BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – For the second time in three years the LSU women’s golf team was unable to advance to the SEC Championship round, falling to Mississippi State Saturday in the semifinals of match-play competition at Greystone Golf and Country Club’s Legacy Course.
LSU, trying to win for the second straight year, shot 6-over par to win the qualifying top seed on Friday by 11 shots.
After an amazing finish to its 3-2 quarterfinal win over No. 8 seed Ole Miss earlier in the day, the Tigers could not get it going against No. 5 seed Mississippi State, falling 3-2 in the best of five matches.
“I’m very proud of Aine (Donegan) for putting herself in position (in the semifinal) to win it on 18,” LSU women’s golf coach Garrett Runion said. “I’m proud of Carla (Tejedo) who was three down with four to play (in the opening semifinal pairing) and came back and took it to the 18th hole. Edit as a freshman winning both her matches in her first SECs is pretty impressive and Latanna was strong. There is still a lot to play for the rest of the year and we can still make this a special year.”
LSU returns home and wait for the announcement of their NCAA Regional berth on Wednesday, April 26.
Senior Latanna Stone had a strong day with two wins, including a 2&1 win over Julia Lopez Ramirez of Ole Miss in the fifth and final match early in the day. Freshman Edit Hertzman also won twice, including a 1UP decision over Isabell Pellot of Mississippi State.
In the morning quarterfinal match, it was Hertzman, playing in the third match of the day, who made a clutch 17-footer from the back of the par 5 18th green against Nicole Gal of Ole Miss to win her match over 1UP giving LSU its second point of the match.
Stone, who moved to 1Up after winning the 17, made a difficult three-foot comebacker for par to halve the hole and win the match against the Rebels’ Andrea Lignell to get LSU home for the clinching third point.
Ingrid Lindblad had a fairly easy time of it with a 4&2 win in her match with Natacha Husted.
There were several big swings in the Hertzman quarterfinal match as she fell behind two holes, then reversed it to a 3UP lead after 12 holes. Opponent Gal would get the match even on the 17th hole setting up the dramatics.
Gal missed a birdie putt of her own and her par putt was conceded so Hertzman need to at least two putt to force extra holes but she calmly stroked in the winning putt that set off a reaction from the LSU team members around the 18th green.
In her semifinal match, Hertzman won the 17th with a par to get the 1UP advantage.
Stone and Lignell went back and forth throughout their match, including when both players made long birdie puts on the 10th hole. The key swing came on the 17th hole when Stone’s par 3 won the hole and then after both players missed birdie attempts, it was Stone’s par putt that was the difference.
Lindblad made a lengthy uphill birdie putt on the par 3 eighth hole to go up 2UP in her match and advanced to 3UP with a par on the ninth hole after Natacha Husted hit into the woods with her opening shot. A par on the 16th hole clinched the match.
“That’s golf. That’s match play. I’m very proud of the girls,” Runion said. “They’ve had a little bit of a target on their backs this semester coming into the SECs being the highest ranked league team in the country and they proved it in stroke play and won that by 11. Had a great match against Ole Miss that could have gone either way at the end. It’s match play. Anything can happen. You need to be playing well and have some things go your way. We had a couple bounces (in the semifinal) that did not go our way.”
SEC WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHP
QUARTERFINAL MATCH
LSU 3, OLE MISS 2
Elle Johnson (OM) d. Carla Tejedo (LSU), 2&1
Chiara Tamburlini (OM) d. Aine Donegan (LSU), 1UP
Edit Hertzman (LSU) d. Nicole Gal (OM), 1 UP
Ingrid Lindblad (LSU) d. Natacha Husted (OM), 4 & 2
Latanna Stone (LSU) d. Andrea Lignell (OM), 1 UP
SEMIFINAL MATCH
MISSISSIPPI STATE 3, LSU 2
Surapa Janthamunee (MSU) d. Carla Tejedo (LSU), 2UP
Abbey Daniel (MSU) d. Aine Donegan (LSU), 1UP
Edit Hertzman (LSU) d. Isabell Pellot (MSU), 1UP
Hannah Levi (MSU) d. Ingrid Lindblad (LSU), 5&4
Latanna Stone (LSU) d. Julia Lopez Ramirez (MSU), 2&1
Be the first to comment