Sooners, Cowgirls conclude Big 12 Match Play Championship
Complete results of Big 12 Match Play Championship
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Oklahoma earned a 3-2 victory against Iowa State and finished fifth in Big 12 Match Play at Kierland Golf Club on Sunday. Oklahoma State dropped its final match to fifth-seeded Texas Tech, 4-1, and finished the weekend 2-4-2 and in eighth-place.
The Sooners entered the consolation bracket in eighth and tallied wins over in-state foe Oklahoma State and the Cyclones.
“I’m really proud of our team this week. We’ve struggled prior to this event and they put together some of the best rounds I have seen this season,” said Oklahoma head women’s golf coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell. “We won some big matches against some of the best teams in the country.”
Emily Hun earned the first Oklahoma win of the day, beating Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn 2&1. Hun opened the round on the 10th and tied the match on the 12th. The Macau, China product won the 13th and controlled the remainder of the match.
Savannah Barber earned the 2-up win over Ruby Chou. After the first six holes, the match remained tied. Chou briefly captured the lead on the 16th and the match moved back to even on the 18th. Barber regained control on the sixth and also won the final hole.
Kaylee Vesely recorded a 3 and 1 victory over Taglao Jeeravivitaporn. Vesely won the 13th and 16th holes and the match was tied after the completion of the back nine. Jeeravivtaporn won the first hole and held her lone advantage of the round. Vesely won consecutive holes and the match again moved to even on the fourth. The Austin, Texas product captured the lead for good on the fifth and won the seventh and eighth hole to reach the final tally.
Reagan Chaney lost 4 and 2 to Liyana Durisic and Mikhaela Fortuna dropped her match to Pimkwan Chookaew 2 and 1.
“We have a solid team and hope that each player noticed what they can do on the course,” said Drouin-Luttrell. “Now we turn our attention to postseason play and need to focus on playing our game and not what happened in the past.”
Barber won both of her matches in bracket competition and finished the event with a team-best five victories. Hun and Fortuna each recorded four victories.
The Sooners keep their focus on conference competition and will play in the Big 12 Stroke Play Championship April 21-23 in Dallas, Texas.
For Oklahoma State in its match against Texas Tech, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard defeated Shannon Tan, 2 up. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year put together another outstanding weekend, winning six of her eight matches.
Hailey Jones and Thitaporn Saithip competed well in a pair of back-and-forth rounds, but both ultimately dropped their tight matches, 1 up.
Han-Hsuan Yu was defeated by Chiara Horder, 3 and 1, while Rina Tatematsu lost a close match to Anna Dong, 2 and 1.
Oklahoma State will return to action on April 21-23 for postseason play at the Big 12 Championships in Dallas, Texas.