SCOTTSDALE (Ariz.) — Brianna Návarrosa is not a fan of giving herself an ultimatum.
But the junior student at USC was forced to make a choice.
Rose Zhang, who was Tuesday named winner of the 2023 ANNIKA Award for the best women college golfer in the United States, hit her approach at the par-3 sixteenth hole at Grayhawk Golf Club within 3 feet. Navarrosa hadn’t yet hit her tee-shot, but was not fazed.
Her ball landed approximately 8 feet away. She knew how important it was to line up her putt.
Navarrosa explained, “I don’t usually say that you must make it or get a par,” but I knew I needed to make a par. Standing over that putt I didn’t feel more confident in my entire golf career.
The putt she made was in the middle, and as the match progressed, it was probably the most crucial putt of the game.
USC defeated Stanford, the top-seeded team and defending national champions 3-2, in the semifinal to advance to the national championship match against No. Wake Forest is ranked No. 2. Navarrosa and Zhang tied the hole on the 17th with pars, clinching the final point. Wake Forest beat Texas A&M by a score of 4-1.
USC coach Justin Silverstein says Navarrosa’s ball striking has been a problem for her over the past four months, after a good start to the season. He said that the outcome is the culmination of all the hard work put in during the times when the results were not showing.
Silverstein stated that “to beat (Zhang), you need to be disciplined and dominate the greens.” “I sent the picks to the team, and she then looked at me. She nodded back at me and then started eating.
She was prepared for it.
Navarrosa, Cindy Kou, and Christine Park also won their matches for the Trojans.
Wake Forest was on the losing side of a heated battle.
The Demon Deacons missed the 15-team cut last year, despite being one of the favorites for the championship. The message throughout the season has been to play and finish strong.
Mimi Rhodes was not going to be stopped by anything.
She was taken to the hospital on Monday night and given an IV due to dehydration. She started to struggle with Bianca Fernandez Garcia Poggio during the back nine of the match against Texas A&M. The Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen almost called for a medical stoppage.
Rhodes said, “She asked me if I was going to finish it. And I replied, ‘This is why we work all year’.” “I only had to get to the 18th green. The coach told me that we needed only one more match.
“I made it very difficult for myself but I knew that I had to make the pars.”
She won the match on the 18th. Emilia Migliaccio won her first match with a score of 2 to 1. Rachel Kuehn, a senior, won hers with 4 and 2.
Wake Forest has made it to the championship game, where they had planned all year.
“We were in the same position a few year ago. Lewellen admitted that they had failed to pull off the feat. This team is so desperate to succeed. We will continue to do what we normally do.
Wake Forest won its first NCAA championship with a win, while USC picked up its fourth.
Championship Match
No. Wake Forest vs. USC
- 4:35 p.m. ET – Emilia Migliaccio vs. Cindy Kou
- 4:45 p.m. ET – Carolina Lopez Chacarra vs. Catherine Park
- 4:55 p.m. ET – Rachel Kuehn vs. Amari Avery
- 5:05 p.m. ET – Mimi Rhodes against Christine Wang
- 5:15 p.m. ET – Lauren Walsh vs. Brianna Navarrosa
