Meghan Stasi during Tuesday play at The Kahkwa Club
(USGA Photo)
ERIE, PA (September 13, 2016) -- Three past
champions are among the eight players who
advanced
to the quarterfinals on Tuesday in the 2016 U.S.
Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, being
conducted
on the 6,052-yard, par-72 Kahkwa Club.
In the match of the championship thus far, four-
time champion Meghan Stasi, 38, of Oakland Park,
Fla.,
earned a hard-fought 2-up win over Emilie Meason,
25,
of Atlanta, Ga. In a Round-of-16 match that featured
a
combined 10 birdies – including five winning birdies
over the opening eight holes – it was Stasi’s 24-
footer
on the par-3 15th that proved to be the decisive
stroke.
“(Emilie) was getting up and down from
everywhere,” said Stasi, who previously took the title
in
2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012. “I’m not getting down
on
myself, so I knew at some point I was going to make
a
putt. It just snuck in there.”
Should she take the title on Thursday, Stasi
would
become the first five-time U.S. Women’s Mid-
Amateur
winner, and would join only JoAnne Gunderson
Carner,
Carolyn Cudone, Bob Jones and Glenna Collett Vare
as
five-time winners of the same USGA championship.
Stasi, however, refused to look too far ahead at the
historic possibility.
“I’ve been in the same situation the last few
years
and you’ve just got to keep fighting,” said Stasi, who
eliminated Carmen Titus by a 7-and-5 margin in
Tuesday morning’s Round of 32.
Stasi’s quarterfinal opponent will be Patricia
Schremmer, at age 51 the championship’s oldest
remaining competitor. Schremmer, of Honolulu,
Hawaii,
notched a 5-and-4 win over Renata Young in the
Round
of 32, and knocked off 2015 semifinalist Christina
Proteau, 2 and 1, in the Round of 16.
“To be this far is really a treat,” said
Schremmer, a
reinstated amateur who now travels the world with
her
three daughters, who compete in international
surfing
competitions. “I love this game. I don’t get to
compete
much, so I’m just taking advantage of getting to play
another day.”
Past champions Julia Potter and Margaret
Shirley-
Starosto joined Stasi in the quarterfinals. Potter, the
2013 champion and 2014 runner-up, needed a
marathon 19 holes in the Round of 32 to eliminate
Audrey Akins. Potter’s Round-of-16 match with 2015
semifinalist Whitney Britton, however, got off to a
very
different start. Potter birdied the par-3 11th for a 6-
up
lead, but Britton promptly carded birdies of her own
at
holes 12 and 13 to pull within striking distance.
"[Whitney] is a really long hitter, so I knew she
was going to be able to hit No. 12 in two and I have
not
been able to do that,” said Potter, who ultimately
earned the 4-and-3 victory over Britton. “What was
really big for me was making that putt on 11,
because I
felt that if I was able to get to 6 up, that just in case
I
did lose 12, 13, 14 … I would still give myself a good
setup for the final holes."
Potter’s quarterfinal opponent will be Katie
Miller,
31, of Jeannette, Pa. Miller, the last remaining
Pennsylvanian in the field, needed all 18 holes in her
1-
up win over Kristyl Sunderman in the Round of 32,
but
she handily beat 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
champion Martha Leach, 7 and 5, in the Round of 16.
Shirley-Starosto, who beat Potter in the 2014
final
and was runner-up in 2013 and 2015, made quick
work
of her two rounds on Tuesday. She never trailed in
either victory, eliminating Jordan Craig, 4 and 3, in
the
Round of 32, and cruising to a 5-and-4 win over
Maggie
Leef in the Round of 16.
Should she reach the championship match,
Shirley-Starosto would become just the fifth player
in
history to reach a USGA final at least four years in a
row. But like Stasi, Shirley-Starosto knows that
history
must wait.
“Sure (the thought) is there, but that’s not
making
me nervous standing over a putt,” said Shirley-
Starosto.
“But it’s always in your head. I’ve had a really good
four
years. To make it to the quarters again is a great
feat.
I’m just happy to be here.”
Next up for Shirley-Starosto is top-seeded
Shannon Johnson, 33, of Norton, Mass. Johnson,
who
shared stroke-play medalist honors with Potter,
started
her day with a 5-and-4 win over Katrin Wolfe, and
earned an equally smooth 3-and-2 victory over Kayla
Eckelcamp in the Round of 16.
Olivia Herrick and Amanda Jacobs will face off
in
the fourth quarterfinal in a battle of 28-year-olds.
Herrick, of Roseville, Minn., had the longest day of
the
championship. She battled back from early 2-down
deficits in both her matches, advancing to the
Round of
16 with a 20-hole victory over 2004 champion Corey
Weworski, then taking a 2-up win over Liliana Ruiz in
the Round of 32. On the other hand, Jacobs, of
Portland, Ore., never trailed en route to her wins
over
Eleana Collins, 3 and 2, and Dawn Woodard, and 1
up.
All eight quarterfinalists are fully exempt into
the
2017 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship,
which
will be conducted Oct. 7-12 at Quail Creek Country
Club
in Naples, Fla.
QUARTERFINAL MATCHES
-All times are EST
No. 1 Shannon Johnson vs. No. 8 Margaret
Shirley-
Starosto (8:00 a.m.)
No. 13 Olivia Herrick vs. No. 12 Amanda Jacobs
(8:10
a.m.)
No. 2 Julia Potter vs. No. 10 Katie Miller (8:20 a.m.)
No. 51 Patricia Schremmer vs. No. 6 Meghan Stasi
(8:30 a.m.)
ABOUT THE
U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur
The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur originated in
1987 to provide a national competitive arena
for amateurs 25 and older. Besides the age
restriction, the event is open to those with a
USGA Handicap Index of 9.4 or lower. It is
one of 14 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly
for amateurs.
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