2023: Season in Review – Stanford University Athletics

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford closed out another dominant season in 2022-23, maintaining the nation’s No. 1 ranking throughout the season and producing an NCAA semifinal finish. Despite falling short in its bid to repeat as NCAA champions, the Cardinal racked up seven event wins, including team titles at the NCAA Pullman Regional and NCAA Championship. Stanford, which made its 31st overall NCAA appearance in 2023 and 13th in a row for the second-longest active streak in the country, is also the only program to reach the NCAA match play quarterfinal stage in all eight seasons of the current format.

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Zhang’s Historic Season

In addition to Stanford’s team success, Rose Zhang put the finishing touches on arguably the most decorated amateur career in the history of collegiate golf during two dynamic seasons (2022-23) on The Farm.

Named the Honda Cup sport award winner for golf for the second straight season and a Top Three finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, Zhang finished her career as a two-time NCAA individual champion. The first female to accomplish that feat, Zhang twice set the NCAA single-season scoring average record, with a 68.80 sophomore-season scoring average besting a 69.68 freshman average.

In addition to finishing her career as a two-time ANNIKA Award recipient, Zhang was also a two-time WGCA Golfer of the Year, becoming the first repeat honoree since Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst in 2008. A two-time First Team WGCA All-American, Zhang also established the NCAA career scoring average record with a 69.24 average in 62 career rounds. Zhang was also a two-time Golfweek Player of the Year recipient.

A two-time Pac-12 Golfer of the Year, Zhang joined UCLA’s Bronte Law (2015-16) as the only repeat conference winner and one of three two-time recipients overall. However, Zhang’s resume of wins, awards and scoring records stands out in comparison to her predecessors.

In just 20 collegiate events over her two seasons, Zhang delivered a school-record 12 victories, matching Arizona’s Lorena Ochoa (2001-03) for the most in conference women’s golf history. Only Arizona State’s Phil Mickelson finished with more, claiming 16 titles from 1988-92.

As a sophomore in 2023, Zhang won a staggering 8-of-10 events, becoming only the fourth woman to sweep through the postseason with record-setting Pac-12 and NCAA Regional crowns and an unprecedented NCAA title defense. Zhang’s eight single-season wins tied her for the most in women’s collegiate…