Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek makes first NCAA win a national title

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Adela Cernousek of Texas A&M got her first collegiate win on the biggest stage, cruising to a three-shot victory at La Costa on Monday to win the NCAA individual title.

Cernousek, a junior from France, entered the final round with a six-shot lead over Lottie Woad of Florida State, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion. Cernousek was never seriously threatened as she closed with an even-par 72 to finish at 12-under 276 and help the Aggies finish third in the team standings, three shots behind Stanford and LSU.

Woad shot 69 and was the runner-up. Paula Martin Sampedro of Stanford (70) finished third at 6 under, leading the Cardinal to a 2-over par finish that matched the Tigers.

The other schools to advance to the match-play portion of the team competition were Southern California, Clemson, UCLA, Oregon and Auburn. The team champion will be crowned on Wednesday.

Cernousek was the first Texas A&M player to win the individual title. She began the tournament with three consecutive rounds of 68 to build her big lead and move the Aggies to the top of the team leaderboard.

LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad, No. 1 in the women’s amateur ranking, shot a second-round 81 and finished in a tie for 65th at 15 over.

Auburn’s top player, former Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis, rebounded from a third-round 80 with a 1-under 71 to help the Tigers grab the eighth and final spot in match play, two shots better than Wake Forest.