It’s hard to imagine Meja Ortengren could’ve started her college career any better.
The freshman at Stanford became the first frosh to win for the Cardinal since Rose Zhang on Tuesday, taking home the title at the San Diego State Classic. Ortengren torched Bernardo Heights Country Club, finishing at 15-under 201, topping teammate Paula Martin Sampedro by eight shots for her first collegiate win.
During the second round, Ortengren shot 10-under 62, which tied the program record for lowest round in relation to par. Mariah Stackhouse is the other Cardinal to achieve the feat, coming at the 2013 Peg Barnard Invitational.
In three stroke-play starts coming in, Ortengren hadn’t finished worse than T-5. She’s ranked 10th in the NCAA golf ranking and will likely rise once the rankings update this week. She’s the third Stanford player to win this season, joining Martin Sampedro and Megha Ganne.
For the Cardinal, they won their fifth tournament of the year, staying undefeated on the season. Top-ranked Stanford finished at 31 under, the only team to finish under par, winning by 32 strokes. Kelly Xu (T-4) and Ganne (T-6) also had stellar tournaments, as did Nora Sundberg, who finished T-10 as an individual.
Even after losing Rachel Heck and Sadie Englemann from last year’s championship team, Stanford remains dominant as the spring season gets into full gear. The Cardinal have four freshmen (Ortengren, Sundberg, Leigh Chien and Andrea Revuelta) who have recorded top-10 finishes this year. Martin Sampedro, Ganne and Xu were all contributors on last season’s national championship team. Stanford’s depth is its strength, and it shows every tournament.
To be the champs, you’ve got to beat the champs. And in the 2024-25 season, no one has beaten Stanford women’s golf yet.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Stanford freshman Meja Ortengren gets first win while tying record
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