Credit to Brandon Collins | Associate Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Texas A&M women’s golf team defeated the No. 11 Texas Longhorns, 3-1, in the quarterfinals but lost to the No. 2 Wake Forest Demon Decons, 3-0, in the semis on Tuesday at the NCAA Championships at the Grayhawk Golf Club.
Quarterfinal Match
The Aggies defeated No. 11 Texas, 3-1, to advance to the semifinals for the second-consecutive year.
Zoe Slaughter dominated her match, 3&2, and clinched the point in just under 3.5 hours. Slaughter was down one hole after No. 3 but stormed back with four straight points to take a three-hole lead. The Houston native would end the match on No. 16 after getting up-and-down for par with a 12-foot putt to tie the hole.
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio erased a two-hole deficit early and stormed back to take the lead on No. 11. The senior took a gutsy shot to the green in two on the par-five No. 18 that landed 35 feet from the pin. The Spaniard would two-putt for birdie and won the match and the second point of the day for A&M, 1UP.
Adela Cernousek was in a barn burner the whole morning, as her and her opponent were within one point the entire back nine. Cernousek took the lead on No. 15 and never relinquished it. She won and clinched the semifinal berth for A&M on No. 18, 1UP. The sophomore is 3-0 in match play at NCAAs, dating back to last year’s run.
Hailee Cooper was up one in her match while she was in the fairway of 18 when the match was clinched against her former school. Her match went unfinished but was leading as the match neared its end. Jennie Park fell in her match, 2&1.
Semifinal Match
Wake Forest earned the first two points of the match as Slaughter lost, 2&1, and Cooper was defeated 4&2.
Park was leading on 18 but dropped the hole to force a playoff, which was again on 18. Concurrently, Cernousek was also tied on 18 in regulation as Fernández García-Poggio needed to win the final hole to extend her match.
Fernández García-Poggio teed off on 18 and it went far left on opposite side of the cart path from the fairway. Her next shot landed in a bunker about 60 yards from the green. The Aggie’s next attempt landed six feet from the pin and gave her an excellent birdie look. Wake Forest was in for par, but Fernández García-Poggio missed the putt to give the Deacs their clinching point, 3-0, with Cernousek and Park’s matches going unfinished.