Buffs Advance To Match Play Championship In Madison

MADISON – The University of Colorado women's golf team rallied late to win its match on Monday, defeating Indiana 3 & 2 to advance to the championship match here in the East & West Challenge.

The Buffaloes, earned the top seed after winning the 36-hole stroke play portion a day earlier and were the only higher seeded team between both the championship and consolation brackets to win its opening match.

With sophomore Brittany Fan and junior Esther Lee already finished for the afternoon, Colorado was trailing in their other three matches, but solid play down the stretch from seniors Alexis Keating and Allie Zech, and junior Natalie Vivaldi, the Buffs fought their way back to win two out of the three and move on to Tuesday's match play finals.

Colorado will face fellow Pac-12 Conference opponent Oregon in the championship match on the par-72, 6,219 yard University Ridge Golf Course. The No. 3 seeded Ducks defeated Michigan 4 & 1 to also advance.

“I'm so proud of the way the team came back today,” said Colorado head coach Anne Kelly. “Indiana came out firing and we got down early in most of our matches. It's really nice to see Esther playing so well and then for Natalie and Alexis to fight back after being down was really good.”

Lee, who continues to play some of her best golf, defeated Indiana's Erin Harper rather easily, 5 & 4 to give Colorado its first win of the day. The match was all-square through four holes, then Lee birdied the par-3, No. 5, to go 1-up, as Harper pared it. Lee remained in control throughout the duration of the match as she continued to build on her lead. She was 2-up after 10 holes and then proceeded to shoot birdie-birdie-par to take a four-shot advantage. She eventually won the match on hole No. 14 when she made par and Harper bogeyed. Lee finished the round shooting 4-under par with four birdies.

It was a battle to the very end for both Vivaldi and Keating as they each won their matches in dramatic fashion to secure the Buffs' victory. Indiana's Pear Siriko went 1-up on Vivaldi on the third hole, but Vivaldi squared the match on the following hole and it would remain that way until No. 15 when Vivaldi went down one with only three holes to play. On the par-5, No. 16, Vivaldi drained an eagle to bring it back to all-square, then each pared No. 17. The result came down to the final hole and Vivaldi sunk a 15-foot birdie putt to defeat Siriko, 1-up. Vivaldi shot an impressive 3-under par over the last three holes.

Keating also came from behind, forcing her Indiana opponent Eva Domingo to play all 18 holes as the Elma, Wash. native won the match, 1-up. With 10 holes complete, the match was all-square until Domingo went 2-up with just five holes remaining. Keating responded with a par on No. 14 to pull within one after Domingo bogeyed. She was able to square the match on the par-3, No. 17, making a par putt and Domingo had another bogey. On the final hole, Keating picked up the win, recording her sixth straight par while Domingo finished with her third straight bogey.

Zech put pressure on Indiana's Ana Sanjuan until the end, but Sanjuan narrowly escaped, defeating Zech 1-up. Zech went 1-down from the very first hole and then found herself 2-down as the pair made the turn. Sanjuan eventually was 3-up through 14 holes, however Zech rebounded, draining a birdie on No. 15 to get back to within two. Zech was only down one going into the final hole after recording a par on No. 17 while Sanjuan bogeyed. They each pared No. 18, which allowed Sanjuan to take the match.

Fan “just plain, old had a rough day” was how Kelly described it. She struggled throughout the majority of the round where nothing seemed to go right, but she will look to bounce back in her final match on Tuesday. Indiana's Camille Chevalier defeated Fan 7 & 6.

Freshman Gillian Vance, who is competing in the individual consolation bracket played a close match, but Theresa-Ann Jedra from Indiana won, 1-up.

The championship match is set to begin at 8:33 MDT on Tuesday. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.

(1) Colorado def. (4) Indiana, 3 & 2

Camille Chevalier (IU) def. Brittany Fan (CU), 7 & 6

Alexis Keating (CU) def. Eva Domingo (IU), 1-up

Natalie Vivaldi (CU) def. Pear Siriko (IU), 1-up

Esther Lee (CU) def. Erin Harper (IU), 5 & 4

Ana Sanjuan (IU) def. Allie Zech (CU), 1-up

Theresa-Ann Jedra (IU) def. Gillian Vance, 1-up

TEAM SCORES – Championship Bracket

(1) COLORADO def. (4) Indiana, 3 & 2

(3) Oregon def. (2) Michigan, 4 & 1

TEAM SCORES – Consolation Bracket