University of Louisville
NCAA Championship
Women’s Golf Advances to Fourth Round of Stroke Play at NCAA Championships
May 20, 2018 | Women's Golf
The Cardinals are 15th after three rounds of stroke play at the national championships.
STILLWATER, Okla. – Despite a five-hour wait on Sunday, the University of Louisville women's golf team received the news for which it was waiting: it made the cut to advance to the fourth round of stroke play at the NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla.
Louisville finished its third round of competition, with a 14-over-par 302 at Karsten Creek Golf Club, around 3:30 p.m. ET. However, the Cardinals' fate was unknown until the 24-team field completed the round to determine whether Louisville finished inside the cut of the top 15 teams.
By winning a non-sudden-death tiebreaker over Auburn, the Cardinals claimed the No. 15 position in the team standings and are moving on to Monday's final 18-hole round of stroke play.
"We're really excited to have the opportunity to advance," head coach Courtney Trimble said. "We were waiting on pins and needles and even went to see a movie during that time. We needed a distraction since it was out of our hands, but we couldn't be more excited."
Kristin Engle put together her best score of the tournament and paced Louisville with a 1-over-par 73. The freshman was nearly flawless on her first nine holes, totaling eight pars and one bogey. She finished the day with birdies on two of her final three holes and is tied for 49th on the individual leaderboard.
Lauren Hartlage also delivered a solid round, carding a 2-over-par 74. She bookended her day with a pair of birdies, both on par-5 holes. The sophomore boasts one of the top averages on par-5 holes in the 132-player field at 4.67.
Molly Skapik used her second eagle of the tournament to help guide her to a 3-over-par 75. The senior, on hole No. 6, sent a long drive into the fairway and then chipped in from 115 yards on her second shot. She and Hartlage are tied for 35th, with three-day scores of 6-over-par 222.
"We didn't have our best today," Trimble added. "We haven't put together our best round yet, but this tournament has proven to us that we're capable of competing with the best teams in the country."
Delaney Shah contributed the Cardinals' fourth-best score of the day, carding an 8-over-par 80.
Louisville continues play in the national championships on Monday, teeing off with Texas and Washington from hole No. 10, starting at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The top-eight teams after Monday's round move into a match-play format to determine the national champion. The quarterfinals and semifinals take place Tuesday, with the NCAA Championship on Wednesday.
For the latest information on Louisville women's golf, log on to GoCards.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/UofLWGolf or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UofLWGolf.
2018 NCAA Women's Golf Championships
May 18-20, 2018
Karsten Creek Golf Club (par 72/6,328 yards)
Stillwater, Okla.
TOP-FIVE TEAM SCORES PLUS LOUISVILLE (24 teams, 54-hole totals): 1. Alabama – 292-286-284; 2. UCLA – 294-279-297; 3. Arizona – 301-291-288; 4. Northwestern – 299-293-290; 5. Southern California – 291-298-296; 15. Louisville – 301-300-302
LOUISVILLE GOLFERS (of 132): t-35. Lauren Hartlage – 73-75-74; t-35. Molly Skapik – 76-71-75; t-49. Kristin Engle – 76-77-73; t-72. Delaney Shah – 76-77-80; 77. Olivia Cason – 76-77-83
Players Mentioned
