Cowgirl Golf: How We Got Here

The No. 3 seed Cowgirl golf team is one win away from the program's first NCAA Championship and the first NCAA team title by an Oklahoma State female sport. The match will tee off at 3:35 p.m. CT and will be televised on Golf Channel starting at 4 p.m. CT.

Here's how we got here.

• Best Team In School History
The Cowgirl program is among the best in all of college golf, but this year's squad has rewritten the record books with a lineup that features five starters listed 84th or better in the national rankings.

As a team, OSU is ranked No. 7 by both GolfStat and Golfweek, and has finished no lower than third in any event in the spring. The Cowgirls enter Wednesday's championship match with a 120-16 record against top-100 competition this season, including a 35-10 mark against the top-25.

Six of the seven lowest single-season scoring averages in Cowgirl golf history have been registered under second-year head coach Greg Robertson. The 2020-21 campaigns for Maja Stark (70.48, -1.42 to par) and Isabella Fierro (71.23, -0.48 to par) are No. 1 and No. 3 on the list, while Rina Tatematsu (71.85, 0.12 to par) and Lianna Bailey (72.68, 0.92 to par) check in at No. 5 and No. 7, respectively. Not to be outdone, freshman Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (73.05, 1.14 to par) is No. 12 on the list.

As a team, OSU's average score of 286.74 (-0.21 to par) is the best in the history of the Cowgirl golf program, and is good for fourth nationally.

This is Oklahoma State's 22nd appearance at the NCAA Championships, which is tied for the 10th most among all schools nationwide. This is OSU's first appearance at nationals since an 11th place finish in 2016. The Cowgirls now own seven top-5 finishes at NCAAs, including a runner-up finish in 2004. OSU also logged third-place finishes in 1982 and 1989, as well as fourth-place in 2009. Caroline Hedwall won the individual national championship in 2010 after carding rounds of 70-70-68-68 at the Country Club of Landfall.

• The Cowgirls
Maja Stark (pronounced MAI-uh) hails from Abbekas, Sweden and is the No. 7 ranked amateur on the planet. The sophomore finished fourth in the ANNIKA Award voting, which is college golf's Heisman Trophy, and her 139 birdies in 2020-21 set a new school record. She also finished in a tie for 12th at the 2020 U.S. Open, and boasts a 4.0 GPA this year.

Isabella Fierro is a fiery golfer from Merida, Mexico, and enters today's championship match with a World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) of 66. She has one career victory to her credit, and has been a force in match play for the Cowgirls. Fierro is both an All-American and an Academic All-American.

When she's not on the course, Rina Tatematsu might be the world's biggest Cowboy basketball fan. The freshman from Bangkok, Thailand won the ICON Invitational earlier this spring and owns a 71.85 scoring average on the year.

As a junior, Lianna Bailey is the team veteran and a steady presence on the course. She hails from Leicester, England and is a lifetime fan of the Leicester City soccer team. She is currently ranked the No. 99 amateur on Earth and No. 79 in college golf.

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard is a freshman from Perth, Australia who entered NCAA Regionals as the team's alternate, but has been unstoppable since being substituted into the starting lineup. She owns a 73.05 stroke average, but her par-3 average of 3.04 is the fourth best in the history of Cowgirl golf.

• This Week
Oklahoma State finished the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championships in third place, hence the No. 3 seed for the match play portion of the event. The Cowgirls took down the SEC champions, Auburn, 4-1, and then swept No. 2 seed and defending national champion Duke, 5-0, in the semifinal.

Stark, Fierro, Bailey and Tatematsu have yet to lose a match, but will be put to the test against No. 4 seed Ole Miss on Wednesday afternoon.

• Today's Matches (Golfweek National Ranking)
Match 1 – Maja Stark, So. (6th) vs. Kennedy Swann, Sr. (27th)
Match 2 – Isabella Fierro, So. (14th) vs. Andrea Lignell, So. (73rd)
Match 3 – Lianna Bailey, Jr. (79th) vs. Chiara Tamburlini, So. (100th)
Match 4 – Rina Tatematsu, Fr. (48th) vs. Julia Johnson, Sr. (8th)
Match 5 – Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Fr. (84th) vs. Smilla Sonderby, Fr. (N/R)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lianna Bailey

Isabella Fierro

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard

Maja Stark

Rina Tatematsu

Oklahoma State University Athletics