(Xavier/Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

Liberty junior Mattie Frick posted a 5-over par 151 after day two of the Division I state championship held at the OMNI Tucson National Catalina Course on Tuesday and she felt she was finished for the day. Hamilton standout Jennifer Seo was playing eight groups back and the sophomore was coming down the stretch with a commanding 3-stroke lead.

Xavier freshman standout Kate Hauptman was also in the hunt and she was in that leader’s group so it looked like Frick might be looking at another third place finish like she earned as a freshman and again as a sophomore but then a new set of scores started to pour in and things were trending Frick’s way.

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Seo collected birdies on the 14th and 15th hole but a bogey on the 16th brought her to even par for the day and then a triple bogey on the 17th opened the door for Frick and the Liberty faithful started to scramble to get ready for a playoff.

Seo came in with a 5-over 151 and Hauptman a 6-over 152. The only issue know was the wait for Rincon/University standout Maddie Greene. Greene was 7-over with four holes left after shooting a double bogey the hole before. Seo and Frick waited calmly but Greene shot even the rest of the way to take fourth place at 153 along with Pinnacle standout Carolyn Fuller.

The playoff plan was to play the first hole on the Catalina Course, the same course that hosted PGA tournaments from 1965 to 2006. Arnold Palmer won on this course in 1967. Lee Trevino won twice on this course. J.C. Sneed, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson took home championship winnings on the Catalina Course and now, Seo and Frick were set for a playoff to decide the latest champion to claim victory on this legendary course.

Seo missed on a birdie shot on the par-4 hole and Frick hit dead center and she collapsed on the green after realizing her dreams.

Hauptman’s performance helped lead the Gators to the 37th state title in program history after Xavier came in with a 626 team total to hold off a surging Pinnacle squad. Pinnacle finished three strokes off the pace with a 629 but the team appeared to be down double digits during the day depending on the scores coming in. Hamilton took third place (656).

“Pinnacle beat us last year and the got us twice this year,” said co-head coach Sister Lynn Winsor. “We were definitely not the favorites.”

Former ASU Hall of Fame standout Tui Selvaratnam serves as the other co0ach of the Xavier machine. The Gators have 37 state titles, four runner-up finishes and one third place spot dating back to 1970.

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Pinnacle knocked off Xavier 562 to 578 last year to end an eight year run at the top by Xavier. Pinnacle took third in 2017 and second in 2018 to build up to that win over Xavier at the OMNI Tucson National. Hamilton took third (584) last year and the Huskies beat Xavier in 2010 to end a 12-year run by Xavier.

LINK: COMPLETE RESULTS

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(Pinancle/Andy Morales/AZPreps365)

 

LINK: FREE PHOTOS FROM DAY TWO