Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: The Road to the Championship
5/16/2022 11:02:00 AM | Women's Golf
Displaying incredible grit and determination, the Wake Forest women's golf team captured an ACC Championship first by leading nearly all the way through stroke play then staging a back-nine come-from-behind rally against Florida State in match play.
They're now looking for a bigger trophy as they have advanced to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona after finishing third at one of six Regional competitions in Franklin, Tennessee last week.
"This is what we train for starting in the fall," Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen said. "All of our practices are directed toward the championships. Typically, we have a good understanding of the courses we're going to play on in the ACC and NCAA Championships.
"We base all of our practices with those in mind, and in between getting our games honed for whatever course we're going to be challenged on in that week."
The Deacs claimed a day-one lead at the ACC Championship, tied with Florida State at eight-under, but stretched that to a five-stroke advantage at the end of stroke play on day two.
"We felt good going in there," Lewellen said, "They played great in stroke play. Winning stroke play added to their confidence just a little bit more to start match play.
After a 3-1-1 victory over Virginia in the semifinal, the Deacs hit some adversity in the championship match against the Seminoles. As they approached the turn, they were trailing in three matches and things were not looking great for a seventh ACC Championship for Wake Forest.
"We went out that last day and were behind in so many matches," Lewellen said. "It wasn't looking good. We didn't change our game plan. We knew where we needed to be, and we just kept at it.
"Once Rachel (Kuehn) gets some momentum behind her, she can fire some birdies. As soon as we got that point where she eagled that last hole, we felt like we had a great opportunity. We were pleased with everybody's play."
The team fed off each other's positive energy through the final 10-plus holes.
"The momentum on the back nine was awesome and pretty special," Wake Forest junior Lauren Walsh said. "I knew on 18 that Rachel had made an eagle to win.
"I was feeding off their energy even though they were more than 400 yards away. Momentum is huge in team golf and plays its part if you let it."
Walsh clinched the championship for the Deacs with a clutch 55-foot putt on the 18th hole, having entered that hole all square with Florida State's Alice Hodge.
"I wanted to have a good pace for a potential two-putt if needed," Walsh said. "I knew the goal was to at least get it in two and go to extra holes. I picked a good line, had the perfect pace and it went in. I saw it tracking. It was downhill, but into the wind, so it was tricky. It broke perfectly to the left in the last 10 feet. It went in and everyone went wild.
"That was really cool. Having that be the winning point was extra special. I threw my putter to the side and met my teammates who were running toward me."
Lewellen was thrilled with the play of the team the entire tournament, but especially in the fortitude they showed to come from behind against a quality Florida State team that had ousted them from the same tournament a season ago in the semifinals.
"Carolina (Chacarra) played so well," Lewellen said. "She was beaten in the match but was well under par. Mimi (Rhodes) was ahead in her match. We were so proud of Virunpat (Olankitkunchai). Beatrice (Wallin) is ranked sixth in the world right now, so to beat her was phenomenal.
"There are a lot of emotions that go through a round of 18 holes of golf. I'm sure they could feel it because they were down, but they moved the needle and grabbed the momentum so quickly."
The celebration ended up being twice as thrilling, as the team made their way back to Winston-Salem and spent a few days the following week watching the Wake Forest men's golf team go out and claim an ACC Championship of their own. It's the first time Wake Forest has won both men's and women's conference titles in the same year.
"We're so excited for coach (Jerry) Haas and the men too," Lewellen said. "It was exciting to watch how that unfolded all the way to Alex Fitzpatrick's match. It was just a great few weeks for the golf program as a whole.
"We were on pins and needles. We got a little bit of practice in, but it was mostly celebration."
Familiarity and preparation were the keys to success this week, according to Lewellen.
"I love Vanderbilt's golf course," she said. "I've played there, and both myself and coach (Ryan) Potter have coached there. I coached an NCAA Championship there when I was at Virginia, and we played well there. You have to hit the ball nicely, and that was to our advantage. We are a good ball-striking team and did that well for the most part last week.
"The greens were fast; they took some getting used to after the first round, but the team improved each day, and we did what we needed to do to make the cut."
After getting into Nashville in time for a practice round before three rounds of stroke play begins, the Deacs stuck around an extra day to enjoy the city.
"I like the course and the area," Lewellen added. "We have a lot of country music fans, so they enjoyed that atmosphere. We were able to get out downtown so our international girls especially could make those memories. Postseason is a busy and stressful time, right after finals, trying to win and play your best golf. It was good to get them out and not think about golf or school for a couple hours."
The team will leave Tuesday to head to Scottsdale and are hoping to make an impact at Grayhawk. Wake Forest had their best NCAA finish in 2019 when they finished runner up against Duke in the Championship match. With no spring golf in 2020 and an earlier-than-expected departure at the 2021 Championship, the Deacs are ready for whatever the desert has in store for them this year.
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They're now looking for a bigger trophy as they have advanced to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona after finishing third at one of six Regional competitions in Franklin, Tennessee last week.
"This is what we train for starting in the fall," Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen said. "All of our practices are directed toward the championships. Typically, we have a good understanding of the courses we're going to play on in the ACC and NCAA Championships.
"We base all of our practices with those in mind, and in between getting our games honed for whatever course we're going to be challenged on in that week."
The Deacs claimed a day-one lead at the ACC Championship, tied with Florida State at eight-under, but stretched that to a five-stroke advantage at the end of stroke play on day two.
"We felt good going in there," Lewellen said, "They played great in stroke play. Winning stroke play added to their confidence just a little bit more to start match play.
After a 3-1-1 victory over Virginia in the semifinal, the Deacs hit some adversity in the championship match against the Seminoles. As they approached the turn, they were trailing in three matches and things were not looking great for a seventh ACC Championship for Wake Forest.
"We went out that last day and were behind in so many matches," Lewellen said. "It wasn't looking good. We didn't change our game plan. We knew where we needed to be, and we just kept at it.
"Once Rachel (Kuehn) gets some momentum behind her, she can fire some birdies. As soon as we got that point where she eagled that last hole, we felt like we had a great opportunity. We were pleased with everybody's play."
The team fed off each other's positive energy through the final 10-plus holes.
"The momentum on the back nine was awesome and pretty special," Wake Forest junior Lauren Walsh said. "I knew on 18 that Rachel had made an eagle to win.
"I was feeding off their energy even though they were more than 400 yards away. Momentum is huge in team golf and plays its part if you let it."
Walsh clinched the championship for the Deacs with a clutch 55-foot putt on the 18th hole, having entered that hole all square with Florida State's Alice Hodge.
"I wanted to have a good pace for a potential two-putt if needed," Walsh said. "I knew the goal was to at least get it in two and go to extra holes. I picked a good line, had the perfect pace and it went in. I saw it tracking. It was downhill, but into the wind, so it was tricky. It broke perfectly to the left in the last 10 feet. It went in and everyone went wild.
"That was really cool. Having that be the winning point was extra special. I threw my putter to the side and met my teammates who were running toward me."
Lewellen was thrilled with the play of the team the entire tournament, but especially in the fortitude they showed to come from behind against a quality Florida State team that had ousted them from the same tournament a season ago in the semifinals.
"Carolina (Chacarra) played so well," Lewellen said. "She was beaten in the match but was well under par. Mimi (Rhodes) was ahead in her match. We were so proud of Virunpat (Olankitkunchai). Beatrice (Wallin) is ranked sixth in the world right now, so to beat her was phenomenal.
"There are a lot of emotions that go through a round of 18 holes of golf. I'm sure they could feel it because they were down, but they moved the needle and grabbed the momentum so quickly."
The celebration ended up being twice as thrilling, as the team made their way back to Winston-Salem and spent a few days the following week watching the Wake Forest men's golf team go out and claim an ACC Championship of their own. It's the first time Wake Forest has won both men's and women's conference titles in the same year.
"We're so excited for coach (Jerry) Haas and the men too," Lewellen said. "It was exciting to watch how that unfolded all the way to Alex Fitzpatrick's match. It was just a great few weeks for the golf program as a whole.
"We were on pins and needles. We got a little bit of practice in, but it was mostly celebration."
Familiarity and preparation were the keys to success this week, according to Lewellen.
"I love Vanderbilt's golf course," she said. "I've played there, and both myself and coach (Ryan) Potter have coached there. I coached an NCAA Championship there when I was at Virginia, and we played well there. You have to hit the ball nicely, and that was to our advantage. We are a good ball-striking team and did that well for the most part last week.
"The greens were fast; they took some getting used to after the first round, but the team improved each day, and we did what we needed to do to make the cut."
After getting into Nashville in time for a practice round before three rounds of stroke play begins, the Deacs stuck around an extra day to enjoy the city.
"I like the course and the area," Lewellen added. "We have a lot of country music fans, so they enjoyed that atmosphere. We were able to get out downtown so our international girls especially could make those memories. Postseason is a busy and stressful time, right after finals, trying to win and play your best golf. It was good to get them out and not think about golf or school for a couple hours."
The team will leave Tuesday to head to Scottsdale and are hoping to make an impact at Grayhawk. Wake Forest had their best NCAA finish in 2019 when they finished runner up against Duke in the Championship match. With no spring golf in 2020 and an earlier-than-expected departure at the 2021 Championship, the Deacs are ready for whatever the desert has in store for them this year.
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