2018 Women's Golf Team
Rarely in sport does one remarkable moment so magically transform the fate of a team as happened for the 2018 Arizona women’s golf team. Needing to make a 30-foot eagle putt to force a playoff on the final hole of team stroke play, Bianca Pagdanganan did exactly that. The junior’s heroics delivered a jolt of confidence and fearlessness that sparked a team championship performance for the ages over the next two days. Arizona dispatched Baylor in a playoff to earn the final spot in the eight-team match play championship. Once in match play, head coach Laura Ianello and assistant Derek Radley expertly paired their five individuals over the three match play rounds, with Pagdanganan, Yu-Sang Hou, Haley Moore, Sandra Nordaas and Gigi Stoll each winning crucial matches. The Wildcats stunned No. 1-seed UCLA with a 3-2 win in the quarterfinal match and then cruised to a 4-1 victory over fifth-seeded Stanford in the semifinals later in the afternoon. In the championship, Arizona had the daunting task of facing No. 2 Alabama, which placed its three first team All-Americans at the top of the lineup. The Wildcats matched the Crimson Tide all day long, with the match tied 2-2 coming down to a playoff in the final match. Moore sank a birdie putt on her 19
th hole of the match to secure the program’s first national championship since 2000 and its third overall.
