FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 26th, 2022
AUBURN WOMEN AND VANDERBILT MEN WIN 2022 EAST LAKE CUP FINAL
Consolation Matches won by UCLA Women and Pepperdine Men
ATLANTA, (Oct. 26, 2022) – The Auburn women’s golf team and Vanderbilt men’s golf team claimed the eighth annual East Lake Cup Wednesday afternoon to close their fall seasons. The No. 3-seeded Tigers cruised to a 5-0 victory over No. 1 Texas A&M while third-seeded Vanderbilt edged out No. 1 Arizona State 3-2.
Auburn’s dominant afternoon began early with a 6&5 win from freshman Rachel Gourley over Texas A&M graduate student Hailee Cooper. A few minutes later, redshirt freshman Casey Weidenfeld—who sent the Tigers to the championship match on Tuesday—notched a 3&1 win over Aggie junior Zoe Slaughter. Auburn junior Elina Sinz clinched the championship match with a 3&2 triumph against Aggies senior Jennie Park, giving the Tigers their first East Lake Cup crown in program history. Auburn closed out the championship matches by sweeping Texas A7M, with a pair of 4-up wins. Junior Anna Foster defeated the women’s medalist Blanca Fernández García-Poggio while senior Megan Schofill bested sophomore Adela Cernousek.
“I think it helps a lot, just the confidence that we can do it against really good teams,” Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. “I mean, Oregon and Texas A&M are both excellent golf teams, and I guess we are, too. I just want to enjoy this, give them a little bit of break and just emphasize how we have to keep working because everyone else in the country’s working hard, too.”
In the men’s final, Vanderbilt outdueled Arizona State, and clinched the title in the penultimate match, which featured a triumphant comeback from senior William Moll.
Senior Matthew Riedel claimed an early point for the Commodores with a quick 7&6 win against Arizona State senior Ryggs Johnston. Vanderbilt 5th-year senior Reid Davenport won 2&1 over freshman Michael Mjaaseth for a second point, which cleared the way for Moll to clinch the East Lake Cup for his Commodores.
Moll was 4 down to Arizona State sophomore Josele Ballester after 10 holes, but battled back with a flurry of late birdies to tie the match and, ultimately, win it 1-up with a birdie on No. 18. Arizona State claimed its two points on wins from freshman Luke Potter, 1-up, over Vanderbilt junior Cole Sherwood and from Sun Devils sophomore Preston Summerhays, 3&1, against sophomore Gordon Sargent.
The win marked Vanderbilt’s second East Lake Cup title in program history, making the Commodores one of just two men’s programs, joining Illinois, with multiple wins at the East Lake Cup.
“I really am proud of them,” Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh said. “I think certainly the first day here didn’t go the way we wanted. You get out here and the kind of experience you gain on a day like today, it’s invaluable. Learning how to deal with different feelings. Somebody lost, somebody won, it comes down on your shoulders. You can’t replicate that at home, so super proud of them.”
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH RESULTS:
Women’s Division: (3) Auburn def. (1) Texas A&M, 5-0
Men’s Division: (3) Vanderbilt def. (1) Arizona State, 3-2
Women
Texas A&M (1) vs. Auburn (3)
Zoe Slaughter Casey Weidenfeld (3&1)
Jennie Park Elina Sinz (3&2)
Hailee Cooper Rachel Gourley (6&5)
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio Anna Foster (4up)
Adela Cernousek Megan Schofill (4up)
Men
Arizona State (1) vs. Vanderbilt (3)
Luke Potter (1up) Cole Sherwood
Michael Mjaaseth Reid Davenport (2&1)
Ryggs Johnston Matthew Riedel (7&6)
Josele Ballester William Moll (1up)
Preston Summerhays (3&1) Gordon Sargent
CONSOLATION MATCH RESULTS:
Women’s Division: (4) UCLA def. (2) Oregon, 2-1-2
Men’s Division: (4) Pepperdine def. (2) Texas, 4-1
In the women’s consolation match, UCLA outlasted Pac-12 foe Oregon in a tight duel that ended 2-1-2. Oregon senior Briana Chacon gave the Ducks an early lead with a 5&4 win against senior Annabel Wilson. UCLA bounced back with a point from sophomore Caroline Canales, 1-up over Ducks senior Brittany Shin. UCLA redshirt sophomore Alessia Nobilio added a second point, also in 1-up fashion, over Oregon junior Ashleigh Park, which proved to be enough to win the consolation match. UCLA Sophomore Zoe Antoinette Campos tied Oregon senior Ching-Tzu Chen and senior Bruin Emilie Paltrinieri tied Oregon junior Hsin-Yu Lu.
“You know, it was really good for us,” UCLA head coach Carrie Forsyth said. “I think again we were pretty down after the way we played and then that tough loss yesterday. It just reminds you that it’s never over until it’s over, hang in there. We have a long season left to play, we have much work to do, but, you know, it just gives you that little boost of adrenaline.”
Pepperdine, the 2020 East Lake Cup champion, left Atlanta as the men’s consolation match winner with a 4-1 win over reigning national champion Texas.
Graduate student Luke Gifford gave the Waves an early point, with a 7&6 win against Texas sophomore Alejandro Gonzalez. Pepperdine sophomore Ian Maspat mounted a back-nine comeback to win 1-up over senior Mason Nome to add a second Pepperdine point. Junior William Mouw, playing in his third East Lake Cup, closed the consolation match for the Waves with a 4&3 triumph over Longhorns freshman Christiaan Maas. Pepperdine earned a final point with a 1-up victory from graduate student Sam Choi against freshman Keaton Vo. Texas earned its lone point on senior Travis Vick’s 1-up victory over Pepperdine graduate student Derek Hitchner.
“For us as a team, this was an important match today,” Pepperdine head coach Michael Beard said. “I know the consolation—you always want to be playing in that championship match, but I know for our guys it meant something to them and to the coaches as well. To be able to end the way we did today just feels good to end the fall that way. We’ve been here for eight days now and a lot of golf, and a treat to be here at East Lake. To be able to play this course in different conditions, too, was really a great experience for our guys.”
Women
Oregon (2) vs. UCLA (4)
Brittany Shin Caroline Canales (1up)
Briana Chacon (5&4) Annabel Wilson
Ashleigh Park Alessia Nobilio (1up)
Hsin-Yu Lu Tie Emilie Paltrinieri
Ching-Tzu Chen Tie Zoe Antoinette Campos
Men
Texas (2) vs. Pepperdine (4)
Mason Nome Ian Maspat (1up)
Alejandro Gonzalez Luke Gifford (7&6)
Keaton Vo Sam Choi (1up)
Christiaan Maas William Mouw (4&3)
Travis Vick (1up) Derek Hitchner
*Transcripts of post-round interviews with players and coaches at the 2022 East Lake Cup are available here.
*Images of the 2022 East Lake Cup approved for editorial use are available via this Dropbox link.
The East Lake Cup is contested over three days, following the format from the final three days of the NCAA men’s and women’s golf national championships. Monday, Oct. 24, is comprised of eight teams competing in individual stroke play competition to determine the individual champion and to seed for two days of match-play competition. Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 25-26, two match-play tournaments are held 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 2022 East Lake Cup competed 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, World Wide Technology, Full Swing, and Bridgestone Golf are official partners of the East Lake Cup.
The 2023 East Lake Cup will be held October 30 to November 1. Due to renovations taking place at East Lake Golf Club next year, the ninth annual East Lake Cup will be hosted by Atlanta Athletic Club.
ABOUT GOLF CHANNEL’S COLLEGE GOLF PLATFORM
GOLF Channel is the television home for college golf, currently providing live coverage of eight college golf championships. GOLF Channel deploys its comprehensive portfolio of news, digital and social media coverage year-round in covering collegiate golf, including season preview shows, signing day specials, regional and national qualifying coverage, serving as the exclusive media partner of PGA TOUR University Presented by Velocity Global and the Velocity Global Ranking, and exclusive annual coverage for the Haskins and ANNIKA Awards Presented by Stifel.
Following its announcement in 2013 as the exclusive television provider of the NCAA Golf Championships, GOLF Channel has provided live coverage of the men’s NCAA Championships since 2014 and the women’s NCAA Championships since 2015, which are hosted at the same venue in consecutive weeks at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. GOLF Channel also annually televises the three-day East Lake Cup at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga.; the Western Intercollegiate Presented by Topgolf, one of the longest-running college tournaments in the U.S. taking place at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif.; the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Presented by PXG at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, S.C.; the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark; the Jackson T. Stephens Cup; and the Southwestern Invitational Presented by Topgolf at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.
Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Jennifer Kupcho, Bronte Law and Maria Fassi are just a few of the professional golfers who appeared on GOLF Channel while competing in college.
-NBC Sports-
