Stanford, Oregon, Texas A&M and Auburn earn berths in women's golf national semifinals

364 days ago, top-ranked Stanford was knocked off by Arizona in the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship.

The Cardinal reached the same position once again this year, and made sure to flip the script by defeating No. 8 Georgia 3-2 and advancing to the semifinals against No. 5 Auburn.

"It's easy to try to bite off more (than) you can chew and it doesn't work on this golf course," Stanford coach Anne Walker said. "I was very pleased that when they got down early, which many of them did, they didn't just try to force things. They just waited and let it come to them."

Joining the Cardinal and the Tigers in the final four are No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Texas A&M. On Tuesday afternoon, Stanford will face Auburn and Oregon will take on Texas A&M in the national semifinals.

Stanford's charge was led by junior Brooke Seay, who trailed through the 10th hole before notching three straight birdies to beat the Bulldogs' Jo Hua Hung by three strokes. Sophomore Rachel Heck won her match at two-up while senior Aline Krauter clinched her match by No. 18.

Before the Cardinal's round on Tuesday, freshman Rose Zhang -- the 2022 individual national title winner -- received the ANNIKA Award. Given to the top women's college golfer in Division I, the honor granted Zhang an exemption to play in the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship, one of the major championships on the LPGA Tour.

Mahe, a junior from France, believes the Bulldogs' contention with match play's top team will bode well for Georgia's future.

"No one expected us going into top eight and match play," she said. "Everyone was shocked about it. So it's definitely good and I'm really proud of each of my teammates. We all have to work on some stuff, that's for sure. But we all (have) a lot of confidence going into the next tournament."

Oregon, who won its first Pac-12 Championship in April, defeated No. 7 San Jose State 4-1 and clinched two of its matches before the 16th hole to make the final four. Ducks senior Tze-Han Lin, who finished fifth in the individual championship, had one of the day's most impressive performances by combining with San Jose State junior Kajsa Arwefjäll to go 13-under-par.

Despite its early exit, San Jose State made program history by appearing in the top eight for the first time in the NCAA's new championship format. As the only non-Power Five program in match play, coach Dana Dormann -- who played on the Spartans' 1987 national championship team -- believes her program is on the rise.

For senior Natasha Andrea Oon, this week was a key lesson in mental toughness as the Spartans fought hard to make the top eight and Oon nearly won the individual title before finishing second at three-under-par.

"We were literally second to last on the first day and we climbed up the leaderboard to make it to match play and day four, we were there," Oon said. "It's just been such an experience for all of us and winning so many and just making headlines and just letting people know who we are and what we stand for and how good we are."

In addition to the Spartans, another California program fell short as No. 4 UCLA lost 3-2 to Auburn, a program that has been on the rise throughout the spring. During the NCAA Stillwater Regional, the Tigers shot a course-record 12-under-par at Karsten Creek Golf Club before coming to Scottsdale and finishing the first four rounds at 23-over-par.

The Bruins led Auburn 4-1 at one point, yet the Tigers never wavered as fifth-year Kaleigh Telfer led for her entire round. Eventually, Megan Schofill, who trailed UCLA redshirt sophomore Ty Akabane for the first 12 holes, took the lead for good on the 14th hole and won her match by two strokes.

When fifth-year Mychael O'Berry led by two holes with two to go and the Bruins' Caroline Canales missed her shot to the high side, Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen was confident her squad was moving on.

"To make it the top eight is quite an accomplishment," Luellen said. "So we've been playing well and our team is solid and they're excited for this afternoon."

The Tigers' semifinal match will mark a reunion for Auburn assistant coach Kim Hall, who played at Stanford.

"The girls asked her, 'So if we play Stanford, who are you going to cheer for?'" Luellen said. "She's like, 'Are you kidding me? I'm invested in you girls. I love you girls.'"

Also representing the Southeastern Conference in the final four is Texas A&M, who defeated No. 6 Florida State 3-2 in the quarterfinals. The match went back-and-forth throughout the morning and entered a playoff hole after Aggies freshman Adela Cernousek and Seminoles senior Beatrice Wallin tied through 18 holes. Cernousek clinched the win for Texas A&M on No. 10, while other Aggies who won included sophomore Zoe Slaughter.

Appearing in match play for the first time in program history, the Seminoles were aided by junior Elle Johnson, who was elevated into the starting lineup since senior Amelia Williamson missed time with a non-COVID illness.

"It was nice to have the opportunity, but sad that it had to be this way," Johnson said. "But I'm glad I was able to step up."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Stanford, Oregon, Texas A&M and Auburn make women's golf semifinals