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NCAA WOMENâ€™S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

May 24, 2016

Eugene, Oregon

THE MODERATOR: Good evening, everyone. Appreciate you taking the time to be with us. Congratulations on a great day. With us is head coach for Stanford, Anne Walker, joined by student-athletes Shannon Aubert, Casey Danielson, Sierra Kersten, Lauren Kim, and Mariah Stackhouse, and Coach Walker, we'll start with you, just an opening statement.

ANNE WALKER: An opening statement? Wow, you really want me to talk about this group? We're just thrilled to be in this position again, and it's an honor to play the Huskies tomorrow. We had a terrific match today with the Duke Blue Devils, an incredible program, and obviously a terrific coach in Dan Brooks.

We feel very fortunate to have played some wonderful golf, walking away with a victory, and of course tomorrow.

And then just about the lineup here, I think that I couldn't be more pleased to see this group of student-athletes get to this point again, especially with the leadership that we have in our seniors Lauren Kim and Mariah Stackhouse and our junior Casey Danielson. The upper classman leadership has really switched over to those two.

Q. Mariah, talk a little bit about trying to repeat as seniors. You had a great year last year; talk about trying to get the championship tomorrow.
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: I think we are really fortunate, as Coach has said, to be in this position again and just simply to have the opportunity to go out and try to win tomorrow, and I think it's important for us to realize that it's not about defending, it's about winning the 2016 NCAA title, and so when we step on the tee tomorrow, that's our goal. It's not about last year, it's not about today, it's about the matches that we have in front of us, and going out there and playing the best golf that we can, playing for each other and fighting hard.

Q. Lauren, talk a little bit about your experience last year and how you hope that will benefit you tomorrow.
LAUREN KIM: I think last year we really held on (inaudible) able to win the national championship, especially in this new format. So I think that'll make it definitely (inaudible) freshmen. But I think that with kind of (inaudible) and knowing that and kind of warning Sierra about how long the week is, we'll be really prepared. But other than, I think just telling the girls to have fun, playing for each other and just enjoying every minute of it and being present.

Q. Casey, talk a little bit about the matches today. Obviously a lot of golf yet to play. Persevering through the two matches today, talk a little bit about that experience.
CASEY DANIELSON: Yeah, I think that both teams we went up against, it was really good competition, really good challenge for our team, and I think that we really stayed patient and we took one shot at a time, really were focused, and from what I could see, everybody was enjoying themselves and we were waving at each other, and you could just feel the energy, which is really fun, and that helped each individual keep going. So it was just a lot of fun out there.

Q. Shannon, same question. Talk a little bit about your experience today and maybe some of the things you learned about the course over the last five days, six days including practice. Talk a little bit about the course and how you expect it to play tomorrow.
SHANNON AUBERT: I mean, the course is in great shape. It's really held up well over these last couple days. I know between the rounds they rolled the greens, and I think that that made a huge difference. I mean, they were like glass surfaces. They were extremely quick. You couldn't really go for any putts. I think it really benefitted us to play patient and to be aware of that, and just to stick to the strategy that we've been playing to and just really go out there and do what we can.

Q. Sierra, as the newcomer to the group, the freshman, your experience so far and what you expect tomorrow?
SIERRA KERSTEN: So far it's been a blast. I've really enjoyed competing with the team, and there's been great competition, and it's been a challenge, but also very fun, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the match that we have.

Q. Anne, I'll come back to you. As coach of this team, talk about your expectations for tomorrow. Obviously you know Washington really well. What do you expect in tomorrow's match?
ANNE WALKER: I think it'll be another close one. Washington plays with a lot of heart, and they play really hard. They never quit; they always grind. But as much heart as Washington has, I'd like to think this group of young ladies up here have just as much heart. I really think it'll come down to the very lost hole, and I'm looking forward to being in that position with these guys.

Q. Two Pac-12 teams going against each other, a little bit of pride there? Talk a little bit about that. Obviously you know them very well.
ANNE WALKER: Yeah, we do, and we're thrilled, and like I said, honored to play the Huskies, to represent the Pac-12, but also Mary Lou Mulflur is a legendary coach, and I've always looked up to Mary Lou. I have a close friendship with her, and just to see her be able to lead her team to this point, it's really neat to watch. Of course we're going to go out and we hope we win, but I think it's nice that we get to compete against a woman such as Mary Lou.

Q. Mariah, talk about being a senior and how cool it would be for you to go out with back-to-back championships.
MARIAH STACKHOUSE: Yeah, I was talking about it a little earlier, and it's hard to really -- it hasn't really sunk in that tomorrow will be my last round as a Stanford golfer. I'll never compete for this again. And so I think that I'm just -- I'm really stoked that we made it this far again.

You know, last year was obviously the dream team, and this year we're right back in the finals, so we've got another great group of girls, and I think that we love Stanford, we love each other, playing for this team, playing for coach. We're all really proud just to be in this position, and for it to be my last time around, I'm just going to go out and rely on everything that my experiences over the last four years have taught me, and I'm going to give my heart to my team one last time.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much. Congratulations, and look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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