Chaney leads Sooners into NCAA field, Tulsa one spot short
NORMAN – For the first time since 2018 and the 10th time in program history, Oklahoma women’s golf will compete at the NCAA Championships. The Sooners clinched their spot at nationals by finishing fourth at the NCAA Norman Regional at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club on Wednesday morning.
Oklahoma (4, E) used a strong third round, split over two days due to weather, to finish as one of the top five teams and advance to the championships, set for May 16–21 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Tulsa finished sixth, the first team outside the cut line. But the Hurricane faltered in the third round after opening with two strong rounds, falling back to 15 over, 12 shots behind fifth place Baylor.
“It feels great to get through. It’s obviously been a long time coming,” head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell said. “We’ve had some awesome teams since we last made it, but this year’s team is just special. Their performance this week shows the grit and resilience they have. For them to be in last after the first nine holes on Monday, and then finish where they did, is just really special. Going back to nationals and competing for championships is always our goal, and now we’ll get to do that.”
Senior Reagan Chaney of Ardmore (T5, -4) led the Sooners back to nationals, firing a bogey-free 68 (-4) in the final round at the par-72 track to finish tied for fifth. After opening with a 3-over 75 on Monday, she played her final 36 holes at 7-under to secure the top-five result.
“I’m so proud of Reagan and happy for her because of all the work she’s put in,” Drouin-Luttrell said. “To have it finally pay off at home, in front of friends and family at an NCAA Regional, it’s just unbelievable. She works harder than so many people and was phenomenal this week. For her to be a senior and finish it off like she did is pretty impressive.”
Junior MaKayla Tyrrell (T11, E) collected her sixth career top-20 finish, posting a final-round 69 (-3) after sinking a birdie on the next-to-last hole.
Junior Savannah Barber (T23, +4) closed her week with a birdie on 18 to tie for 23rd.
Freshman Audrey Rischer and junior Gracie Mayo rounded out the lineup, tying for 32nd and 41st, respectively.
The Sooners were steady on their home course, ranking fifth in the field with 43 birdies and third with 177 pars. More notably, Oklahoma’s 44 bogeys across 54 holes were the second fewest in the 12-team field, on a week when only four teams finished at even-par or better.
Top-ranked Stanford won the regional as Andrew Revuelta earned medalist honors. The Cardinal set a Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club 54-hole women’s team record at 23-under. Joining Stanford and Oklahoma in Carlsbad out of Norman are No. 12 Northwestern (2, -14), No. 24 Michigan State (3, -1) and Baylor (5, +3). Furman’s Audrey Ryu advanced as the low individual from a non-qualifying team.
The 2025 NCAA Championships will feature 54 holes of stroke play before the 30-team field is cut to 15 teams for the final round. The top eight teams after 72 holes will advance to match play to determine the national champion.
For Tulsa, it was a reversion to earlier in the season when the Hurricane would play two great rounds offset by one collective poor effort.
“I’m so proud of this team and the fight they showed all year,” remarked head coach Mike Roters. “We obviously came up short of our ultimate goal, but nevertheless, it was a successful year. Won a conference championship, and the fact that we moved up almost 50 spots in the rankings from fall to spring was a miracle in itself. Our seniors, Sydney and Lovisa, poured everything into this program for four years, and I’m so glad I got to coach them for their last year. I’m thankful to all our fans, parents, and administrators who came out and supported us all year. Simply amazing! Reign Cane!”
Leading the Golden Hurricane at the regional was Jenni Roller. Roller finished in a tie for 17th place, her best finish at an NCAA Regional in her career. In the final round of the regional, Roller shot her second-best round of the event, going over 1-over-par 73 to finish 2-over for the tournament.
After shooting 7-over-par, Sydney Seigel closed her senior season in a tie for 36th place. She closed out the Norman Regional with a 75. Seigel closed out the event with back-to-back rounds of 75.
Lovisa Gunnar finished her senior year tied for 41st place after a 78 Tuesday. Allyn Stephens shot 75 but Romaine Masserey had a 79, meaning TU had to count Gunnar’s 78.
FULL LEADERBOARD WITH SEED AND RANK
- (1) No. 1 Stanford (-23)
2. (2) No. 12 Northwestern (-14)
3. (4) No. 24 Michigan State (-1)
4. (6) Oklahoma (E)
5. (7) Baylor (+3)
— CUT —
6. (9) Tulsa (+15)
7. (8) Oregon State (+18)
8. (3) No. 13 North Carolina (+20)
9. (11) Furman (+33)
10. (10) Denver (+36)
11. (5) No. 25 Duke (+38)
12. (12) Southern Mississippi (+43)