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It was a memorable year for UCF Knights Women’s Golf program. The Knights qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in program history and the sixth time in the last nine seasons. They went to the Cle Elum Regional in Washington as a 13-seed in a 18-team field.
On May 16th, UCF earned their way to the 2019 NCAA National Championship for the second time in program history after finishing sixth by one stroke at the regional.
The other time that the Knights made it to NCAA Championship was in 1996, where the Knights finished 15th.
The Knights were led by sophomore Ana Laura Collado who led the tournament for all three days until the final hole. Collado ended up finishing second after shooting -10, which was the second-best score among all four regionals. Her 54-hole total was the second-best in program history.
The Knights were tied for sixth heading into the final round and the team shot eight-under on the back nine to punch their ticket to their second-ever NCAA National Championship appearance.
Maria with birdie on 18 to put us tied for fifth!
— UCF Golf (@UCF_Golf) May 8, 2019
Ana Laura in the fairway to wrap it up! Top 6️⃣ teams advance! pic.twitter.com/hFXvnj0sNC
UCF finished ahead of 12 other schools, six of them Power 6.
No caption needed #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/MwDS1bIOV3
— UCF Golf (@UCF_Golf) May 8, 2019
UCF would end up finishing 22nd in National Championship.
Tremendous season for @EmUCF_Knights and the squad to make it to the natty! #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/ug1DKS3gMz
— UCF Golf (@UCF_Golf) May 20, 2019
You can listen to our exclusive interview with Emily Marron, who recapped the season and more on the June 6th edition of the Black and Gold Banneret podcast.