In preparation for the NCAA championships match-play round, the Cal women’s golf team tried its hand at the match-play-based SDSU Farms Invitational, which took place at the par-72 Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
The team finished eighth overall in a pool composed of 16 programs. Tennessee won the championship round against Colorado, 3.5-1.5, and SDSU defeated Arizona State, 3.5-1.5, to secure third place.
The first round saw Cal get off to a good start Monday by emerging victorious against Kansas, 3-2. The Bears were unable to duplicate their success Tuesday in the second and third rounds against Tennessee and UNLV, respectively. The Bears were bested by Tennessee, 4-1, and narrowly lost to UNLV, 3-2. Cal’s third attempt to secure another victory was not the charm, because it was defeated by Pepperdine, 3.5-1.5, in the fourth round Wednesday.
“We were disappointed in the end, a little bit, because we did well in the very beginning,” said junior Hannah Suh. “In the last few matches, we were so close to winning. It really came down to the last holes, and it was a little heartbreaking.”
Suh earned a 3-up victory in the first round against Kansas’ Kallie Gonzales. In the second round, she fell 1 up to Tennessee’s Emmie Pietila, but Suh came back strong to earn a 4-and-3 win against UNLV’s Avery French. Suh finished her fourth-round match with a 1-up loss to Pepperdine’s Katherine Zhu.
“I lost my match against Tennessee,” Suh said. “It came down to the last hole. It sucked, honestly, because I felt like I could have won so easily. It comes down to a little bit of luck. It’s just mental — who can last the longest and not break down.”
Pauline Loulier, a junior, won her first-round match, 1 up, but lost her second-round match, 4 and 2. She got back on track with a 4-and-3 win in her third-round match and secured a tie in her fourth-round match. Of the quintet the Bears played, Loulier tallied the best output as an individual with two wins, one loss and one all-square.
Sophomore Carly Childs was unable to earn a victory at the tournament. She finished 2 up in the first round, 4 and 2 in the second round, 4 and 3 in the third round and 1 up in the fourth round. Marthe Wold, a freshman, lost her first-round match, 5 and 3, but came back with a 5-and-4 victory in the second round. She lost her third- and fourth-round matches with 2-and-1 and 1-up defeats, respectively. Sophomore Lucia Gutierrez started off with a 5-and-3 win in the first round, but she lost her second- and third-round matches, 4 up and 5 and 3, respectively, and managed to end with a 2-up victory in the fourth round.
“It was very interesting to be in a team framework for match play,” Gutierrez said. “It was make it or break it for the team.”
Gutierrez said the competition was about being able to get experience in match-play regulations and handling the nervousness that comes with this type of format.
“Now, we know how we are at match-play regulation, and we’re going to work to improve that so that at nationals we can be able to stay focused and put all our energy into getting good shots,” Gutierrez said.
Manny Flores covers women’s golf. Contact him at jflores@dailycal.org.