May 9, 2018
NCAA Tallahassee Regional Final Results | Photos courtesy of Tim Cowie
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Vanderbilt women’s golf team could not overcome a big deficit in final-round NCAA action, concluding the Tallahassee Regional in a tie for 12th place on Wednesday.
Vanderbilt’s third-round total score of 299 ended any chances of the Commodores qualifying for the NCAA National Championships, scheduled later this month in Stillwater, Okla.
The Commodores, ranked among the Top-25 nationally by both Golfweek and Golfstat entering regional play, were led by freshman Morgan Baxendale and junior Courtney Zeng. They carded rounds of even-par 72 and 1-over par 73, respectively.
The Commodores, needing to make up a significant deficit in the final round to finish among the top six in Tallahassee, opened the round aggressively, rising two spots in team standings by making six early birdies. The team’s chances to move into contention ended on its seventh hole of the round, the par-4 No. 16, which it played collectively in 5-over par.
Head coach Greg Allen, overseeing a 10th NCAA appearance in 11 years on the Vanderbilt campus, was disappointed with the round that ended the Commodores’ season.
“It’s a really disappointing end to an overall pretty good year,” Allen said. “I’m appreciative that this team moved the program in the right direction. We just have to learn from this experience so we can make sure it doesn’t happen next year.”
The Commodores posted a three-day total score of 880 on the Don Veller Seminole Golf Club, missing a top-10 result by three strokes. The team’s low single-day score of 1-over par 289 came in the opening round.
Baxendale posted the team’s best final-round score despite converting only one birdie Wednesday. She kept the round to even-par by committing just one bogey.
Zeng was hot early, using three birdies to make the turn at 2-under par. She came home with three bogeys over the last nine holes to finish 1-over par.
Freshman Louise Yu, the most consistent Commodore over the tournament, finished in a tie for 30th in the individual race. On Wednesday, Yu got off to a strong start with three early birdies, but struggled over her last 11 holes to end the day with a four-over par 76.
Sophomore Abbey Carlson finished with two birdies over her last four holes but struggled for much of the day. She ended with a six-over par 78.
Freshman Virginia Green also struggled as the team’s fifth participant. She ended with a nine-over par 81.
NCAA Tallahassee Regional
Final Round Scores
Team Results
1. Alabama (-33) 282-276-273=831
2. Florida State (-25) 286-277=563
3. Furman (-18) 280-283-283=846
4. Arizona (-11) 290-281-282=853
5. Washington (-10) 273-289-292=854
T-6. Wake Forest (-5) 285-289=859 *won playoff
T-6. Clemson (-5) 285-279-295=859
8. Georgia (+2) 287-292-287=866
9. UNLV (+3) 295-283-289=867
10. Missouri (+13) 296-290-291=877
11. Tennessee (+14) 285-296-297=878
T-12. Vanderbilt (+16) 289-292-299=880
T-12. Denver (+16) 297-290-293=880
14. Kennesaw State (+21) 296-293-296=885
T-15. Coastal Carolina (+41) 309-302-294=905
T-15. College of Charleston (+41) 307-306-292=905
17. Richmond (+48) 314-301-297=912
18. Albany (+88) 314-311-327=952
Vanderbilt Individuals
T-30. Louise Yu (+1) 70-71-76=217
T-34. Morgan Baxendale (+2) 72-74-72=218
T-44. Courtney Zeng (+4) 74-73-73-220
T-63. Abbey Carlson (+10) 73-75-78=226
T-79. Virginia Green (+14) 75-74-81=230
