[su_spacer size=”20″] The Georgia women’s golf team went 2-0 in match play on Saturday at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic to advance to Sunday’s championship match against No. 1 Southern Cal.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The Bulldogs topped South Carolina, 3-2, in the morning with Sammi Lee, Sanchez Lobato and Harang Lee all winning on 2-and-1 decisions. Georgia then bested Northwestern on a tiebreaker in a wire-to-wire match that finished tied at 2.5-2.5.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “A great day, especially in our sport,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “We don’t get to play head-to-head, but once or twice a year. So it’s two wins. We beat South Carolina, maybe the best team in the SEC, and beat Northwestern, a top-10 team program who’s a favorite to win a national title, so two great wins. My thing is just seeing their faces. They’re excited. They’re happy and they deserve it. They’ve worked so hard. They deserve a chance to celebrate some victories and “Ring The Bell” as we’re going to say in Athens.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] It was senior Rocio Sanchez Lobato’s decisive 4-and-3 win over Kaitlin Park that broke the tiebreaker in the afternoon match versus Northwestern.
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[su_spacer size=”20″] “It makes me feel great, especially as a senior,” Sanchez Lobato said. “I want to contribute as much as I can to the team so it’s just a great feeling. You don’t know when you’re out there, but you know that your ups count because of the format that we play. I just tried to win as fast as I could so it’s a great feeling.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Sanchez Lobato was the first Bulldog to win her match in Saturday afternoon’s competition creating an hour gap between her finish and sophomore Sammi Lee, the last golfer to finish.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “It’s been a hard hour,” Sanchez Lobato said. “I haven’t been that nervous in a long time. I just went around and watched everybody. I tried to cheer them on and tell them that I won so that gives them confidence.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Lee was the last match on the course Saturday afternoon winning No. 18 to halve her match versus Suchaya Tangkamolprasert. That left the Bulldogs and Wildcats tied at 2.5-2.5; however, Sanchez Lobato’s win tipped the decision to Georgia’s favor.
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[su_spacer size=”20″] “It was crazy. This morning, too, I won on 17,” Lee said. “She (South Carolina’s Justine Dreher) put the pressure on me on 15. So I had that this morning and then this afternoon on 16, she (Tangkamolprasert) made probably a 100-foot putt to save par and then I had to get up-and-down from the bunker to match that. We both messed up on 17 and ending up halving. On 18, I had to back off shots a couple times just because the pressure was crazy. It was tough out there, but it feels great to have fought through it.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] On Sunday, the Bulldogs will meet the No. 1 Southern Cal in the final round at 9:20 a.m.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “(They just need to) stay the same,” Brewer said. “That’s all we can do. You have some momentum right now so you try to ride it. Like today, we just have to play well. When you’re playing a team that’s No. 3 or No. 4 in the country you just have to go out and play as well as you can. You have to fight, too, because every hole and every shot matters. You’re always looking for some change in momentum out there to get it in your favor.”
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[su_spacer size=”20″] Southern Cal defeated UCLA Saturday morning, 3-2. In the semifinal on Saturday afternoon, the Trojans defeated Duke, 4-1. Southern Cal will look to defend its 2014 Liz Murphey title on Sunday.
[su_spacer size=”40″] On Sunday, Duke and Northwestern will face off to determine a third place winner. Baylor and South Carolina will compete for the fifth place spot and the winner between UCLA and Arkansas will determine seventh place.
[su_spacer size=”40″] The final round will begin on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at the University of Georgia Golf Course. No admission will be charged. Live scoring will be available at www.birdiefire.com.