To paraphrase a line from the introduction to “Star Trek”, the Buffs are going where no University of Colorado women’s golf team has gone before.
Eighteen years after women’s golf debuted at CU, the Buffs qualified for the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time on Saturday. And, appropriately, they did it on their home course — and with one of the best team scores in program history despite final-round temperatures in the 40s.
CU matched the low score of the tournament at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie and vaulted from ninth place to finish fourth in the NCAA West Regional. And with the top eight teams advancing to nationals — May 22-25 in Franklin, Tenn. — the Buffs easily survived by matching their pre-tournament seeding (fourth).
CU’s 9-under-par 279 team score on Saturday was the second-best single-round total in program history. And for the first time ever, the Buffs had to throw out an under-par round in the “best four scores out of five” college scoring format. CU’s five scores were a 68 (Emily Talley, pictured above while celebrating on Saturday), a 69 (Jennifer Coleman) and three 71s (Alex Stewart, Jessica Wallace and Kristin Coleman).
“It’s the best collective effort I’ve ever seen out of the team, especially with the pressure we were under,” said Wallace (pictured below), who went to nationals twice at Pepperdine before transferring to CU. “Everyone was capable of doing this, but we all came up and did it together when it mattered most. It shows what we’re really made of.”
Indeed, after being outside of the qualification line after two days, the Buffs had to step it up to keep their season from ending. And with an eagle (a 115-yard hole-out by Jennifer Coleman) and 20 birdies among its five players, CU did that in a big way.
“To have a high score of 71 that we had to throw out, that’s just insanely good,” said Jennifer Coleman, who led Colorado for the week by placing 10th individually.
The Buffs finished with a three-round total of 877, which left them four strokes behind co-champions LSU and UCLA, the defending national champ. Pepperdine, led by Coloradan Somin Lee, placed third at 875 after matching CU’s final-round 279.
Meanwhile, the seasons ended for the University of Denver (19th place, 915) and the University of Northern Colorado (23rd place, 941).
Lee, the CWGA Player of the Year in 2011, posted the best individual score on Saturday (a 5-under-par 67) and tied for sixth individually at even-par 216. Lee will be going to nationals as a freshman.
“It feels really good,” she said. “I’m really proud of my team. We played great today. I’m so happy right now. It’s really good to go to nationals as a freshman. It will be a good experience.”
Catherine O’Donnell of North Carolina maintained her second-round lead to claim the individual title on Saturday. She shot a 2-under-par 70 for a 7-under 209 total and a one-stroke victory.
But the day belonged to the host Buffs as a crowd of nearly 100 greeted them as they completed their rounds. It was a big moment for everyone on the team, but no one more than 15th-year head coach Anne Kelly, who finally gets to take a team to women’s college golf’s biggest tournament.
“I can’t really express how happy and proud I am of these girls,” she said. “They’ve worked so hard. It’s been such a long process but it’s neat to see it come together finally.”
And what better way to make the dream come true than on CU’s home course — and with a score that won’t soon be forgotten.
The Buffs’ 279 total Saturday was 18 strokes better than either of their previous two rounds. They especially made hay on the par-5s on Saturday, finishing a combined 10 under par on the long holes.
CU assistant coach Brent Franklin “and I always wondered what would happen if all five of (the players) come together at once — and this was it,” Kelly said. “It was good timing.”
But things didn’t look so great on Friday night. The Buffs were on the wrong side of the qualifying line, and their top player, Stewart, had withdrawn from the second round after 15 holes due to dehydration and a sinus infection. Stewart estimates she drank a couple of gallons of liquid on Friday night, but it was no sure thing that she would play on Saturday.
Stewart felt better — though not 100 percent — on Saturday morning, and definitely wanted to give it a go.
“I was just going to try my best to play even if I wasn’t feeling well,” said Stewart, who responded with three birdies and two bogeys on Saturday. As a team, “we were a little fired up to go get them today.”
Kelly gave the Buffs a “10 second” pre-round speech, simply telling her team “it’s OK to be nervous but you can’t be scared.”
Everyone knew the stakes involved, but no one more so than Talley, a senior and four-year standout who has never gotten to nationals.
“I was thinking about it on the third hole,” she said. “This could possibly be my last round of college golf. I thought, ‘That’s not going to happen. I don’t want it to happen.'”
And Talley helped make sure it didn’t happen. She was 5 under par through 13 holes, but made two bogeys and a birdie down the stretch to settle for a 68. A day after bogeying all four of the par-5s at Colorado National, she played them in 3 under par on Saturday.
CHIP SHOTS: Colorado State senior Brianna Espinoza ended her college career with a 34th-place finish. She closed with a 1-over-par 73, good for a 6-over 222 total. … New Mexico junior Beth Buchner, a former Colorado state high school champion, finished in 109th place at 21-over-par 237. … Baylor, Stanford, North Carolina and Oklahoma joined UCLA, LSU, Pepperdine and Colorado in earning the national team berths. … Qualifying for the NCAA finals as individuals were Kimberly Kaufman (eighth place) and Gabriella Dominguez (14th place), both from Texas Tech. … The team that was tied with CU for ninth place entering Saturday, Illinois, finished 14th, 10 spots behind the Buffs.
NCAA West Regional
At Par-72 Colorado National GC in Erie
4. Colorado 297-301-279–877
10. Jennifer Coleman 77-72-69–218; 16. Emily Talley 76-76-68–220; 16. Kristin Coleman 71-78-71–220; 26. Jessica Wallace 75-75-71–221; 125. Alex Stewart 75-NS-71.
19. Denver 304-311-300–915
41. Kelly Drack 75-77-72–224; 61. Rachael Watton 76-78-74–228; 72. Tonje Daffinrud 76-77-76–229; 98. Sarah Faller 77-79-78–234; 113. Anna Christenson 77-84-80–241.
23. Northern Colorado 311-324-304–939
56. Carleigh Silvers 75-77-74–226; 110. Hannah McNeley 80-83-75–238; 112. Chelsea Silvers 78-79-82–239; 117. Ali Nelson 84-85-73–242; 121. Libby Avery 78-90-85–253.
Other Scores of Local Interest
6. Somin Lee, Pepperdine, 75-74-67–216; 34. Brianna Espinoza, Colorado State, 76-73-73–222; 109. Beth Bucher, New Mexico, 76-81-80–237.
For scores, CLICK HERE.
