News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek became the first Individual National Champion in program history on Monday after shooting a 12-under 276 through stroke play at the 2024 NCAA Championships at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. The No. 13 Texas A&M women’s golf team will take on No. 5 UCLA in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Cernousek won the tournament by three strokes over 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion Lottie Woad of Florida State. She shot even-par on the fourth day to secure the individual title after coming into the round with a six-shot lead on the Seminole.
“I told Adela that she will always be a national champion and that no one can take that from her,” Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell said. “I couldn’t think of a more deserving person. Adela is the epitome of a student-athlete and a hard worker. She is selfless and only cares about the team. She is beyond worthy of this and we can’t wait to get to match play tomorrow.”
The Antibes, France, native weathered windy conditions to secure 72 and the national title. The junior collected birdies on Nos. 1 and 11, and the clinching putt came as a tap-in bogey on No. 18 to win her first collegiate tournament. She is fresh off winning the U.S. Open Qualifier in Pearland, Texas, less than a week ago.
“It hasn’t really sunk in,” Cernousek said. “This is a crazy feeling, and I am so proud to be the first individual national champion for Texas A&M. The tournament is not over so we are getting ready for match play, but this is a dream. I had a couple of opportunities to win in the fall, but I wasn’t able to finish it off. It means a lot for my first collegiate win to be here.”
As a team, the Aggies finished stroke play with the No. 3 seed and will face off against UCLA in the quarterfinal match on Tuesday at 8:50 a.m. The Aggies have four golfers in the lineup that were on the past two semifinal runs at NCAAs. Those four golfers all have at least eight match play wins in their careers, led by Blanca Fernández García-Poggio with 14 and Cernousek with 12. Cernousek is also undefeated at NCAAs in her career with a perfect 3-0 record.
The No. 3 seed matches the highest for the program entering match play. The Aggies earned the three spot at the 2022 NCAA Championships. The team score of 5-over 1,157 was the second-lowest 72-hole score in school history behind last year’s NCAA performance of 4-over 1,156.
Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio finished stroke play tied for 16th at 2-over 290 and her sister Blanca Fernández García-Poggio shot 5-over 293 and secured a share of 24th. Zoe Slaughter tied for 45th and Jennie Park came in 74th.
If the Maroon & White defeat UCLA, they will take on the winner of the LSU-Oregon matchup directly after the conclusion of the quarterfinals. The championship match would take place at 4:05 p.m. on Wednesday.
Live stats for the event can be found at Golfstat.com. Additionally, the quarterfinal match will be televised on Golf Channel from 12-2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Match Play Pairings Versus UCLA
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio (A&M) vs. Meghan Royal (UCLA), 8:50 a.m.
Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio (A&M) vs. Caroline Canales (UCLA), 9 a.m.
Zoe Slaughter (A&M) vs. Natalie Vo (UCLA), 9:10 a.m.
Adela Cernousek (A&M) vs. Kate Villegas (UCLA), 9:20 a.m.
Jennie Park (A&M) vs. Zoe Campos (UCLA), 9:30 a.m.
Stroke Play Results
T1 – Stanford (+2)
T1 – LSU (+2)
3 – Texas A&M (+5)
4 – USC (+13)
5 – Clemson (+18)
T6 – UCLA (+19)
T6 – Oregon (+19)
8 – Auburn (+20)