Jaylee Tait of Raccoon Creek Golf Course, Maddie Kern of Hyland Hills, Mary Weinstein of CommonGround Golf Course and former University of Houston golfer Emily Gilbreth won two matches each on Tuesday to advance to the championship flight semifinals of the 102nd CWGA Match Play at Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City.
Tait (pictured), a Montana State golfer who lost in the finals of last year’s CWGA Match Play to Jennifer Kupcho, scored a 4-and-3 victory in Tuesday afternoon’s quarterfinals over University of Wyoming golfer Megan Knadler. Earlier in the day, Knadler rallied from being 2 down after five holes to defeat qualifying medalist Katrina Prendergast, a Colorado State University golfer, 2 and 1.
Weinstein, the 2016 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 2016 Girls Player of the Year and a University of Denver golfer, defeated CSU women’s head coach Annie Young in 19 holes in the quarterfinals. Young, the 2002 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champ, was 2 up through 10, but had to birdie the 18th hole to square the match. Then Weinstein parred the first extra hole to advance.
Tait will meet Kern and Weinstein will face Gilbreth in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Meanwhile, three former champions advanced on Tuesday to the final four in the senior championship flight.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famers Christie Austin and Kim Eaton easily won quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, and will be joined in Wednesday’s semifinals by 2014 winner Deb Hughes from Green Valley Ranch Golf Club and second-seeded Tiffany Maurycy of Cherry Creek Country Club. In the semis, Austin will face Hughes and Eaton will meet Maurycy.
Austin, the qualifying medalist and 2007 champion, defeated Katty Rothberg of Cherry Creek CC 6 and 5 on Tuesday. Eaton, a three-time senior winner of the Match Play and a four-time quarterfinalist in the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, scored a 7-and-6 win over Jennifer Hocking of Colorado Springs Country Club on Tuesday.
Hughes edged Meghan Christensen of The Club at Cordillera in 19 holes, winning the last two holes with pars to advance. Maurycy beat Nancy Ziereis of Valley Country Club, 5 and 4.
The semifinals for all seven flights, including championship and senior championship, will be held on Wednesday, with the finals set for Thursday. The championship flight title match will be a 36-hole affair, with each other finale being 18 holes.
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