Wednesday, April 21
Irvine, CA
8 a.m.
at
Big West Conference Championship
Cal Poly Captures Second Big West Women's Golf Championship
4/21/2021 3:16:00 PM | Women's Golf
YORBA LINDA, Calif. -- Cal Poly has captured its second Big West Conference women's golf championship.
Elizabeth Scholtes and Nicole Neale both matched par, Caroline Cantlay finished second on the individual leaderboard and Vanessa Wang and Madi Daniel carded 74s Wednesday as Coach Sofie Aagaard's Mustangs gained the lead with nine birdies on the front side and held on for a two-stroke victory over UC Davis.
"I am so proud of this team for having worked hard through the year, through ups and downs during this pandemic," said Aagaard. "Every day had a curve ball that they all handled well and with grace.
"We have practiced hard and played a lot of golf to prepare for this moment," Aagaard added. "A strong showing of course this week and we get to take home the trophy."
Cal Poly's only other Big West title came in 2017 and led to an invitation to the NCAA's Albuquerque Regional. The Mustangs will learn next Wednesday where they will compete in this year's postseason. The four regional hosts are LSU, Ohio State, Louisville and Stanford, all scheduled for May 10-12.
On the 6,235-yard par-72 Yorba Linda Country Club course, Cantlay carded a final-round 73 and finished one stroke behind Holland Shourds of Long Beach State.
Shourds posted a 71 for a two-under-par 214 total, then had to wait in the clubhouse for five more groups to finish play. Cantlay and Megan Yang of UC Davis were in the final group of the day.
Cantlay took the lead on the eighth hole with her third birdie of the day while Yang carded her third bogey on the same hole. Yang had opened with a 65 for a five-shot lead and held a four-shot advantage entering Wednesday's final round.
Cantlay and Yang both bogeyed the 15th hole as Shourds finished her round, Cantlay still leading by one stroke. Cantlay and Wang, however, both bogeyed the 16th hole as well, leaving Cantlay and Shourds tied for the lead and Yang one back.
Cantlay finished with a bogey on the 18th, resulting in the victory for Shourds.
As for the Mustang team, the string of birdies on the front nine did not materialize on the back nine. Cal Poly's five golfers were a combined four under par after nine holes but were nine over par on the back nine.
The Mustangs' seven-stroke lead midway through the final round slipped away. UC Irvine, which led by one entering the final 18 holes of play, fell back as well, finishing fourth, but UC Davis briefly charged into a tie for the lead with about three holes to play.
A pair of Aggie golfers, however, carded double-bogeys on the 16th hole while Daniels and Neale finished with birdies on the 18th hole as Cal Poly regained the upper hand.
"I didn't keep track of scoring today as I had communicated with the team that we would focus on what we can control and, no matter what the outcome would be, we had lots to be proud of as long as we stuck to our plan," said Aagaard.
"Yesterday we talked about the first five holes and how we could play them better for a good start," Aagaard added. "We were four under par on the first five holes today. Once we got to hole 17, I looked at the scores and at that time we were four ahead which felt like a good lead.
"We had a plan and it worked out."
Cantlay carded three birdies and four bogeys for her 73 and second-place finish. Wang placed 10th with two bogeys and 16 pars for her 74, ending her final round with eight straight pars.
Scholtes and Neale shared 12th place with two other golfers at 220 after their par rounds. Scholtes recorded three birdies and three bogeys while Neale carded two of each with her 14 pars.
Daniel had a roller coaster round on her way to a 74 and 31st-place finish. She eagled the 470-yard, par-5 14th hole and notched four birdies as well as two bogeys and a trio of double-bogeys, parring just eight holes.
Daniel opened with an 86 on Monday but battled back with a 73 and 74, jumping from 44th place to 37th and finally to 31st.
Cantlay finished tied for first in par-4 scoring at one under par. Wang and Neale shared fourth in par-3 scoring at even par while Neale was eighth in par-5 scoring at two under par.
Neale's eight birdies were seventh among the field of 45 golfers while Wang and Cantlay both carded 41 pars over the 54-hole event, tied for No. 2. Daniel recorded the lone eagle of the three-day tournament.
Cal Poly finished with a four-person 291 team total for a five-over-par 869 aggregate, two strokes ahead of UC Davis (290-871). Two-time defending conference champion Long Beach State was third at 873 after posting a 287 total and UC Irvine recorded a 298 for an 875 total and fourth place.
The Mustangs' 869 total is a season best and third best in program history, 10 strokes shy of the school record.
Following the tournament, the All-Big West Conference awards were announced.
Aagaard was named Coach of the Year while Neale made the first team, Cantlay and Wang landed on the second team and Scholtes earned honorable mention praise.
Elizabeth Scholtes and Nicole Neale both matched par, Caroline Cantlay finished second on the individual leaderboard and Vanessa Wang and Madi Daniel carded 74s Wednesday as Coach Sofie Aagaard's Mustangs gained the lead with nine birdies on the front side and held on for a two-stroke victory over UC Davis.
"I am so proud of this team for having worked hard through the year, through ups and downs during this pandemic," said Aagaard. "Every day had a curve ball that they all handled well and with grace.
"We have practiced hard and played a lot of golf to prepare for this moment," Aagaard added. "A strong showing of course this week and we get to take home the trophy."
Cal Poly's only other Big West title came in 2017 and led to an invitation to the NCAA's Albuquerque Regional. The Mustangs will learn next Wednesday where they will compete in this year's postseason. The four regional hosts are LSU, Ohio State, Louisville and Stanford, all scheduled for May 10-12.
Congrats to @CalPolyGolf on taking home the trophy! ?? Here's head coach Sofia Aagaard on what it means to win this year after not being able to compete in 2020: pic.twitter.com/2w5nv4P65W
— Big West Conference (@BigWestSports) April 21, 2021
On the 6,235-yard par-72 Yorba Linda Country Club course, Cantlay carded a final-round 73 and finished one stroke behind Holland Shourds of Long Beach State.
Shourds posted a 71 for a two-under-par 214 total, then had to wait in the clubhouse for five more groups to finish play. Cantlay and Megan Yang of UC Davis were in the final group of the day.
Cantlay took the lead on the eighth hole with her third birdie of the day while Yang carded her third bogey on the same hole. Yang had opened with a 65 for a five-shot lead and held a four-shot advantage entering Wednesday's final round.
Cantlay and Yang both bogeyed the 15th hole as Shourds finished her round, Cantlay still leading by one stroke. Cantlay and Wang, however, both bogeyed the 16th hole as well, leaving Cantlay and Shourds tied for the lead and Yang one back.
Cantlay finished with a bogey on the 18th, resulting in the victory for Shourds.
As for the Mustang team, the string of birdies on the front nine did not materialize on the back nine. Cal Poly's five golfers were a combined four under par after nine holes but were nine over par on the back nine.
The Mustangs' seven-stroke lead midway through the final round slipped away. UC Irvine, which led by one entering the final 18 holes of play, fell back as well, finishing fourth, but UC Davis briefly charged into a tie for the lead with about three holes to play.
A pair of Aggie golfers, however, carded double-bogeys on the 16th hole while Daniels and Neale finished with birdies on the 18th hole as Cal Poly regained the upper hand.
"I didn't keep track of scoring today as I had communicated with the team that we would focus on what we can control and, no matter what the outcome would be, we had lots to be proud of as long as we stuck to our plan," said Aagaard.
"Yesterday we talked about the first five holes and how we could play them better for a good start," Aagaard added. "We were four under par on the first five holes today. Once we got to hole 17, I looked at the scores and at that time we were four ahead which felt like a good lead.
"We had a plan and it worked out."
Cantlay carded three birdies and four bogeys for her 73 and second-place finish. Wang placed 10th with two bogeys and 16 pars for her 74, ending her final round with eight straight pars.
Scholtes and Neale shared 12th place with two other golfers at 220 after their par rounds. Scholtes recorded three birdies and three bogeys while Neale carded two of each with her 14 pars.
Daniel had a roller coaster round on her way to a 74 and 31st-place finish. She eagled the 470-yard, par-5 14th hole and notched four birdies as well as two bogeys and a trio of double-bogeys, parring just eight holes.
Daniel opened with an 86 on Monday but battled back with a 73 and 74, jumping from 44th place to 37th and finally to 31st.
Cantlay finished tied for first in par-4 scoring at one under par. Wang and Neale shared fourth in par-3 scoring at even par while Neale was eighth in par-5 scoring at two under par.
Neale's eight birdies were seventh among the field of 45 golfers while Wang and Cantlay both carded 41 pars over the 54-hole event, tied for No. 2. Daniel recorded the lone eagle of the three-day tournament.
Cal Poly finished with a four-person 291 team total for a five-over-par 869 aggregate, two strokes ahead of UC Davis (290-871). Two-time defending conference champion Long Beach State was third at 873 after posting a 287 total and UC Irvine recorded a 298 for an 875 total and fourth place.
The Mustangs' 869 total is a season best and third best in program history, 10 strokes shy of the school record.
Following the tournament, the All-Big West Conference awards were announced.
Aagaard was named Coach of the Year while Neale made the first team, Cantlay and Wang landed on the second team and Scholtes earned honorable mention praise.
Player of the Year – Brittany Shin, Cal State Fullerton
Coach of the Year – Sofie Aagaard, Cal Poly
Freshman of the Year – Nicole Neale, Cal Poly
First Team
Brittany Shin, Cal State Fullerton
Jackie Lucena, UC Davis
Madison Wood, UC Davis
Holland Shourds, Long Beach State
Sienna Lyford, UC Irvine
Nicole Neale, Cal Poly
Second Team
Caroline Cantlay, Cal Poly
Kate Villegas, UC Riverside
Vanessa Wang, Cal Poly
Cameron Lee, UC Irvine
Hannah Sun, UC Davis
Honorable Mention
Elizabeth Scholtes, Cal Poly
Angelina Kim, Long Beach State
Zoey Akagi-Bustin, Hawai'i
Andrea Gomez, UC Davis
Vanessa Bentancourt, UC Riverside
Megan Yang, UC Irvine
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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