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NCAA WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

May 22, 2017

Sugar Grove, Illinois

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for your patience and thanks for joining us tonight. Here on the dais with us, we've got our runners up in stroke play. From Wake Forest University, student-athlete Jennifer Kupcho. She's joined by head coach from Wake Forest, Diane Dailey, and from the Duke Blue Devils, we have student-athlete Leona Maguire joined by head coach Dan Brooks. Jennifer, if you would give an opening statement and then we'll go down the line. Talk about the last three or four days and your play today.

JENNIFER KUPCHO: I thought I played really well. Both my coaches were super helpful figuring out the wind, telling me how far to hit it. I played really well, hit shots really well. Not sure everything definitely came out this week with all the practice I've been doing, and just fell a little short.

THE MODERATOR: Leona, same question for you.

LEONA MAGUIRE: I thought I battled pretty hard, and starting out, conditions were obviously very tough, and it was just a real grind this week, trying to stay really, really patient and trying to give myself as many chances as possible. Maybe didn't take quite as many of them as I would have liked, but overall it was -- Rich Harvest Farms is an incredible place to be. It was a great golf course and a great test, and I think both myself and Jennifer played some really good golf this week, and just Monica played that little bit better than us.

THE MODERATOR: Diane, a little bit about -- you saw Jennifer work the course today, your thoughts and some of the suggestions that you had and things that really worked out well for her.

DIANE DAILEY: Well, I think she played extremely well, played just very, very solidly. Just very consistent, and stroked the ball well, putted well, chipped well. I think the conditions were tough coming in. The wind was really hard, and I'm just really proud of the way she played all week. It's been fun to watch her because she just looked so comfortable out there playing and it looked like she was having fun, and that's what we want to do, and unfortunately just came up a little short, but I'm just proud of the effort that she made and just her play. I mean, I think she realizes now she can play with anybody, and I think that's one good thing to take away from this is just knowing that you can play with the best in the country.

THE MODERATOR: Dan, a little bit about Leona, her play today and the last few days. Obviously she made a great run today.

DAN BROOKS: Well, coming into this, I was thinking that Leona, this is fantastic for Leona because she's a smart player. Don't tell her I said this, but she's probably the smartest player I've ever coached, and you needed to be really smart out there on this course. You just have to be thinking about so many things, and like she said, you have to be patient and not be too bothered by the things that don't go your way. I just think she was fantastic. She kept it together. She was always thinking. You know, I tend to let them go, let them run, especially somebody like Leona who I know can think better on the golf course than I ever could.

You know, when I was in there with her and listening to how she thinks, it's incredible what you can learn from somebody that plays at her level. There are people that -- with talent not at her level that are taking chances, and she's really a very conservative player compared to those players and hits it much better than they do, so that's how you wind up either winning or almost winning the NCAA championship.

Q. Leona, how did you spend the four or five hours that you were watching?
LEONA MAGUIRE: Just had some lunch, headed back to the hotel, then I had a short nap, and then spent some time with my team and then came back here to the golf course, went out to 18, watched a little bit on 18, and then headed to the range, and it looked like it was getting kind of close, and yeah, it was a lot of waiting around. But I knew -- I kind of had a feeling that I was going to be close, maybe not quite good enough, but either way, coming off the course this morning, I was proud of how I played this week. No matter what, I was happy either way, which way it finished.

Q. Many great players have lost tournaments over the years. What would you say to Jennifer?
LEONA MAGUIRE: I mean, she played great golf all week. This is one of probably the hardest golf courses we've played in college golf, and to shoot the scores that she shot and to be right up there with the best is something she should be very proud of. I know it's easy to focus on those last few holes, but that's golf. You have to, I guess, learn from that, and like today, just makes the wins even nicer.

Q. Jennifer, as only a sophomore, this experience in the NCAA Championships, doing as well as you did, talk about that and how that can further your career.
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Obviously playing here at Rich Harvest Farms is a pretty great accomplishment just to get here. But then playing in the practice rounds, I don't think I had really played at a harder course, maybe Bandon Dunes is in the running, but just to play as well as I did in the practice round, I was questioning whether or not I would even go under par at all, and I broke that in the second round.

I think it's just kind of helpful and to move forward with that, it's a comfort knowing that I can play with everyone else.

Q. How long do you think it'll take you to get over today?
JENNIFER KUPCHO: Well, I have a couple qualifiers in two days, so until I tee off probably. (Laughter.)

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