ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Virginia Tech's Emily Mahar carded a 2-under 69 in Wednesday's final round of the Ann Arbor Regional to punch her ticket to the NCAA Women's Golf National Championship for the second year in a row.
The Ann Arbor Regional was hosted by Michigan, May 9-11, at the University of Michigan Golf Course (par 71, 6,265 yards). The Hokies narrowly missed out advancing to nationals as a team for the second consecutive year, finishing fifth, three shots behind Arkansas and Michigan (tied for third – 880). The top four teams advanced to nationals, including fifth-ranked San Jose State (first – 862) and eighth-ranked Virginia (second – 865).
One of two golfers to conclude the 54-hole regional in red figures, Mahar signed for a 1-under 212 (72-71-69) to place second in the 60-player field. She finished five shots behind individual medalist Natasha Andrea Oon of San Jose State.
Entering the final round, Tech had a sizeable gap to close to have a shot at advancing as a team. Through 36 holes, the Hokies were 11 strokes behind fourth-place Michigan. However, Tech manufactured the best round of the regional on Wednesday behind three Hokies finishing in red figures to make things interesting down the stretch.
Keerattriya Foocharoen, playing in her final regional round, turned in a season-best, 3-under 68 to ignite Tech's cumulative score of 5-under 279. The senior produced a team-best five birdies in her final round to finish in a tie for 23rd at 10-over 223.
Highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 third hole, Symone Henriques fired a 1-under 70 to tie Foocharoen with a three-day total of 10-over 223.
Mahar, who claimed one of two individual spots up for grabs in Ann Arbor, put an exclamation point on her tournament scorecard with a final-round 69 that included three birdies. The Brisbane, Australia native tied for the tournament high with 11 birdies over her 54 holes.
Ginnie Lee and Alyssa Montgomery rounded out the Tech lineup by carding a 72 and a 74, respectively, in the final round.
Based on finishing in the top two on a non-advancing team, Mahar will head to Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona for the second year in a row. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Mahar, who played at nearby Xavier College Prep in Phoenix prior to signing with the Hokies.
The championship format in Scottsdale will include 24 teams and 12 individuals completing 54 holes of stroke play, and then the top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team competing for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in match play for the team national championship to be decided May 25.
