ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the second time in two days, the Wisconsin women's golf team saw its fate come down to the final hole of the final match in the East-West Match Play Challenge. And for the second-straight day, the Badgers came up with a clutch shot when it was needed.
Sophomore Nat Zeng played her way out of trouble on the 18th hole, hitting a 5-iron out of the rough to about 15 feet, leading to a victory on the hole and giving the Badgers a 3-2 win over Oregon in the championship match.
"We knew the match was going to be close," UW head coach Todd Oehrlein said. "Oregon's got such a great golf team.
"It boiled down to one match. Nat hit her drive into left rough, but then played a great shot, a knock-down 5-iron under some trees onto the green to about 15 feet from the flag. It was a terrific shot especially given the circumstances."
After Kathleen Scavo of Oregon was unable to get up-and-down from the bunker for her par, Zeng lagged her birdie putt close enough that her par was conceded, giving Zeng the match and the Badgers the tournament title.
"When that happened there was a ton of excitement from the team," Oehrlein said. "Match play really creates that. Everyone's watching, there lot of tension and pressure and the format creates the energy. It was an exciting way to finish what was a really good trip."
Wisconsin's first point in the match came when junior Gabby Curtis defeated Brooke Hamilton, 4-and-3. Senior Brooke Ferrell then took care of Petra Salko of Oregon, 2-and-1, setting the stage for Zeng's heroics. After finishing third and tied for fourth, respectively, in the stroke play portion of the event, Curtis and Ferrell each won both of their match play matches.
"Gabby and Brooke were really solid all day, both days really," Oehrlein said. "That's really what you need from your top players."
Junior Becky Klonglund, whose 20-foot birdie putt on the 20th hole of the deciding match against Kentucky on Monday propelled the Badgers to the championship match, fell 4-and-3 to Oregon's Amy Matsuoka. Sophomore Tess Hackworthy lost to Cathleen Santoso, 7-and-6.
Competing in the individual match play portion, junior Ali Nageotte claimed third place with a 2-and-1 victory over Penn State's Kate Granahan.
"With some experience that we have in our lineup, I really trust that they like to compete," Oehrlein said of his team. "That was evident this weekend. One of the things that I have I really liked and hope is a strength of our team is our depth. Our top players have been fantastic and we are going to need that but our depth has been a really encouraging sign."
