WOMEN’S GOLF: Gianchandani and Lee knocked out in match play at four-ball championship, win medalist honors for stroke play
After competing in the stroke play portion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Saturday and Sunday, Yale golfers Ami Gianchandani ’23, Kaitlyn Lee ’24 and Sophie Simon ’25 were knocked out in the first round of match play, which commenced on Monday and ended Wednesday.
Courtesy of Darren Carroll
On Monday, Yale women’s golfers and tournament teammates Ami Gianchandani ’23 and Kaitlyn Lee ’24 were eliminated in the round of 32 of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.
Sophie Simon ’25, who will join the Yale women’s golf team as a first year next fall, was also knocked out with her partner, Rebecca Skoler — a first-year golfer with the Virginia Cavaliers.
The knockout on Monday comes after two rounds of stroke play four-ball on Saturday and Sunday. In four-ball, a pair of golfers play holes individually and only count the lowest score for their total. On Monday, the 32 best sides were seeded based on their stroke play scores to enter the match play stage of the tournament. Both the Gianchandani-Lee and Simon-Skoler pairings made the initial cut of 32 sides after their impressive play over the weekend against some of the best amateur golfers in the country.
Both pairings featuring Yale golfers were eliminated in this first round of match play. No. 2 seed Gianchandani and Lee were eliminated by the No. 31 seed University of Kentucky duo of Marissa Wenzler and Jensen Castle by two holes with one to play. No. 19 seed Simon and Skoler lost to the No. 14 Texas duo of Baylor’s Britta Snyder and SMU’s Sarah Beqaj by four holes with two to play.
“One positive takeaway is that we know that we are just as good as any of the girls in that tournament,” Lee said. “It was a great pressure experience, and I’ve learned a lot about my game and what I need to work on to get better.”
Gianchandani and Lee earned medalist honors after the second round of stroke play for finishing tied in first with a two-day aggregate score of six under par. Simon and her teammate finished the weekend even, placing them at 18th at the end of stroke play.
“It was a lot of fun to play well on a big stage,” Gianchandani said. “The opportunity to play at that high level does not come very often, and it is always important to use those tournaments as learning experiences.”
Gianchandani said that while she was frustrated to lose in match play she emphasized that she will use this weekend’s experiences as “fuel to get better and better.”
Both Gianchandani and Lee plan to compete in some tournaments over the summer, though they are still finalizing their schedules. Both golfers told the News that they cannot wait to compete with their teammates donning the Blue and White.
“I’m counting down the days until we’re all back out on the golf course together,” Yale women’s golf head coach Lauren Harling said. “We have really used this time to invest in our team culture and in one another and I have a feeling it’s going to be a special year. I’m so excited to see our team back on campus and get back to doing what we love together.”
No. 26 seed duo Savannah Barber and Alexa Saldaña won the tournament on Wednesday.
