The trio of Alabama women’s golf All-Americans led the way to a 3-1-1 match play win over USC in the NCAA Championship semi-finals.
For Alabama women’s golf, Tuesday was a day for celebrations. First, Cheyenne Knight, Lauren Stephenson and Kristen Gillman were named first-team All-Americans. The Crimson Tide team followed that celebration by earning a reason for another one. The Alabama women’s golf team solidly defeated the USC Trojans in Tuesday’s semi-final.
The ladies did a little celebrating after the win but remained focused on a bigger prize on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide will compete against Arizona for the NCAA Championship.
Alabama fans know much about winning championships and if the Tide wins on Wednesday we will call it what it is – a national championship.
Absolutely anything can happen in match play formats. Upsets can and often occur. The match play No. 1 seed and the No. 3 ranked UCLA team lost in the quarterfinals to Arizona. On Monday, the Wildcats needed a closing eagle and an overtime win just to make the match play field.
So a Wednesday win is not guaranteed for Alabama women’s golf. Still, they should win. The Crimson Tide is the best team. Arizona is good but not as good as Alabama. The Wildcats entered the NCAA Finals as the No. 9 ranked team in the nation. The Crimson Tide, lest anyone forgets, was ranked No. 1.
Crimson Tide flat-stick wizards
The three Crimson Tide first-team All-Americans (Arizona has zero) know how to win. On Tuesday, their putting was superb. Check out this long bomb by Cheyenne Knight.
Knight was not the only one draining it with the flat stick. Lauren Stephenson and Kristen Gillman did so as well. The other members of the five-player Crimson Tide team also played well in the semi-finals. Angelica Moresco was all-square in her match and Lakareber Abe was only 1-down when the match play contest ended. Moresco and Abe still had enough holes to provide the winning match if either had been needed.
The Tide’s Cheyenne Knight and head coach Mic Potter spoke after the win.
Potter has a strong trio in Knight, Stephenson and Gillman but in the video, he was quick to express confidence in all his golfers. It was almost Saban-esque.
Next: Will 2018 be Saban's most explosive ever?
Alabama women’s golf has one national championship, from 2012. It is time for a second one.