By Arthur Utley
VIRGINIA BEACH — Once again, Mount Vernon Country Club and the Country Club of Virginia will go head to head in the championship match of the 70th renewal of the Virginia State Golf Association Women’s State Team Matches being conducted at Princess Anne Country Club.
Top seeded CCV (Richmond) defeated Army Navy CC 32-22 in Wednesday’s match play semifinals and advanced to Thursday’s Championship Flight final. Defending champion and No. 2 seed Mount Vernon (Alexandria) eliminated Williamsburg Club 33½ -20½ for its place in the final.
In the format, each club is comprised of three two-player teams with each hole worth a single point for 54 points total.
This is the third year in a row Mount Vernon and CCV have played for the championship. CCV won in 2014 at Danville Country Club. Mount Vernon claimed the Nancy Hollenbeck Trophy last year at Spotswood CC for its sixth championship in the past eight years. Mount Vernon has won 12 titles overall. CCV has won 11 times.
The sides previously played each other three consecutive years from 2007 to 2009. CCV won in 2007 (having also won in 2006), and Mount Vernon won back to back in 2008 and 2009.
The tandem of Natalie Easterly and Brenda Baril paced CCV on Wednesday with 12½ points, while Boodie McGurn and Lindsay Wortham contributed 12 points.
“We are excited to play them again. We’ve played each other so many times, it could be anybody’s match,” McGurn said. “It is absolutely a blast [to be part of the rivalry]. They definitely over the last decade have certainly come to play and beaten us many more times…We have a hard time beating them. Those gals play together; they know each other; they’ve been doing this a long time and they just somehow figure out a way to win. We have a great team, and we feel great, and hopefully this year we’ll figure out how to win.”
Mount Vernon shuffled its partnerships from the qualifying round and won handily against Williamsburg Club. Shawn McCullough teamed with Judy Adams to earn 13 points and lead Mount Vernon’s advance.
Will Mount Vernon shuffle partners again for the final? That will be up to captain Katie Cox, says Linda DiVall, who teamed with Adams on Tuesday and Debbie Simpson on Wednesday.
“I don’t know what she might have up her sleeve so we’ll have to wait and see how the lineup card is presented to us tomorrow morning,” DiVall said. “They have an extremely good group of golfers, and we know it will be a tough match. We have a lot of respect for them. We know it will be an exciting time and something we are all looking forward to and to see how it falls…This is a tournament that we all point to. We’re all good friends. We’re getting together tonight for my birthday.”
Championship matches in remaining flights are Washington Golf and Country Club versus Broad Bay in the first flight; Bayville GC vs. Greenbrier CC in the second flight; host Princess Anne vs. Farmington CC in the third flight; and Fort Belvoir GC vs. Belmont GC in the fourth flight.
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Results following the semifinals of match play at the 70th VSGA Women’s State Team Matches at Princess Anne Golf Club (stroke-play qualifying score indicated).
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
No. 1 Country Club of Virginia (207) def. No. 4 Army Navy CC (225) 32-22; No. 2 Mount Vernon CC (212) def. No. 3 Williamsburg GC (212) 33½ -20½.
FIRST FLIGHT
No. 4 Broad Bay CC (234) def. No. 1 Hermitage CC (226) 29½-24½; No. 2 Washington G&CC (227) def. No. 3 Elizabeth Manor G&CC (232) 32½-21½.
SECOND FLIGHT
No. 1 Bayville GC (236) def. No. 4 James River CC (257) 34-20; No. 2 Greenbrier CC (241) def. No. 3 Willow Oaks CC (248) 28½-25½.
THIRD FLIGHT
No. 1 Princess Anne CC (228) def. No. 4 Belle Haven CC (239) 30-24; No. 2 Farmington CC (235) def. No. 3 Cavalier G&YC (237) 28-26.
FOURTH FLIGHT
No. 1 Fort Belvoir GC (234) def. No. 4 The Dominion Club (252) 31-23; No. 2 Belmont GC (240) def. No. 3 Country Club at The Highlands (248) 31-23.
THURSDAY FINALS (9 a.m. shotgun start)
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
No. 1 Country Club of Virginia vs. No. 2 Mount Vernon CC
FIRST FLIGHT
No. 2 Washington G&CC vs. No. 4 Broad Bay CC
SECOND FLIGHT
No. 1 Bayville GC vs. No. 2 Greenbrier CC
THIRD FLIGHT
No. 1 Princess Anne CC vs. No. 2 Farmington CC
FOURTH FLIGHT
No. 1 Fort Belvoir GC vs. No. 2 Belmont GC
Retired Richmond Times-Dispatch staff writer Arthur Utley is a frequent contributor to VSGA.org.