Amazing Run Ends For Santos In WAPL Semifinal Setback
6/21/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
NORMAN, Okla. - The amazing run for Gonzaga University sophomore-to-be Raychelle Santos at the 37th U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship ended Friday afternoon when Lauren Diaz-Yi of Thousand Oaks, Calif., captured a 4 and 3 semifinal victory.
Santos, the 32nd seed into match play from La Quinta, Calif., earned the semifinal berth Friday morning with a 2 and 1 quarterfinal win over Cindy Ha at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, site of this spring's NCAA Central Regional which included Santos and the Bulldogs. The course played 6,258 yards to par 72.
"I can't begin to say how proud I am - and all of Gonzaga is - of Raychelle," Gonzaga head women's golf coach Brad Rickel said. "She accomplished something no other Gonzaga golfer has done at this level. She definitely helped put Gonzaga women's golf on the map this week. I can't wait for our fall season to start."
No Bulldog had advanced past the Round of 32 prior to this year.
Santos, who had trailed in just 10 holes over her previous 67 holes of match play entering the semifinal, never did quite get untracked against the 28th seeded Diaz-Yi who will begin her collegiate career at the University of Virginia this fall.
Both golfers bogeyed the par 4 first hole, then Diaz-Yi won the next two holes as Santos went bogey 4 and double-bogey 6. Santos, runner-up in the West Coast Conference Championship and named the WCC Freshman of the Year to go with All-WCC honors, birdied the fourth hole to cut Diaz-Yi's lead to 1-up.
Diaz-Yi, who qualified for her first WAPL as a 13-year-old and last year was eliminated in the match play Round of 64, opened some ground on Santos by winning the sixth through ninth holes to go 5-up, a lead she held through the 11th. But Santos climbed back into the match with pars on the par 3 12th and par 5 13th to win both holes and trail by three with five to play.
But Diaz-Yi made par 3 on the 15th while Santos made bogey to bring an end to the match between good friends from southern California.
Santos never trailed in Friday morning's match, but the duo was all square at the turn. Santos went 1-up on the 10th but Ha pulled even on 12 when Santos bogeyed the par 3. Santos won the next two holes, dropped back to 1-up on the 16th and won the 17th hole to go 2-up and end the match.
As a quarterfinalist this year Santos is guaranteed a spot in next year's WAPL to be played at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash., a suburb of Tacoma. The 2014 WAPL will be the finale as the event is being discontinued after 2014.
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