Seventeen year-old Mary Ellen Romero defeated number one seeded Amy Thompson this afternoon during the round of eight at the IWGA Match Play Championship held at The Players Club in Muncie. Romero started off the day right with a win over past IWGA State Amateur Champion and Hall of Fame member, Julie Carmichael, showing age wasn’t a factor. This afternoon Romero secured her spot in the final four with a 3 and 2 win over Thompson.
“This afternoon I was two down after four holes and I made a comeback on the back nine,” said Romero, a senior at Hamilton Southeastern High School. “My drives were a little bit off and I ended up in the rough a few times but I always managed to get out. My putter was really working for me today and I got up-and-down several times for par.”
For the past two years, Romero has been battling a shoulder injury and finally feels like things are getting back to normal.
“I really struggled for the past two years,” Romero said. “It feels great getting back into tournaments and I hope this proves I am able to play again. For so long my scores weren’t what they used to be and I was down in the rankings. Now things are beginning to click again and it would be awesome to win.”
Romero will face Reagan Pittard, a junior at The University of Indianapolis, in tomorrow’s match.
Also in the final four is Kristi Cardwell, the 2012 Women’s Open Champion. Cardwell will play Brooke Beegle, a sophomore at Purdue University.