FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 27th, 2021

OKLAHOMA STATE, DUKE (WOMEN), OKLAHOMA STATE, OKLAHOMA (MEN) ADVANCE TO EAST LAKE CUP FINAL

Women’s Final to Present Big 12, ACC Matchup; Men’s Championship to Feature Top Two Ranked Teams in Final 2021 Golfstat Ranking 

Championship: Oklahoma State vs. Duke (Women); Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma (Men) Consolation: Ole Miss vs. Arizona (Women); Pepperdine vs. Arizona State (Men)

 

ATLANTA, GA (Oct. 26, 2021) – Oklahoma State and Duke (women), along with Oklahoma State and Oklahoma (men) each won their semifinal match on Tuesday to secure a spot in Wednesday’s championship match at the East Lake Cup. The women’s final will present a matchup pitting Big 12 against ACC, while the men’s championship match will feature golf’s version of bedlam – one of college sport’s biggest rivalries – and the top two teams in the final Golfstat rankings published this March (Oklahoma State – No. 1; Oklahoma – No. 2).

SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

  • WOMEN: (1) Okla. State def. (4) Arizona, 3-2; (3) Duke def. (2) Ole Miss, 4-1.
  • MEN: (4) Oklahoma def. (1) Pepperdine, 3-1-1; (3) Okla. State def. (2) Arizona State, 3-1-1.

 

WOMEN’S SEMIFINALS

Hailey Jones (junior) earned the first point of the day for Oklahoma State 3&2 over Caitlin Whitehead (freshman), after Arizona’s Ya “Money” Chun Chang (senior) recorded the first point of the match 5&4 over Caley McGinty (junior). Freshman Wildcat Lilas Pinthier defeated individual stroke play medalist Rina Tatematsu (sophomore) 1up, but victories from Oklahoma State’s Isabella Fierro (junior) and Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (sophomore), 19 Holes and 5&4 respectively, helped the Cowgirls advance to Wednesday’s championship match.

“It was a grind out there,” Oklahoma State head coach Greg Robertson said. “I mean, Arizona played well. For Chang to get out there and get that big win over Caley was I’m sure a big boost to them. Isabella, her match was crazy with her being 4 up and then 1 down, and up again, and down again and getting it to sudden death, and we needed it. Just proud of them, the way they kept at it. Match play can be a crazy thing, but they played hard and came out on top.”

In the other women’s semifinal, Ole Miss senior Ellen Hume notched the match’s first point 4&3 over Duke’s Rylie Heflin (freshman). The Blue Devils dominated the rest of the match, starting with 2021 Tom Cousins Award Winner Phoebe Brinker’s (sophomore) 2up victory over Natacha Husted (freshman). Duke’s Anne Chen (sophomore) and Megan Furtney (junior) each won 3&2, with Furtney recording the match-clinching point. The Blue Devils’ Erica Shepherd (junior) finished 1up over Ole Miss junior Chiara Tamburlini in the final match.

“I didn’t know for sure what got us up at the Windy City,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said. “Seemed like we didn’t really handle the wind that well, but today we handled the wind very well. You know, I think I learned that they’re as good as I thought they were.”

 

MEN’S SEMIFINALS

Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Chacarra (senior) earned a lopsided victory in the opening match winning 4&3 over Arizona State individual stroke play co-medalist Preston Summerhays (freshman). The Cowboys proceeded to close out the Sun Devils in short order recording victories in the next two matches with wins from Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (senior) 1up over Ryggs Johnston (junior) and the deciding point from Brian Stark (junior) 2&1 over David Puig.

“I think our guys showed a lot of toughness,” said Oklahoma State head coach Alan Bratton. “We had guys fall behind in their matches. I think our first three matches our guys were behind early and they just kept plugging along. Eugenio Chacarra did a wonderful job of leading us out there. He lost the first hole and then after that, his opponent didn’t have another putt to win a hole the rest of the match.

The other semifinal saw a rematch of the 2020 East Lake Cup men’s finals and 2021 NCAA D1 Men’s Golf Championship between Pepperdine and Oklahoma. Pepperdine bested the Sooners in the first two meetings, but the third time was the charm for Oklahoma today at East Lake Golf Club. After Pepperdine took an early 1-0 lead, Stephen Campbell Jr. (R-Freshman) and Jaxon Dowell (R-Freshman) earned the first two Sooner points within minutes of each other. Campbell took home a 3&1 win over Pepperdine’s William Mouw (junior) and Dowell never trailed in his 4&2 win over Joey Vrzich (R-Senior). Freshman Drew Goodman notched the clinching point in the anchor match. Goodman closed out a 4&3 win with a par on the iconic par-3 15th hole.

“I can tell you this, and this is something that we’ve struggled with in the last three or four years,” said Oklahoma head coach Ryan Hybl. “We felt like we kind of need to be perfect with a few guys and today we were not perfect with our better players and, quote-unquote, what people would think is the bottom end of our lineup won a match for us today, which we have not been able to do the last three or four years in match play. So that was huge, and that was the first thing I told Bill, my assistant; man, we finally won us a match where our big guns didn’t actually go out and produce for us, which is huge for us. That’s showing depth, that’s showing some grit and determination on their part.”

*Transcripts of post-round interviews with players and coaches at the 2021 East Lake Cup are available here.*

 

*Images of the 2021 East Lake Cup approved for editorial use are available via

this Dropbox link.*

 

WEDNESDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP & CONSOLATION MATCHES:

Women’s Championship Match: (1) Oklahoma State vs. (3) Duke

Men’s Championship Match: (3) Oklahoma State vs. (4) Oklahoma

Women’s Consolation Match: (2) Ole Miss vs. (4) Arizona

Men’s Consolation Match: (1) Pepperdine vs. (2) Arizona State

 

GOLF Channel’s live coverage of Wednesday’s team match play finals will air from 3-6 p.m. ET. College Central Pre-Game (2:30-3 p.m. ET) will preview each semifinal match and provide updates on matches already in progress.

 

 

SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

 

Women’s Division

(1) Okla. State def. (4) Arizona, 3-2

(3) Duke def. (2) Ole Miss, 4-1-0

 

Okla. State (1)                             vs.                            Arizona (4)

Caley McGinty                                                           Ya Chun Chang (5&4)

Isabella Fierro (19 holes)                                         Caitlin Whitehead

Hailey Jones (3&2)                                                   Ellinor Sudow

Rina Tatematsu                                                           Lilas Pinthier (1up)

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (5&4)                         Carolina Melgrati

 

Ole Miss (2)                           vs.                                Duke (3)

Natacha Husted                                                           Phoebe Brinker (2up)

Ellen Hume (4&3)                                                     Rylie Heflin

Julia Johnson                                                              Anne Chen (3&2)

Andrea Lignell                                                            Megan Furtney (3&2)

Chiara Tamburlini                                                      Erica Shepherd (1up)

 

 

Men’s Division

(4) Oklahoma def. (1) Pepperdine, 3-1-1

(3) Oklahoma State def. (2) Arizona State, 3-1-1

 

Pepperdine (1)                             vs.                            Oklahoma (4)

Dylan Menante (1up)                                               Chris Gotterup

William Mouw                                                            Stephen Campbell, Jr. (3&1)

Joey Vrzich                                                                 Jaxon Dowell (4&2)

Joe Highsmith                                Tie                        Logan McAllister

Derek Hitchner                                                           Drew Goodman (4&3)

 

Arizona State (2)                            vs.                        Okla. State (3)

Preston Summerhays                                                  Eugenio Chacarra (4&3)

Ryggs Johnston                                                           Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (1up)

David Puig                                                                  Brian Stark (2&1)

Cameron Sisk                                   Tie                      Rayhan Thomas

Mason Anderson (4&3)                                            Hazen Newman

 

The East Lake Cup is being contested over three days, following the format from the final three days of the NCAA men’s and women’s golf national championships. Tuesday and Wednesday (tomorrow), Oct. 26-27, two match-play tournaments will be hosted simultaneously for the men’s and women’s divisions, with the semifinals taking place on Tuesday and the finals and consolation matches on Wednesday.

Teams for the East Lake Cup are competing on the championship golf course at East Lake Golf Club, home of the TOUR Championship, the season-ending event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs. The East Lake Cup benefits the East Lake Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to helping families build better lives and children reach their highest potential through its holistic approach to community revitalization incorporating mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness. The East Lake Cup is one of the largest contributors to the East Lake Foundation, having raised more than $1.5 million for the East Lake Foundation since the tournament’s inception in 2015. ZipRecuriter and Uber Eats are the co-presenting sponsors of the East Lake Cup, with World Wide Technology, Bridgestone Golf, and Topgolf serving as additional sponsors.