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Chugg Defeats Dalton to Advance; BYU Teammates Yang and Kennedy to Face off in Semis

By Megan Terry, Programs Administrator

The 111th Utah Women’s State Amateur Championship Round of 16 and Quarterfinal included numerous thrilling matches. After all, anything can happen in match play. Three of the eight morning matches carried on to extra holes from some incredible comebacks.

The Round of 16 match between three-time Utah Women’s State Champion Kelsey Chugg and Weber State University Golf’s Kiselya Plewe was an unpredictable rollercoaster. The match was all square through seven holes until Chugg took off running; she ended up 4up through 13 holes before Plewe found a rhythm and won four of the last five holes to return the match to all square through 18. The 19th hole was halved with fours, and after Plewe lipped out her par putt to win on Davis Park’s par-3 No. 2, Chugg clinched the victory to advance to the Quarterfinal against 2016 Utah Women’s Am Champion Kendra Dalton with a birdie on the 21st hole.

Stroke Play Qualifying Co-Medalist Annie Yang continued her impressive winning streak by defeating Jobi Einerson 6&5 to advance to the afternoon Quarterfinal matches against Xena Motes. Motes pulled off the Round of 16 win against Utah Valley University Golf’s Isabella Lesa in 21 holes with a birdie on the par-5 No. 3.

UVU Women’s Golf Coach Sue Nyhus faced one of her star pupils, Carly Dehlin, in an attempt to advance as the only senior who qualified for match play. Their match was all square through the first two holes, but Dehlin went 1up on No. 3 and stayed up to win the match 5&4.

BYU Golf’s Anna Kennedy defeated Tara Green 4&2, while teammate Kendra Dalton pulled off the fastest win of the day with the 8&6 victory over Cristiana Ciasca. Also in contention, Naomi Soifua advanced to the Quarterfinal against Idaho State Golf’s Laura Gerner, and Southern Utah University Assistant Golf Coach Sadie Palmer won the 19th hole versus Haylee Chugg to advance.

As expected, the Quarterfinal matches were nail biters. Carly Dehlin and Anna Kennedy were the first match to play and went all the way to the 18th hole with Kennedy 1up. Dehlin drove the green and Kennedy was just short on the fringe. Both competitors made birdie, and Kennedy walked away with the 1up win.

The Annie Yang versus Xena Motes match ended similarly to the Dehlin/Kennedy match. Annie and Xena were all square through 17 holes. Both players landed their drives within 50 yards of the 18th green, but Yang’s approach chip ended up two feet from the hole. Motes two-putted for par, and Yang drained her birdie putt to win the match 1up.

Naomi Soifua gained the early advantage over Sadie Palmer straight out of the gates. She went 1up on Palmer with a birdie on the first hole and never gave Sadie a large window of opportunity. Palmer won No. 6 to try and make a move, but Naomi answered by remaining consistent and won the match 5&3 to advance to the Semifinal.

The Kendra Dalton versus Kelsey Chugg Quarterfinal match was one for the books. Chugg went 1up on No. 2 and maintained the advantage all the way through 15 holes. The match went all square when Dalton made par on the par-3 No. 16 and Chugg made double. The next two holes were halved, forcing the match to go extra holes. The fearsome competitors piped their drives right down the middle of the fairway, leaving them approach shots within 100 yards. They both ended up approximately 20 feet above the hole with Dalton just out. She putted first, missing her birdie by centimeters. Chugg, having already played 39 holes on the day, sunk her birdie with a Tiger-like fist pump to conclude the day and advance to the Semifinal to take on Soifua.

The Semifinal matches will begin on Friday, August 4th at 7:30 a.m. at Davis Park Golf Course in Fruit Heights, Utah. Spectators are welcome. Live scoring of the Semifinal and Final will be available at UGA.org

CLICK HERE to view the updated match play bracket.