Defending national champion Pepperdine’s bid for a second straight title ended when host Arizona State dealt the Waves a 4-1 defeat in the semifinals of match play in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Earlier in the day, the sixth-seeded Waves beat third-seeded North Carolina, 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
William Mouw (pictured), a junior from Chino, gave Pepperdine its only victory in the semifinals by downing James Leow, 3 and 2.
Mason Anderson of the seventh-seeded Sun Devils beat Dylan Menante, a junior from Carlsbad, by winning the 19th hole, Preston Summerhays got past Joe Highsmith, a senior from Lakewood, Wash., 2 up, David Puig defeated Joey Vrzich, a senior from El Cajon, 2 and 1, and Cameron Smith, a senior from San Diego, downed Derek Hitchner, a senior from Minneapolis, also by 2 and 1.
Arizona State will face top-seeded Vanderbilt, a 3-2 winner over fourth-seeded Texas in the semifinals, for the national championship.
Pepperdine defeated North Carolina, 3-2, in the quarterfinals earlier in the day as Menante beat Ryan Burnett on the 19th hole, Vrzich got past Peter Fountain, 2 and 1, and Hitchner downed Ryan Gerard, also by 2 and 1.
David Ford slipped past Highsmith on the last hole, 1 up, and Austin Greaser took down Mouw, 2 and 1.
In the other quarterfinal matches, Arizona State upset second-seed Oklahoma, 3-2, Vanderbilt took out eighth-seeded Texas Tech, 3-2, and Texas eliminated fifth-seeded Oklahoma State, again by 3-2.
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