FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 24th, 2017
NOTABLE QUOTES: NCAA WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS – SEMIFINAL MATCHES (SUSPENDED DUE TO DARKNESS, CONTINUING WED. AT 10 AM ET)
Golf Channel Notable Quotes
NCAA Women’s Golf Championships
Team Match Play, Semifinals
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Rich Harvest Farms
Sugar Grove, Ill.
**Play was suspended due to darkness. Golf Channel will air the conclusion of the semifinal matches on Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. ET. The championship match will air Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. ET.**
Golf Channel / Wednesday NCAA Programming (all times ET)
Morning Drive 7-10 a.m.
Match Play Semifinals (continuation) 10 a.m. – conclusion
Golf Central Pre Game 2:30-4 p.m.
Championship Match 4-8 p.m.
Semifinal Matches (suspended due to darkness)
Stanford leads Arizona State 2-1.
Stanford leads in one match with the second match all square
Northwestern and Southern California are 0-0.
Southern Cal leads in four matches, with Northwestern leading in one match.
On the semifinal matches and the weather delay (2 hour and 20 minute weather delay)
Karen Stupples – “When you are on this golf course and the further along you get in this tournament, you feel more pressure because you can see the trophy and see the end zone.”
Kay Cockerill – “You can get just a little almost giddy out there because you are so tired. It is very important to stay mentally engaged.”
Cockerill – “I think this break actually has refreshed everybody a little bit.”
Cockerill – “This golf course reminds me of Stanford’s golf course where the play day-in and day out. They’ve had a cold winter there with all of the rain, so they might be feeling somewhat at home.”
Stupples – “As the holes keep ticking by, the pressure keeps mounting on these players.”
On the semifinal matches between Stanford and Arizona State
Steve Burkowski – “Stanford’s Casey Danielson wears her emotion on her sleeves. When it comes to the NCAA Championships, Casey Danielson has responded.”
Stupples – “What you are seeing is a lot of players from Stanford with a great deal of match play experience and really relishing the battle that is on their hands. The players that are playing well and exceeding are the ones that love the match play format and we are seeing the best do what they do here.”
Stanford’s Casey Danielson (7-1 in match play competition at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships) speaking with Golf Channel’s Billy Ray Brown following her match
Casey Danielson – “I wake up with a little edge in the morning. I just want to go out there and compete, play my best and hit it close and feel the intensity. In an event like this, I just play for my team. I love my team and I love the energy that we have out here.”
On Stanford’s Albane Valenzuela and Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn continuing their match on Wednesday (Valenzuela currently is 1up, playing the 18th hole)
Bob Papa – “A smart move by Arizona State and Monica Vaughn to make Valenzuela – who is red hot right now – to sit back and come back tomorrow morning and play the 18th hole. That is match play. That is strategy and that is using the rules to your benefit.”
Paige Mackenzie – “It is well within her right. I think most players that are watching this broadcast would have done the same thing in a match play setting. You want to kill the momentum.”
Amanda Blumenherst – “You are not here to make friends and be nice. This is match play. This is to win a point for her team and for her team to make it into the finals.”
Arizona State Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye speaking with Golf Channel’s Kay Cockerill
Missy Farr-Kaye – “It is getting pretty dark and this is a really important hole. We are one down and we need this match. Monica has some casual water so we went through the process to see where she could even find a place to hit. This is a tough shot where you are trying to hit the green in two. With darkness coming very quickly it doesn’t make any sense to rush this when we knew we had an opportunity to come back.”
Farr-Kaye – “This is really important and I want my team to have the best opportunity. They have put their heart and soul into this year and have had a fantastic week so I want them to have the best opportunity to compete tomorrow and finish the semis.”
Stanford Coach Anne Walker speaking with Golf Channel’s Kay Cockerill after play was suspended
Anne Walker – “It is pretty obvious. Albane had the momentum going into this hole and I think that was an opportunity for them to stop that momentum and take some time to regroup and come out tomorrow morning. At the end of the day, we’ll come out here, they are both sitting pretty so it will be like a par-4 off of the fairway and we’ll see what happens.”
Stanford’s Albane Valenzuela speaking with Golf Channel’s Chantel McCabe after play was suspended
Albane Valenzuela – “It is her decision. I could have continued to play, but this is match play, she decided to stop playing. I respect that, it is not a big deal.”
Valenzuela – “I’ll think about something else. It is just another hole. It is like coming back from a weather delay. You come back, stay in the moment and play smart.”
On the semifinal matches between Northwestern and Southern California
Mackenzie – “For USC, this is team full of pedigree against a Northwestern team that played so brilliantly during the stroke play portion. Not a single team could touch them in the stroke play portion. I expected this match to be close and it definitely is.”
Burkowski – “The big thing missing after that weather delay? No wind. Northwestern embraced the wind and they play well in the wind. They want it to blow on Wednesday.”
USC Head Coach Andrea Gaston speaking Golf Channel’s Chantel McCabe after play was suspended
Andrea Gaston – “I think the fire is lit in their bellies. They are excited to get it done. That is what they came here for. They seem motivated. At this point there is nothing more that we as coaches can do. They are as prepared as they can be. You just have to go back out there, be patient and get it done.”
Emily Fletcher speaking with Golf Channel’s Chantel McCabe after the suspension of play
Emily Fletcher – “We kept hearing roars and we had fans that stuck around so it was really fun for us. We made some good par saves to hang in there. We kept thinking the board was going to turn a little bit. Our message to the kids is there is some red there now but we are still in it. We need to come back and keep fighting.”
-NBC Sports Group-
