Championship website | Scoring | Record book
Dates: Tuesday, August 5 - Thursday, August 7
Format: One round of stroke-play qualifying on Tuesday. The top four teams will advance to the championship flight, while all remaining teams will be flighted into consolation brackets. The semifinals in each bracket will be played Wednesday, with the final matches in each bracket scheduled for Thursday. Each team consists of six players split into three two-player sides. In match play, one point is available per hole, and each match is played to completion. The points from each of the three matches are then added up to determine the final score. Example: Team 1's A side wins 12-6 against Team 2's A side; Team 2's B side wins 9.5-8.5 against Team 1's B side; Team 1's C side ties Team 2's C side 9-9. The result is Team 1 wins 29.5-24.5.
Host site: Hermitage Country Club (Manakin Course)
MANAKIN SABOT -- Defending Virginia State Golf Association Women's State Team Matches champion Mount Vernon Country Club posted a 12-under total of 204 on Tuesday at Hermitage Country Club to earn medalist honors and the top seed for championship match play, which begins on Wednesday at the club's Manakin Course.
Mount Vernon used a balanced effort from its three sides to finish two shots clear of Bide-A-Wee Golf Course, which posted a 10-under total of 206. Captain Joan Gardner and Linda DiVall returned a 5-under 67; Kim Palko and Susan Podolsky carded a 4-under 68; and Sarah Alvarez and Shawn McCullough postd a 3-under 69.
"I know in playing with Linda, she was so, so steady. She couldn't have played a steadier game," Gardner said. "We had some birdies in there. The other two teams ... it seems like if one person stumbled, the other one was right there, whether it be for a par or a birdie. We really couldn't have been happier with how each of the three teams played."
Bide-A-Wee's sides of Leah Onosato and Cyndi Carlson and Carley Rudolf and Gigi Smith each returned scores of 4-under 68, with Mallory Kane and Pam Fisher finishing at 2-under 70.
Army Navy Country Club and The Country Club of Virginia round out the championship flight. ANCC posted a 2-under 214, with Shelley Savage/Angela Baskette and Katelynn Waclawski/Andi Carpenter each posting 1-under rounds of 71. Led by Liza Lewis and Brenda Baril (2-under 70), CCV earned the final championship flight spot via tiebreaker over homestanding Hermitage. The teams' top two scores were used to break ties, and CCV's top two scores totaled 1-over 217 compared to Hermitage's 2-over 218.
Mount Vernon will open match play Wednesday morning against CCV. The Richmond club holds the record for victories in this event with 16, followed by Mount Vernon with 15.
"We cannot seem to avoid them, but it's great," Gardner said. "We both have good teams. I wouldn't say it's inevitable, but we know they're always going to be in the mix. We absolutely look forward to it."
Bide-A-Wee will face Army Navy in the other championship flight semifinal. Bide-A-Wee won in 2021 and 2023 but did not field a team last year. Spotswood Country Club is the only one of last year's four semifinalists not to make it back this year.