Freshman Alexandra Gazzoli sank the final putt of the tournament on hole No. 18 to lead Florida State to a 3-2 win over Wake Forest and give the Seminoles the first ACC Women’s Golf Championship in school history at the Sedgefield County Club at Greensboro, N.C.
The Seminoles earned the final two victories of the day on hole No. 18 by senior captain Kaylah Williams and Gazzoli to allow Florida State to recover from a 2-1 deficit to take the 3-2 championship-clinching win.
“With everything going on, the girls really stayed where their feet are, played some really good golf, and got it done,” FSU coach Amy Bond said. “I’m super excited. We have waited a long time for this, and it was well deserved by our crew against a very good Wake Forest squad.
"We’ve been talking about one shot, one hole and they showed a lot of grit. That’s what you’ve got to do in golf and especially in match play. You never quite know what you are going to come up against, and they fought through it no matter how much they were down and got the job done when they needed to.”
Gazzoli won her match by a 1Up margin over Carolina Lopez-Chacarra. The freshman carded a five on the final hole while Lopez-Chacarra finished with a score of six. In winning the final hole and final point, Gazzoli broke a tie that had lasted in each of the previous four holes and during six holes throughout the match. The life-long Seminole took her first lead on hole No. 10 and led for five holes – including the final and most important hole of the match.
Junior All-American Mirabel Ting put the first point on the board for either team with a 5&4 victory over Wake’s Chloe Kovelesky. In winning her second match in two days, Ting took the lead on the second hole of the day and continued to extend her advantage throughout the match. Ting earned a hole win on No. 14 to boost her lead to five with just four holes to play.
Wake Forest’s Anne-Stere den Dunnen defeated FSU's Lottie Woad to give the Deacons their first point to tie the match 1-1. den Dunnen sank a six-foot putt on hole No. 17 to defeat Woad.
Macy Pate put point No. 2 on the board for Wake Forest and gave the Deacons a 2-1 lead as she defeated Florida State’s Sophia Fullbrook by a 4&3 score.
Williams tied the match at two with a birdie on hole No. 18 to win her match by a 1Up score to tie the team score at 2-2. The Seminole captain led for 15 of the holes played, but had to fight to win the final hole after Wake Forest’s Sarah Lydic tied the match on hole No. 17. Williams then won the match with a four-foot putt on her the last shot.
“We’ve waited a long time for this and I’m super-proud of them,” said Bond.The Seminoles are expected to earn a No. 1 seed in one of six NCAA regional championships when the NCAA Championships field is announced on Wednesday (April 23) at 1:00 p.m. on the Golf Channel. This would mark the first time in school history the Seminoles have earned a No. 1 regional seed.
Florida State 3, Wake Forest 2 (ACC Championship)
Mirabel Ting (FSU) def. Chloe Kovelesky, 5&4
Anne-Stere den Dunnen (WF) def. Lottie Woad (FSU), 2&1
Macy Pate (WF) def. Sophia Fullbrook (FSU), 4&3
Kaylah Williams (FSU) def. Sarah Lydic (WF), 1Up
Alexandra Gazzoli (FSU) def. Carolina Lopez-Chacarra (WF), 1Up
