All Four Semifinal Matches Featured Rematch from NCAAs Earlier This Year,
and All Four Saw Team that Lost at NCAAs Earn Revenge with Victory Today
Wednesday’s Championship Matches (Live, 3-6 p.m. ET on Golf Channel):
Stanford vs. USC (Women’s); Vanderbilt vs. Illinois (Men’s)
Consolation Matches: Northwestern vs. Arizona State; Oklahoma vs. Oregon
ATLANTA, Oct. 31, 2017 – Revenge was the unanimous theme on Tuesday at the 2017 East Lake Cup presented by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as all four teams that collectively fell in the men’s and women’s semifinals at the NCAA Championships earlier this year avenged those losses by taking down the very team responsible for ending their national championship hopes. Stanford and USC (women), along with Vanderbilt and Illinois (men) each will advance to tomorrow’s championship match for an opportunity to close out their fall season on a high note.
WOMEN: (1) Stanford def. (4) Arizona State, 3-2; (2) USC def. (3) Northwestern, 4-1
MEN: (1) Vanderbilt def. (4) Oregon, 4-1; (3) Illinois def. (2) Oklahoma, 3-2
WOMEN’S SEMFINALS
The USC Trojans won its first three matches against Northwestern to clinch a spot in Wednesday’s championship match, with Alyaa Abdulghany (freshman), Robynn Ree (junior) and Allisen Corpuz (sophomore) each winning their match by a 3&2 result. Divya Manthena (sophomore) also won her match (2&1) to earn a fourth point for the 2015 East Lake Cup champions.
“I was definitely happy to see the girls come out [today],” said USC head coach, Andrea Gaston. “They felt a little flat yesterday, and didn’t feel like they played their best. Golf in general, it’s always the ‘what I missed, what I didn’t do well.’ We just said, ‘focus on what you did do well.’ There was a chance to learn a lot about this golf course, go out [today], take that information and use it to our advantage.”
Stanford overcame an 8&7 loss in its first match of the day at the hands of Arizona State’s Olivia Mehaffey thanks to victorious efforts from Shannon Aubert (senior), Albane Valenzuela (sophomore) and Ziyi Wang (sophomore) to defeat the Sun Devils 3-2. Competing in the East Lake Cup for the third consecutive year, the Cardinal on Wednesday will be looking to win the event for the first time.
“It stung a lot in May, so to come out and get a little revenge was good,” Stanford head coach Anne Walker told Golf Channel’s Kay Cockerill during the live telecast. “We haven’t faced USC for a long time. I think we’ll just reassess what we did well today. If we can do that tomorrow, I’ll be really happy win or lose.”
MEN’S SEMIFINALS
Despite Norman Xiong’s (sophomore, Oregon) emphatic 6&4 victory over freshman Harrison Ott, the Vanderbilt Commodores swept the remaining matches to defeat the Ducks 4-1. Will Gordon – Day 1 individual stroke play champion at the East Lake Cup on Monday – led the way with a 4&3 victory in Tuesday’s opening match, while Patrick Martin (junior), John Augenstein (sophomore) and Theo Humphrey (senior) propelled Vanderbilt to Wednesday’s championship match courtesy of victories in each of their respective semifinal matches.
“It certainly feels good,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh told Golf Channel’s Chantel McCabe during the live telecast. “We respect Oregon and Coach Martin. Our guys were focused today. I just kind of challenged them last night. I didn’t think I needed to give some huge pep talk. We respect that team because we’ve been in a lot of battles with them. And we knew our best was going to be required.”
On the other side of the bracket, the Illinois Fighting Illini fended off Oklahoma, winning 3-2 to advance to the championship match for the third consecutive year at the East Lake Cup. The two-time champions of the event leaned on its senior tandem of Dylan Meyer – who won the team’s first match of the day – and Nick Hardy, who avenged his loss to Oklahoma’s Grant Hirschman earlier this year at the NCAA Championship. Michael Feagles (sophomore) clinched Illinois’ semifinal victory with the deciding point, beating Brad Dalke 2&1.
“Oklahoma is a great team, we all know that,” Illinois head coach Mike Small told Golf Channel’s Steve Burkowski on Tuesday night. “And Vanderbilt is just as strong or stronger, so we’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
WEDNESDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP & CONSOLATION MATCHES SCHEDULE:
Women’s Championship Match: (1) Stanford vs. (2) USC
Men’s Championship Match: (1) Vanderbilt vs. (3) Illinois
Women’s Consolation Match: (3) Northwestern vs. (4) Arizona State
Men’s Consolation Match: (2) Oklahoma vs. (4) Oregon
Golf Channel’s live coverage of Wednesday’s championship and consolation matches will air from 3-6 p.m. ET. Golf Central Pre-Game (2-3 p.m. ET) will preview each match and provide updates on matches already in progress.
Time | Tee # | Match | Division | Players |
| 11:05 AM | 1 | Northwestern vs ASU | Women’s | Stephanie Lau (Northwestern) vs Olivia Mehaffey (ASU) |
11:15 AM | 1 | Oklahoma vs Oregon | Men’s | Garett Reband (Oklahoma) vs Ryan Gronlund (Oregon) |
| 11:25 AM | 1 | Northwestern vs ASU | Women’s | Sarah Cho (Northwestern) vs Sophia Zeeb (ASU) |
11:35 AM | 1 | Oklahoma vs Oregon | Men’s | Riley Casey (Oklahoma) vs Edwin Yi (Oregon) |
| 11:45 AM | 1 | Northwestern vs ASU | Women’s | Janet Mao (Northwestern) vs Roberta Liti (ASU) |
11:55 AM | 1 | Oklahoma vs Oregon | Men’s | Blaine Hale (Oklahoma) vs Norman Xiong (Oregon) |
| 12:05 PM | 1 | Northwestern vs ASU | Women’s | Hannah Kim (Northwestern) vs Madison Kerley (ASU) |
12:15 AM | 1 | Oklahoma vs Oregon | Men’s | Brad Dalke (Oklahoma) vs Donald Kay (Oregon) |
| 12:25 PM | 1 | Northwestern vs ASU | Women’s | Brooke Riley (Northwestern) vs Linnea Strom (ASU) |
12:35 PM | 1 | Oklahoma vs Oregon | Men’s | Grant Hirschman (Oklahoma) vs Thomas Mulligan (Oregon) |
| 12:45 PM | 1 | Stanford vs USC | Women’s | Albane Valenzuela (Stanford) vs Alyaa Abdulghany (USC) |
12:55 PM | 1 | Vanderbilt vs Illinois | Men’s | Will Gordon (Vanderbilt) vs Michael Feagles (Illinois) |
| 1:05 PM | 1 | Stanford vs USC | Women’s | Shannon Aubert (Stanford) vs Robynn Ree (USC) |
1:15 PM | 1 | Vanderbilt vs Illinois | Men’s | Harrison Ott (Vanderbilt) vs Brendan O’Reilly (Illinois) |
| 1:25 PM | 1 | Stanford vs USC | Women’s | Ziyi Wang (Stanford) vs Allisen Corpuz (USC) |
1:35 PM | 1 | Vanderbilt vs Illinois | Men’s | Patrick Martin (Vanderbilt) vs Nick Hardy (Illinois) |
| 1:45 PM | 1 | Stanford vs USC | Women’s | Andrea Lee (Stanford) vs Muni He (USC) |
1:55 PM | 1 | Vanderbilt vs Illinois | Men’s | John Augenstein (Vanderbilt) vs Giovanni Tadiotto (Illinois) |
| 2:05 PM | 1 | Stanford vs USC | Women’s | Madie Chou (Stanford) vs Divya Manthena (USC) |
2:15 PM | 1 | Vanderbilt vs Illinois | Men’s | Theo Humphrey (Vanderbilt) vs Dylan Meyer (Illinois) |
SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
Women’s Division
(1) Stanford def. (4) Arizona State, 3-2
(2) USC def. (3) Northwestern, 4-1
Stanford (1) vs. Arizona State (4)
Madie Chou Olivia Mehaffey (8&7)
Shannon Aubert (1up) Sophia Zeeb
Andrea Lee Linnea Strom (1up)
Albane Valenzuela (1up) Roberta Liti
Ziyi Wang (4&3) Madison Kerley
USC (2) vs. Northwestern (3)
Alyaa Abdulghany (3&2) Sarah Cho
Robynn Ree (3&2) Stephanie Lau
Allisen Corpuz (3&2) Brooke Riley
Muni He Hannah Kim (3&2)
Divya Manthena (2&1) Janet Mao
Men’s Division
(1) Vanderbilt def. (4) Oregon, 4-1
(3) Illinois def. (2) Oklahoma, 3-2
Vanderbilt (1) vs. Oregon (4)
Will Gordon (4&3) Edwin Yi
Patrick Martin (2&1) Ryan Gronlund
Harrison Ott Norman Xiong (6&4)
John Augenstein (1up) Donald Kay
Theo Humphrey (3&2) Thomas Mulligan
Oklahoma (2) vs. Illinois (3)
Blaine Hale Dylan Meyer (3&2)
Garett Reband (3&2) Giovanni Tadiotto
Riley Casey (1up) Brendan O’Reilly
Grant Hirschman Nick Hardy (6&4)
Brad Dalke Michael Feagles (2&1)
Presented by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), the East Lake Cup Collegiate Match Play Championship is a three-day competition that features the eight semifinalists – including reigning NCAA national champion Oklahoma (men) and Arizona State (women) – reconvening at historic East Lake Golf Club.
For more information about the East Lake Cup, please visit the tournament website www.golfchannel.com/eastlakecup. Stay connected with the championship using the hashtag #EastLakeCup.
-NBC Sports Group-
