Lauryn Nguyen’s family beat the odds; now, it was Northwestern’s turn with all-time NCAA upset

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Forty-five years ago, Anna Nguyen found herself crammed onto a small raft with about two dozen others, all sharing the hope of escaping the poverty of the Vietnam projects and finding a better life in the U.S. Anna still keeps a grainy photograph, snapped by a coast-guard officer, that shows a 5-year-old Anna clinging to her mother, with only the clothes on their backs and surrounded by the choppy waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Upon settling in Seattle, Anna met Daniel Nguyen, who also immigrated from Vietnam in 1980, at the only Vietnamese church in their tight-knit community. They attended Seattle University together, married and had two kids, son Alex and daughter Lauryn, a budding golf talent. The Nguyens were hard-working, blue-collar folks; they couldn’t afford private golf lessons or memberships to country clubs. But nearly every dime they earned went toward funding their children’s dreams.

“My parents are the strongest people I know,” Lauryn Nguyen said. “Their childhood was so, so hard, and it’s crazy to me, because the life I’ve had, that I grew up with, was so different.

“They absolutely beat the odds.”

On Wednesday evening at Omni La Costa, it was Lauryn Nguyen’s turn. The senior and her Northwestern teammates, even as the 10th-ranked squad in the country, were sizable underdogs to top-ranked Stanford before junior Dianna Lee rolled in her 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole to beat Andrea Revuelta, 1 up, and clinch the Wildcats’ first NCAA Division I Women’s Championship in program history.

Northwestern’s 3-2 triumph also spoiled the Cardinal’s bid for a fourth NCAA title – and what would’ve been a fitting ending for arguably the greatest team of all-time. Stanford went undefeated in stroke play this season, including its record-breaking performance at La Costa, where the Cardinal shot 27 under, smashing the previous 72-hole low of 19 under achieved by USC in 2013, and finishing 21 shots clear of runner-up Oregon. All five Stanford starters ranked in the top 20 nationally, with four of them winning at least once this season. Junior Kelly Xu, one of three returners from last year’s NCAA-winning lineup, was the lone exception, yet she then led the Cardinal at nationals with a solo-third showing. Entering the week, Xu’s scoring average of 71.46 ranked fifth on her team – and 12th all-time in school history.

Match play wasn’t just the best chance of knocking off the Stanford juggernaut.

“It’s our only shot,” Texas head coach Laura Ianello said earlier in the week.

“You see what happened at ACCs,” added Ianello, referencing the Cardinal’s only regular-season blemish, a semifinal loss to Wake Forest at the ACC Championship. “It opens the door for them to have doubt, and it opens the door for us to have hope.”

Northwestern, the third seed for the knockout stage, didn’t boast a single top-20 player. Ashley Yun held its best ranking, at No. 29, followed by No. 30 Nguyen, the team’s lone senior and undeniable leader.

Daniel and Anna instilled their fearlessness in both their kids but also a deep appreciation for where they came from. When it was time for Lauryn to attend high school, she had to choose between private education or golf. She picked the latter and began playing an expensive national schedule while also starting a foundation with her brother, the Duc Foundation, a non-profit named after Anna’s father that provides college scholarships for minorities in need.

“It was her decision, and we just did everything we could to make it happen for her,” Anna Nguyen said. “She never knew when it was a struggle growing up. We’d travel to tournaments, and she never understood how much that cost because I never discussed cost to her, and it was never, we’re not going, it was, we’re going, and we’ll deal with it later. To be able to get her here, this is all her. She’s where she’s at because she wanted to be here.”

Added Lauryn: “I’m able to play for something that’s bigger than me, and I think that just brings another level of golf out.”

With Alex graduating from Bradley University with his M.B.A. last Saturday, Anna, a familiar face at Northwestern’s tournaments, originally planned not to make the trip to Carlsbad. But on Sunday night, Wildcats’ assistant Beth Miller texted her, encouraging her to change her mind.

“She didn’t want to be a jinx, but we told her, ‘You need to be here,’” said Northwestern head coach Emily Fletcher.

So, Anna rushed home, picked up the family dog, Mila, and surprised her daughter on Monday morning. The next day was Lauryn’s 22nd birthday, and the Wildcats celebrated with wins over Arkansas and Oregon to advance to their first NCAA final since 2017, when Northwestern fell to Arizona State at Rich Harvest Farms, just outside of Chicago.

But unlike eight years ago, the Wildcats overcame their slow start. They went down in four matches early, and though Megha Ganne jumped on Yun and quickly put the first point on the board for Stanford with a 5-and-4 drubbing, by the sixth hole Northwestern led in three matches. Earning points were freshman Hsin Tai Lin, with a 3-and-2 victory over fellow first-year Meja Ortengren, and Nguyen, who took sophomore Paula Martin Sampedro to the par-5 finishing hole before rolling in her fifth birdie of the day, her heart racing, to win 1 up.

“When she sank that putt to win her match,” Anna Nguyen said, “all the emotions came out from her, from me, because it’s been a long road.”

With Dianna Lee 3 up through 13 holes on Revuelta, who was fresh off conference and regional titles after dislocating her right shoulder in a gym accident back in January, Northwestern was on the precipice of unexpected glory. Director of golf Pat Goss was so pumped up after Nguyen’s point that he punched the air with a powerful uppercut.

Twenty-four hours earlier, it was Lee who had led Oregon standout Kiara Romero much of the afternoon before three-putting from 35 feet at the par-4 17th to give the powerful Romero life. From an up tee, both players smashed drivers with Romero left with just a 6-iron in. But a pushed approach into a brutal lie in the bunker and two unsuccessful attempts to get the ball out led to Romero picking up and conceding the 2-up victory to Lee, who broke down in tears of joy afterward.

Fletcher calls the third-year Lee easily her most sentimental player. Before she broke through for her maiden college win at Arizona State’s event earlier this spring, Lee wept as other coaches shared stories about their seniors at the pre-tournament dinner. And then Monday evening at La Costa, her eyes welled at the sight of teams headed home. But on the course? “She’s so poised and stoic,” Fletcher described.

Even as Revuelta battled back to 1 down standing on the tee at the par-3 16th hole, which is designed to resemble No. 12 at Augusta National, Lee withstood. Revuelta stuffed her tee ball to 15 feet, but a shocking three-putt ended what would be the Spaniard’s last good chance to tie the match, and Lee didn’t make a mistake over the final two holes, even as her putter, which has easily been the most frustrating club for her over the years, shook in her hands.

The mantra for the Wildcats all week was to believe in yourselves as much as you believe in your teammates. “Coach told us every day that we’re just as deserving as anybody else,” Nguyen said. “Of course, playing against a team like Stanford, it’s really hard to not let that get into your head.” But as Lee struck her winning putt, she reminded herself of Fletcher’s message.

“I was so nervous,” Lee said. “I don’t think I have nerves of steel, but all I did out there was take a few deep breaths and really trust myself. I knew it meant something, meant everything.”

NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Stanford head coach Anne Walker was certainly stinging after Revuelta’s birdie try on the last came up a foot short, but it was hard to be disappointed in her talented team, which will return everyone next season.

“Northwestern came out fighting,” Walker said. “It was clear that they wanted it, and I’m happy for them.”

Fletcher and Miller have spent 17 years together as Northwestern’s coaching duo, and Fletcher often cringes when Miller doesn’t get the credit that she deserves. That kind of continuity is rare in this sport, where the assistant position is usually a revolving door. Fletcher also believes the synergy between both Wildcat golf programs is unmatched. Her team has every opportunity, if not more, than the men, she says, and it’s that collaboration that has unlocked much of this success.

As Fletcher sat in the media center preparing for the final pairings, her phone buzzed. It was Luke Donald, the European Ryder Cup captain and Northwestern alumnus, and just the thought of reaching out choked up Fletcher. The long text included words of encouragement and ended with this: “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”

Grasping the NCAA trophy and already donning her championship hat and shirt, Fletcher was asked about that quote.

“It was spot on,” she said, before amending it: “But more than doing what people didn’t think you could is this group believing what it thought it could do.”

The Wildcats may have beaten the odds, but they always had the conviction.