahead 2-up on #13, and despite a loss on #14, the final four holes were halved to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Mariel Galdiano also made it to the 18th, but fell to Tiffany Chan, 1-up. After losing the first hole, Galdiano won #2, #5 and #8 to go 2-up. Chan re-took the lead after claiming #10, #11 and #13. Galdiano squared the match at #14 and then jumped ahead with a triumph at #15. But Chan won the final two holes to give USC a point.
Wu won the first hole against Victoria Morgan, dropped the second and then won #3 and #4 to go 2-up. Morgan bounced back with three in a row (#5-#7) to go ahead, with a victory on #9 putting the Trojans 2-up at the turn. Wu would win #13 and #14 to even the match, as the final four holes were halved to give both teams a half point.
Legaspi would clinch the overall match with a half-point, giving the Bruins three. She won the first two holes over Robynn Ree before dropping #3, #6, #8 and #11 to fall 2-down. Legaspi came back to even things with victories at #13 and #15, with three halves finishing out the match.
In the individual match-play contests on Tuesday, senior Hadas Libman fell to USC's Allisen Corpuz, 2&1, junior Lydia Choi lost to Georgia's Isabella Skinner, 3&2, and junior Joo Seo fell to Ohio State's Alex Wright, 3&2.
The victory for the Bruins was the second of the season after winning the Stanford Intercollegiate in October.
The Bruins return to stroke-play competition at the end of the month, heading to Kapalua Golf Club Bay Course in Lahaina, Hawai'i for the Anuenue Spring Break Classic (March 27-29).
Players Mentioned
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