ATLANTA – Texas A&M women’s golfer Hailee Cooper sent the No. 3 Aggies to the championship match of the East Lake Cup Tuesday with a walk-off eagle on No. 18, defeating UCLA, 3-2, at the East Lake Golf Club.
The Maroon & White will take on No. 24 Auburn in a Southeastern Conference showdown. Auburn defeated No. 6 Oregon, 3-2, in the semis.
“Hailee’s match went back-and-forth all day long,” head coach Gerrod Chadwell said. “She stepped up and hit a great shot down the middle on 18 off the tee after going all square on 17. Then her eagle shot on 18 was incredible. We really felt like UCLA was going to hit that par putt, so to finish off that match was dramatic and fun. I didn’t think we played at the top of our game today. We need to sharpen some stuff up for tomorrow and that gets me excited to have the chance to clean our game up for a championship.”
Cooper went into No. 18 tied with UCLA’s Emilie Paltrinieri. Paltrinieri hooked her tee shot into the left rough, while Cooper striped hers down the middle of the fairway. The Montgomery, Texas, native proceeded to get a generous kick out of the woods, placing her ball just off the green. That lucky bounce set up a chip shot that went the length of the green and trickled into the hole for eagle, advancing the Maroon & White to the championship match at the historic East Lake Cup.
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio and Zoe Slaughter both dominated their respective matches. Fernández García-Poggio carried over her strong play from stroke play into her match versus the Bruins’ Annabel Wilson, racing out to a dominant 5&4 victory. Slaughter ran away with her matchup against Alessia Nobilio, 4&2. The Houston native left no doubt, sinking a birdie on No. 16 to cap off the point.
Jennie Park dropped her match, 3&2, against Zoe Campos and Adela Cernousek fell as well, 2&1, to Caroline Canales.
“I am excited to play Auburn tomorrow,” Chadwell said. “They are a tough team, especially in match play. They went to the semis last year at nationals and won an SEC Championship two years ago.”
Championship Matchups Versus Auburn
Zoe Slaughter vs. Megan Weidenfeld
Jennie Park vs. Elina Sinz
Hailee Cooper vs. Rachel Gourley
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio vs. Anna Foster
Adela Cernousek vs. Megan Schofill
Up Next
The Maroon & White is set to tee off against Auburn at 10:05 a.m. The match will be broadcast on the Golf Channel from 2-5 p.m. and live stats can be found at golfstat.com.
Story by Brandon Collins, Athletics Communications