ASU Women's Golf Defeats Pepperdine at Regional Challenge

By: Connor Smith

PALOS VERDES, Calif. - Sun Devil Women's Golf completed day two of the newly-formatted Therese Hession Regional Challenge on Sunday.

The tournament, which was originally scheduled for three stroke-play rounds from Feb. 4-6, was moved up a day due to impending inclement weather conditions. The format was also switched from traditional stroke-play to a bracket-style Match Play setup. Arizona State faced off with Pepperdine in their only match of the day, taking down the No. 20-ranked Waves in impressive fashion. The Maroon and Gold won 4.5 of the potential 5 points that were up for grabs thanks to four victories and one tie.

Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye's team gained valuable experience competing in their first Match Play event of the season. The NCAA Championship is decided via Match Play, giving the Sun Devils a glimpse of what would come should they make an end-of-the-season run. Not only was the format change beneficial, the competition present at the event was also fierce. ASU took on a Top-10 Texas team in the first round followed by tournament host Ohio State, who is also ranked in the Top-50. They managed to knock off No. 20 Pepperdine, who made it to NCAA Championship Match Play a season ago.

Beth Coulter, Grace Summerhays, Patience Rhodes, and Calynne Rosholt all collected wins in their matches. Only one of the four victories were even pushed to an 18th hole, as the Sun Devils cruised to a victory in the third round. Rhodes took down No. 82-ranked player Lauren Gomez. They now move on to face No. 94 Georgetown starting tomorrow at 12 PM MST in the 13th-place match.

SUNDAY
VS. No. 20 Pepperdine (Third Round)
ASU Record: 4-0-1
Group 1 - No. 184 Grace Summerhays (Arizona State) def. No. 102 Lion Higo (Pepperdine), 5&4
Group 2 - No. 111 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Arizona State) tied No. 120 Kaleiya Romero (Pepperdine)
Group 3 - No. 169 Beth Coulter (Arizona State) def. No. 438 Kayee Kwok (Pepperdine), 6&4
Group 4 -  No. 299 Calynne Rosholt (Arizona State) def. No. 155 Jeneath Wong (Pepperdine), 2&1
Group 5 - No. 142 Patience Rhodes (Arizona State) def. No. 82 Lauren Gomez, 1UP

SATURDAY
vs. No. 8 Texas (First Round)
ASU Record: 1-4
Group 1 - No. 21 Lauren Kim (Texas) def. No. 184 Grace Summerhays (Arizona State), 4&2
Group 2 - No. 111 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Arizona State) def. No. 164 Angela Heo (Texas), 5&4
Group 3 - No. 23 Farah O'Keefe (Texas) def. No. 169 Beth Coulter (Arizona State), 2&1
Group 4 - No. 48 Bohyun Park (Texas) def. No. 299 Calynne Rosholt (Arizona State), 6&4
Group 5 - No. 88 Bentley Cotton (Texas) def. No. 142 Patience Rhodes (Arizona State), 5&3

vs. No. 45 Ohio State (Second Round)
ASU Record: 1-2-2
Group 1 -  No. 184 Grace Summerhays (Arizona State) def. No. 126 Caley McGinty (Ohio State), 4&3
Group 2 - No. 146 Kary Hollenbaugh (Ohio State) def. No. 111 Paula Schulz-Hanssen (Arizona State), 3&1
Group 3 - No. 169 Beth Coulter (Arizona State) ties No. 123 Faith Choi (Ohio State)
Group 4 - Kailie Vongsaga (Ohio State) def. No. 299 Calynne Rosholt (Arizona State), 3&2
Group 5 - No. 142 Patience Rhodes (Arizona State) ties No. 309 Jillian Bourdage (Ohio State)

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
All four Sun Devils have at least one match win over the two days at the Regional Challenge, led by Grace Summerhays' two victories. Arizona State has won six and tied three of their 15 matches so far.

Grace Summerhays: 2-1 (Wins over No. 126 Caley McGinty, Ohio State & No. 102 Lion Higo, Pepperdine; Loss to No. 21 Lauren Kim, Texas)
Paula Schulz-Hanssen: 1-1-1 (Win over No. 164 Angela Heo, Texas; Tied No. 120 Kaleiya Romero, Pepperdine; Loss to No. 146 Kary Hollenbaugh, Ohio State)
Patience Rhodes: 1-1-1 (Win over No. 82 Lauren Gomez, Pepperdine; Tied No. 309 Jillian Bourdage, Ohio State; Loss to No. 88 Bentley Cotton, Texas)
Beth Coulter: 1-1-1 (Win over No. 438 Kayee Kwok, Pepperdine; Tied No. 123 Faith Choi, Ohio State; Loss to No. 23 Farah O'Keefe, Texas)
Calynne Rosholt: 1-2 (Win over No. 155 Jeneath Wong, Pepperdine; Losses to No. 48 Bohyun Park, Texas & Kailie Vongsaga, Ohio State)

UP NEXT
Weather permitting, the final day of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge will take place tomorrow. Arizona State is scheduled to take on No. 94 Georgetown in the match play consolation bracket 13th place match. The Hoyas defeated No. 25 Mississippi State yesterday. Here are the pairings with the Sun Devils starting the round at 12 PM MST staggered from hole 15-17.

Group 1 - Grace Summerhays vs. Megan Gormley
Group 2 - Paula Schulz-Hanssen vs. Georgia Ruffolo
Group 3 - Beth Coulter vs. Claire Chen
Group 4 - Calynne Rosholt vs. Morgan Smith
Group 5 - Patience Rhodes vs. Angela Lee

2023-24 Arizona State Women's Golf Upcoming Schedule
Match in the Desert – January 22 (Gold Canyon, AZ)
Therese Hession Regional Challenge – Feb. 4-6 (Palos Verdes, CA)
Darius Rucker Intercollegiate – March 4-6 (Hilton Head Island, SC)
Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational – March 17-19 (Honolulu, HI)
PING/ASU Invitational – March 28-30 (Tempe, AZ)
Pac-12 Championship – April 21-23 (Pullman, WA)
NCAA Regionals – May 6-8 (Auburn/Cle Elum/College State/East Lansing/Las Vegas/Winston-Salem)
NCAA Championship – May 17-22 (La Costa, CA; Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Champions Course)

HOW TO FOLLOW
For the latest updates and information on the Sun Devil Women's Golf program, follow our Twitter/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilWGolf), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/sundevilwgolf/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Find Coach Farr-Kaye (@missymkaye) and Coach Tatman (@CoachMikayla_) on Twitter as well.