11-01-2023, 03:49 PM
Stanford comes up short, losing 3-2. The Cardinal led in the first 3 matches after 9 holes. But Caroline Sturdza lost 5 holes in a row, going bogey, bogey, double, bogey, bogey to turn a 3 up lead to a 2 down deficit. She finished +8 on her round and still only lost 1 up. The match was there for the taking.
Kelly Xu went bogey-bogey-par-par-bogey on 10-14 to turn a 2 up lead into a 1 down deficit. She fought back with a terrific 2 putt birdie on 18 to square the match after a clutch 195 carry over water to 30 feet to reach the par 5 in 2. She won on the 21st hole when her opponent dunked her approach into a lake.
Frosh Paula Martin Sampedro played better than anyone else and held off a really tough opponent to get Stanford's other point.
Stanford got nothing from its anchor players, Ganne and Englemann. Both of them have work to do before the spring season starts.
For years Stanford has had a clear #1 player, sometimes a clear 1 and 1A. First Mariah Stackhouse and Lauren Kim. Then Andrea Lee and Albane Valenzuela. Then Rachel Heck. And of course Rose Zhang. These players were winning tournaments and playing at the top of the line up from their freshman years. They were reliable par shooters and could on occasion go well below par. This season with 2 seniors and a grad student on the roster (Heck, Englemann and Seay) all of whom have won a national championship, the most reliable player appears to be a frosh. I would not be surprised to see Martin Sampedro playing #1 in the spring. Based on amateur records, this should be the year that Megha Ganne steps into the spotlight at the top. But she has not performed in college the way other top amateurs have when they arrived at Stanford.
But success in the spring will depend largely on the play of Heck. She's been through a lot since 2021. An illness (Covid?) knocked her out for a long time in spring 2022, surgery knocked her out last spring. And who knows what is going on this fall. Can she regain her form? Stanford needs the Rachel Heck of 2021, the one who won an individual national championship, not the one who struggles to qualify for the 5th spot on the team.
Kelly Xu went bogey-bogey-par-par-bogey on 10-14 to turn a 2 up lead into a 1 down deficit. She fought back with a terrific 2 putt birdie on 18 to square the match after a clutch 195 carry over water to 30 feet to reach the par 5 in 2. She won on the 21st hole when her opponent dunked her approach into a lake.
Frosh Paula Martin Sampedro played better than anyone else and held off a really tough opponent to get Stanford's other point.
Stanford got nothing from its anchor players, Ganne and Englemann. Both of them have work to do before the spring season starts.
For years Stanford has had a clear #1 player, sometimes a clear 1 and 1A. First Mariah Stackhouse and Lauren Kim. Then Andrea Lee and Albane Valenzuela. Then Rachel Heck. And of course Rose Zhang. These players were winning tournaments and playing at the top of the line up from their freshman years. They were reliable par shooters and could on occasion go well below par. This season with 2 seniors and a grad student on the roster (Heck, Englemann and Seay) all of whom have won a national championship, the most reliable player appears to be a frosh. I would not be surprised to see Martin Sampedro playing #1 in the spring. Based on amateur records, this should be the year that Megha Ganne steps into the spotlight at the top. But she has not performed in college the way other top amateurs have when they arrived at Stanford.
But success in the spring will depend largely on the play of Heck. She's been through a lot since 2021. An illness (Covid?) knocked her out for a long time in spring 2022, surgery knocked her out last spring. And who knows what is going on this fall. Can she regain her form? Stanford needs the Rachel Heck of 2021, the one who won an individual national championship, not the one who struggles to qualify for the 5th spot on the team.
"We have an unwritten rule around here not to do anything stupid."
-Casey Jacobsen, Feb 3, 2000
