LSU Women's Golf Advances to NCAA Championship For Record Sixth-Straight Year

WACO, Texas – The LSU Tigers played a solid final round Wednesday in the NCAA Waco Regional at Ridgewood Country Club to advance to the NCAA Championships for a school record sixth straight year.

LSU finished fourth with a total of 1-over par 841 to be one of the five advancing teams from the Waco Regional site, one of six regional events which concluded on Wednesday.

The Tigers posted a final round of 2-over 282 to keep in a qualifying position all throughout the round. LSU had a little wobble early with one two front-nine birdies, but responded with nine on the final nine holes to cement their advancing position to the championships in Carlsbad, California later this month.

Joining LSU in California from this regional will be first-place SMU, Texas A&M, Baylor and Tennessee. The Vols won a five-man playoff with Tulsa for the final qualifying spot. LSU posted rounds of 287-272-282.

“Six straight years,” said LSU Coach Garrett Runion. “I’m very proud of that. To have a consistent program like that, to extend our record streak. I’m very proud of that. To be around at the end for so many years in a row just that shows the consistency we have and the high level that the team performed over the last few years.”

Coach Runion talked about the team’s second round of 8-under par 272 which was the all-time low regional round for the LSU women.

“I’m most proud of the second round (Tuesday) after not finishing the first round as we would have liked,” the eighth-year LSU head coach said. “Coming out and posting one of the better rounds of the day (in the event) really put us in position for today. Really, my opinion, I think it almost won the qualifying spot for us.

“Then today, we knew nerves and tension would be high. It wasn’t pretty but they just kept fighting. I’m just real proud of the competitive toughness. They had the mental toughness to handle the pressure. We play a tough schedule throughout the year. We don’t shy away from the .500 rule and play a tough schedule to prepare ourselves for situations like this. They rose to the occasion and very proud that we are advancing.”

The Tigers were led by senior Taylor Riley at 1-under par 69, her second consecutive under par round, while Francesca Fiorellini rolled in a long birdie putt on the 18th hole to finish at even par 70. Ryleigh Knaub had a 1-over 71 and Josefin Widal had a 2-over 72.

Fiorellini finished at 5-under 205 (67-68-70) to finish in third place for tournament medalist honors. Vanessa Borovilos of Texas A&M finished on top at 10-under par 200, including a 5-under 65 on the final night. Kirstin Angosta of TCU was second at 6-under par 204 with Fiorellini, Kirra St. Laurent, Kiara Romero and Celine Chen of SMU, all tying for third at 5-under par 205. Angosta will be the individual advancer to the championship event as the low scorer among players not on advancing teams.

Riley and Knaub both finished at T20 at 2-over par 212. Riley had rounds of 75-68-69 while Knaub had rounds of 75-66-71.

Runion and his Tiger players have experienced the pressure of regionals in more than one fashion, twice in the last four years having to come from behind to qualify.

“It’s the gauntlet,” said Coach Runion. “It’s grueling. The last round of a regional is the hardest day in college golf. Top-10 teams miss out every year. There’s no defense in golf. Nobody’s stopping you and you just have to take care of your business. Who can handle the pressure most? It’s safe to say it is grueling. That’s why it makes six in a row so satisfying to be able to do that. There’s a lot of good programs that can’t say that.”

The Tigers did well and advanced on a course that none of the players and coaching staff had seen before. But they ended up with a little inside help from some LSU friends, according to Coach Runion.

“I want to thank Danny Palmer, who is on our TAF Board, who lives in Waco,” said the coach. “As soon as we got the regional bid, he emailed me and told me he was a member here. He gave us some notes and came out all four days, including the practice round, and gave us some local knowledge.

“The other night before we came out here, my family was out to dinner at Amigo Al’s and BG Lanoix, when he found out we were playing Ridgewood told me that Joe Schwartz (a member of the LSU women’s basketball staff) was a member. Joe was up here a few days ago and sent me pictures of the rough and pictures of the course. So I want to thank them for the added knowledge in preparing for the regional. I think it played a big part in us advancing.”

A little help from friends and five very good LSU women’s golfers kept the streak alive and put a trip to OMNI La Costa on the schedule. The national championship event, which will feature 30 teams and features both stroke and match play, is set to begin on Friday, May 22.

NCAA Waco Regional
Ridgewood Country Club – Waco, Texas
Final Team Results (Par 280-840)

Top 5 Advance to NCAA Championships
(NCAA Scoreboard Rank in Parenthesis)

1 SMU (No. 21) – 277-269-277 – 823 -17
2 Texas A&M (No. 4) – 280-274-275 –829 -11
3 Baylor (No. 26) – 288-278-274 – 840 E
4 LSU (No. 36) – 287-272-282 – 841 +1
T5 Tennessee (No. 16) – 282-286-279 – 847 +7
(Tennessee won final qualifying spot in 2-for-1 playoff)
T5 Tulsa (No. 49) – 286-280-281 – 847 +7
7 Oregon (No. 8) – 280-283-286 – 849 +9
8 TCU (No. 42) – 295-276-283 – 854 +14
9 Colorado – 292-291-291 – 874 +34
10 Tarleton State – 290-290-297 – 877 +37
11 Prairie View A&M – 319-300-320 – 939 +99
12 Northern Arizona – 296-NA-NA – DQ

Top 5 Individuals (Par 70-210)
1 Vanessa Borovilos, Texas A&M – 66-69-65 – 200 -10
2 Kirstin Angosta, TCU – 72-66-66 – 204 -6
(Angosta advanced as top individual not on advancing team)
T3 Francesca Fiorellini, LSU – 67-68-70 – 205 -5
T3 Kirra St. Laurent, SMU – 71-64-70 – 205 -5
T3 Kiara Romero, Oregon – 66-70-69 – 205 -5
T3 Celine Chen, SMU – 67-71-67 – 205 -5

LSU Scores
T3 Francesca Fiorellini – 67-68-70 – 205 -5
T20 Ryleigh Knaub – 75-66-71 – 212 +2
T20 Taylor Riley – 75-68-69 – 212 +2
T28 Josefin Widal – 72-70-72 – 214 +4
T39 Elsa Svensson – 73-71-74 – 218 +8

(Release via LSU Athletics)