CARLSBAD, Calif. – Kelly Xu went undefeated in matches for the second straight year and the rest of Stanford followed suit Wednesday, beating UCLA in the title game of its second NCAA championship in three years.
Rachel Heck scored the final point in a 3-2 victory and the celebration began for Stanford, the No. 1 team and the top seed heading into the match.
“We never take anything for granted,” Stanford coach Anne Walker said. “We are privileged to be in this position. We talk a lot about being patient, being grateful and enjoying the moment. They are very difficult to beat.”
Heck took control early in the anchor match by going 3 up through four holes. Megha Ganne took command in her match on the curve of the North course of La Costa. UCLA's Zoe Campos and Caroline Canales stayed ahead in their matches.
For a moment it looked like the Pac-12 finals would fall to Xu. He was 4 up until Meghan Royal won two holes in a row to cut the deficit in half in 11 holes, with the momentum on his side.
And then everything fell apart. Royal drove left into grass so thick that he couldn't get it out to the second rough cut, and finally conceded the 14th hole.
On the 15th, Xu's shot bounced across the firm green, past the back and down a steep slope toward the water. Royal was just over 100 yards away and his shot also went behind him, down the hill and into danger. It looked like Xu was going to leave 15th place with a 2-up lead. He ended up winning, 4 and 3, and then the title was clearly in the Cardinal's sight.
Ganne closed out a 3 and 2 victory when Natalie Vo moved from a front bunker to a covered lie in a back bunker on the par-3 16th. Heck gave Stanford the third and final point it needed when she made par on the 15th hole and Kate Villegas could not extend the match.
“Stanford started well. We just fell behind the 8-ball too quickly,” UCLA coach Alicia Um Holmes said. “You try not to focus on the results, but it hurts to lose when you work so hard and put in so many hours.”
Campos, who won four times this year, shut out Stanford's Sadie Englemann, 4 and 3. Canales contributed eagle for a 2-up victory over Paula Martín Sampedro in the feature match, which ended just as Heck was scoring the deciding point . .
Stanford now has three NCAA titles in women's golf since moving to match play in 2015. UCLA also has three titles, all in stroke play, most recently in 2011.
