Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Georgia
Liz Murphey Host Bulldogs Advance Past Wildcats on Tiebreak
3/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
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Georgia 2.5, Northwestern 2.5 (UGA Tiebreak) Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic • Semifinal Match UGA Golf Course • Athens, Ga. BirdieFire.com Scoring • Match Play Bracket  | |
ATHENS, Ga. -- Northwestern and host Georgia battled until the very last hole Saturday in a semifinal match of the Championship bracket at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, with the home team advancing to the final on a holes won tiebreaker following a 2.5-2.5 tie.
One student-athlete from each team won their match -- Kacie Komoto (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou) was the victory for NU -- while each of the other three matches were halved. Komoto's 3 and 2 margin of victory was less than Georgia's 4 and 3 margin in its win, giving the Bulldogs the edge in the tiebreaker.
Ninth-ranked Northwestern now will face No. 5 Duke on Sunday morning for third place in the 12-team tournament that features six of the nation's current Golfstat.com top-10 teams. Squads were seeded into the match play bracket during a medal play qualifying round Friday in which the Wildcats placed sixth overall.
Below is a match-by-match account of Northwestern's semifinal showdown with host Georiga:
MATCH 1: Hana Lee (NU) and Harang Lee (UGA) halved
Harang Lee of Georgia won two of the first four holes against senior Hana Lee (Seoul, South Korea/Wilson (Calif.)) in this match, but the Wildcat kept her deficit at 2-down after making the turn. Hana Lee won the 10th with a par, then birdied No. 12 to square the match.
With the match still all square at No. 16, Hana Lee took advantage of a Harang Lee double bogey to go 1-up via a bogey, but Harang came back to square the match at No. 17. With that all-important first point up for grabs, both competitors came through with birdies at No. 18 to halve the match.
MATCH 2: Rocio Sanchez (UGA) def. Kaitlin Park (NU), 4 and 3
Though she made a birdie on the second hole Saturday afternoon, Kaitlin Park (Tustin, Calif./Beckman) had bogey on six of the first seven total to find herself 2-down in this match. She got a hole back with a win at No. 9, but a bogey at No. 12 coupled with Rocio Sanchez birdies at Nos. 13 and 15 closed out this match in favor of the Bulldogs, 4 and 3.
MATCH 3: Kacie Komoto (NU) def. Sylvie Brick (UGA), 3 and 2
Just as she did in the morning, Kacie Komoto (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou) took advantage of her opponent's mistakes to build an early 2-up lead, although a couple of her own bogeys just before the turn leveled the match. Komoto won No. 10 (via a bogey) and No. 11 to get back to 2-up before carding a birdie 3 at the par-4 14th to build a nearly insurmountable 3-up advantage with four holes to play. She would even up capturing a 3 and 2 decision.
MATCH 4: Hannah Kim (NU) and Manuela Carbajo (UGA) halved
Freshman Hannah Kim (Chula Vista, Calif./Otay Ranch) showed true Wildcat spirit in fighting until the very end, even on an off day. Kim began this match with four-straight bogeys and was 4-down immediately out of the gate. Though she still carded several more bogeys during the mid-point of the match, Carbajo did likewise.
Kim started chipping away with a bogey to win No. 9, then she captured Nos. 12 and 14 via pars. A par at 16 brought her all the way back to all square only to see Carbajo win No. 17 with a birdie. Needing that half point for her team, Kim countered with a birdie of her own on No. 18 to halve the match.
MATCH 5: Suchaya Tangkamolprasert (NU) and Sammi Lee (UGA) halved
Suchaya Tangkamolprasert (Bangkok, Thailand/Bromsgrove Christian School) jumped out to a quick two hole lead when Sammi Lee made bogey on her first two holes, though Lee battled back to square the match at the turn. Tangkamolprasert was able to get back into a 1-up lead with a par at No. 14, and still held that advantage on the 18th tee when both competitors made double bogey at No. 17. The NU junior, however, ended up with bogey at the last to give Lee a win that halved the match.
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