Women’s golf four-over par final round puts them at fifth place in championships

If only the No. 11 UCLA women’s golf team had two more
rounds at the NCAA Championship, a title could have been within
reach.

The Bruins finished the competition in style, shooting a
collective four-over par in Friday’s final round on the
Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Complex in West Lafayette,
Ind. tying them for the second lowest total of the 24
competing teams. However, the hole they dug for themselves
over the first two rounds of play proved to be insurmountable.

UCLA placed in a tie for fifth with Oklahoma State for the
championship, totaling 64-over par during four rounds of
competition. With their finish, the Bruins defeated five of
the 10 teams ranked higher in the national polls.

Neighbor USC led the championship wire-to-wire and won going
away, finishing the tournament at 45-over par and 15 shots ahead of
second-place Pepperdine. The University of Texas and Ohio State
University finished third and fourth, respectively. 

“We are extremely excited to bring home the national
championship,” Trojan head coach Andrea Gaston said in a
statement. “Since the West Regional, we have led
wire-to-wire, so we peaked at the right time. These players have
played their hearts out the last seven rounds. They have had the
attitudes of champions.”

USC’s Mikaela Parmelid won the individual championship
with a score of nine-over par, defeating Florida’s Andrea
Vander Lende on the first sudden death playoff hole. 

UCLA boasted a trio of Bruins in the top-30 individuals,
highlighted by junior Hana Kim’s 11th place finish. Kim
got stronger as the championship grew longer, shooting a
progressively lower score from round to round. She finished
with a final round 73, one-over par, to put her at 13-over par for
the four-rounds.

Sophomore Charlotte Mayorkas had three terrific rounds, and if
not for a second-round 83, would have had more than a legitimate
shot at the individual crown. Mayorkas finished like a champion,
shooting even-par over her last two rounds to finish at 14-over par
and in a tie for 17th place. 

Freshman Susie Mathews didn’t flinch under the pressure of
playing in her first national championship, shooting 17-over par
and tying for 28th place. Junior Gina Umeck shot UCLA’s
lowest round of the championship in the final round, a one-under
71, tying for the third lowest round Friday of the 126-women
field. Umeck tied for 71st place at 25-over par.

Junior Melissa Martin rounded out the five-player squad,
shooting a final round 76 to place her in a tie for 81st place.