SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Vanderbilt has some experience playing the Grayhawk Golf Club — just not as a team.
That changes Friday when the Commodores tee off at the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona. And for three of Vandy’s players, that moment will be extra special.
“This is all I can ask for,” fifth-year senior Louise Yu said. “It kind of stung (in 2021) when just Celina and I made it out here – playing the tournament was fantastic, but just seeing all the other teams having their other girls there kind of stung a little bit.
“Just being able to win regionals and come out here a little bit early before the tournament and just spend quality time with the team is just the cherry on top. I’m just excited for the rest of the week.”
Yu, Auston Kim and Celina Sattelkau all have experience at college golf’s biggest stage. Yu and Sattelkau qualified for the 2021 event in Arizona while Kim played the 2019 tournament in Arkansas.
Never before has that trio been able to represent the Black and Gold as a team. But thanks to a win at the Franklin Regional earlier this month that threesome, along with Tess Davenport and Jayna Choi, have a shot to bring home a national title for Vanderbilt and head coach Greg Allen.
“I think throughout the year we’ve had some less-than-optimal finishes,” Kim said. “We all knew that we were capable of more, just everything that we were doing wasn’t falling into place. We knew our Regional was going to be at home and we just stayed really patient and knew that we could make a lot of noise at home.
“Thankfully everything really worked out and things fell into place and we just played some really, really good golf.”
Vanderbilt is scheduled to tee off at 9:25 a.m. CT Friday and will be playing alongside Mississippi State and Purdue. Live scoring for the event can be found HERE.
