CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA – Adela Cernousek became the first individual medalist in Texas A&M program history, winning the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship title by three strokes over Lottie Woad of Florida State on the North Course at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (6,330 yards/par 72). The championship was the first collegiate tournament win for the Aggie junior.
In addition, Stanford came from one stroke back of Texas A&M to start the day to grab the top-seed position going into team match play on Tuesday. Stanford and LSU tied for the team lead at two-over-par (1,154), with Stanford winning the tie-breaker to earn the No. 1 seed. Teams advancing to the eight-team match play portion of the championship that starts Tuesday morning include in seed order, Stanford, LSU, Texas A&M, Southern California, Clemson, UCLA, Oregon and Auburn, with the Tigers securing the No. 8 seed with a four-round total of 20-over-par 1172. Defending national champion Wake Forest placed ninth at 22-over-par 1174.
FOURTH ROUND STATS: Team leaderboard | Individual final leaderboard
Cernousek posted a 72-hole total of 12-under-par 276 (68-68-68-72). Her score was only four strokes shy of the all-time NCAA championship record of 16-under-par by Virginia Elena Carta of Duke in 2016.
“It’s hard to believe, it’s crazy,” said Cernousek, a native of Antibes, France, who on May 14 won the U.S. Open Qualifier at the Golfcrest Country Club in Pearland, Texas, securing a spot at the 79th U.S. Women's Open Championship. “I don’t think I was breathing at all during the whole day. I think all the support I have back home, my teammates and my coaches and the work I put in everyday have allowed me to get to this point.”
“This is the epitome of her,” said Texas A&M Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell. “She puts the team first and that’s all you can ask for. Her humbleness, her work ethic, it’s crazy to think her first win is on this stage. I think punching her ticket to the U.S. open helped to give her the confidence that she belongs on this stage. I wish I had five of her, but so proud.”
Woad, the first-round leader, ended play at 9-under-par 279, three strokes back of Cernousek.
“It was a great experience,” said Woad, a sophomore from Farnham, England. “We get to play against the best college players in the country and everyone comes here with their ‘A’ game, so you have to bring yours. It’s great to compete at this level. This year has definitely helped my confidence. I’m particularly proud of how consistent I have been in the college events, having chances in almost all of them. Gaining that confidence in contending has been really valuable for me.”
This marks the fourth-straight year Stanford has claimed the No. 1 seed entering the NCAA match play championship. It marks the fifth overall time that the Cardinal has earned the No. 1 seed entering match play, as Stanford also claimed the top seed in 2015. Stanford is the only Division I program (men or women) to advance to match play every year (dating back to 2009). The Cardinal will play No. 8 Auburn in the first quarterfinal match on Tuesday.
“When I look back over the last decade and the last four years, we have been fortunate to have some of the world’s best players,” said Stanford Head Coach Anne Walker. “When you put those players on a stage like this they love it and they usually show up. I feel lucky as a coach to have that experience year after year with these players at Stanford.”
LSU, which started the day in third place, came from nine strokes back of Texas A&M to start the day to tie Stanford for the top spot.
“It feels pretty awesome, said LSU Head Coach Garrett Runion. “We have been knocking at the door the last few years. I told people I don’t want a good team, I want a good program. To have a good program you have to be near the top a lot. We missed out on some close calls the last few years, but it feels good to crack the top eight and have a shot in match play.”
“Hopefully my team is hungry because we haven’t finished off our rounds well the last two days,” said Chadwell. “We have to be a little tough on our finishes. Our experience we have gained the last three years in match play hopefully can carry us into Wednesday. We will get in there and put them in the best position to be successful.”
Quarterfinal and semifinal match play will be played on Tuesday, May 21 beginning at 6:50 a.m. PST. In addition to the Stanford-Auburn quarterfinal match, No. 2 LSU will take on No. 7 Oregon, No. 3 Texas A&M will play No. 6 UCLA and No. 4 Southern California will play No. 5 Clemson. The four teams advancing to the semifinals will play at either 1:15 or 2:05 p.m. PST on Tuesday. Golf Channel and Peacock will provide live coverage of the quarterfinal and semifinal matches.
The national championship match of the 2024 championship will take place on Wednesday, May 22 at 2:05 p.m. PST at La Costa.
🏆 2024 DI WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP: Schedule, results
2024 Match play schedule (times local - PST)
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, May 21
6:50 a.m.
Match #1
#2 LSU vs. #7 Oregon (1st tee)
Carla Tejedo Mulet (LSU) vs. Ching-Tzu Chen (Oregon), 6:50 a.m.
Taylor Riley (LSU) vs. Minori Nagano (Oregon), 7 a.m.
Latanna Stone (LSU) vs. Ting-Hsuan Huang (Oregon), 7:10 a.m.
Ingrid Lindblad (LSU) vs. Karen Tsuru (Oregon), 7:20 a.m.
Aine Donegan (LSU) vs. Kiara Romero (Oregon), 7:30 a.m.
Match #2
#3 Texas A&M vs. #6 UCLA (10th tee)
Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (A&M) vs. Meghan Royal (UCLA), 6:50 a.m.
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (A&M) vs. Caroline Canales (UCLA), 7 a.m.
Zoe Slaughter (A&M) vs. Natalie Vo (UCLA), 7:10 a.m.
Adela Cernousek (A&M) vs. Kate Villegas (UCLA), 7:20 a.m.
Jennie Park (A&M) vs. Zoe Campos (UCLA), 7:30 a.m.
7:40 a.m.
Match #3
#1 Stanford vs. #8 Auburn (1st tee)
Sadie Englemann (Stanford) vs. Anna Davis (Auburn), 7:40 a.m.
Rachel Heck (Stanford) vs. Anna Foster (Auburn), 7:50 a.m.
Kelly Xu (Stanford) vs. Katie Cranston (Auburn), 8 a.m.
Megha Ganne (Stanford) vs. Casey Weidenfeld (Auburn), 8:10 a.m.
Paula Martin Sampedro (Stanford) vs. Megan Schofill (Auburn), 8:20 a.m.
Match #4
#4 Southern California vs. #5 Clemson (10th tee)
Catherine Park (Southern California) vs. Melena Barrientos (Clemson), 7:40 a.m.
Amari Avery (Southern California) vs. Chloe Holder (Clemson), 7:50 a.m.
Bailey Shoemaker (Southern California) vs. Isabella Rawl (Clemson), 8 a.m.
Brianna Navarrosa (Southern California) vs. Sydney Roberts (Clemson), 8:10 a.m.
Cindy Kou (Southern California) vs. Annabelle Pancake (Clemson), 8:20 a.m.
GOLF Channel – 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST
Semifinals – Tuesday, May 21
1:15 p.m. - Match #5 (winners of match #1 and #2)
2:05 p.m. – Match #6 (winners of match #3 and #4)
GOLF Channel – 3 to 7 p.m. PST
Championship – Wednesday, May 22
2:05 p.m. – Match #7 (winners of match #5 and #6)
GOLF Channel – 3 to 7 p.m. PST