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Stacy Lewis named Team USA’s 2023 Solheim Cup captain

Stacy Lewis celebrates Team USA’s victory at the 2015 Solheim Cup in Germany. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Stacy Lewis has been named captain of the 2023 USA Solheim Cup Team. The two-time major champion will lead a group of 12 American women’s golfers as Team USA seeks redemption against Team Europe, who defeated the U.S. 15-13 in September to win the 2021 Solheim Cup.

The 2023 event will take place at Finca Cortesin in Spain from Sept. 22-24.

“To be named captain for the USA Solheim Cup Team is an incredible honor and I’m beyond grateful to the Committee for choosing me,” Lewis said this week. “I have so many amazing memories from my years on the team and the two opportunities I’ve had to work alongside the team. I absolutely love the Solheim Cup, and I want 2023 to be as great an experience for my team as my years wearing Red, White and Blue have been for me.”

Lewis has earned 13 victories on the LPGA Tour, including the 2011 Chevron Championship and the 2013 AIG Women’s Open. The American golfer has also spent 25 weeks as the world No. 1 and was named the 2012 and 2014 Rolex LPGA Player of the Year.

The 36-year-old has represented the U.S. as a member of the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 Solheim Cup Teams, and in 2019 acted as an unofficial assistant captain under Juli Inkster after withdrawing from the event due to injury. In 2021, she officially took on the role of assistant under captain Pat Hurst.

Lewis says she will reflect on those experiences as an assistant as she molds her own leadership style.

“I want to create a really positive, fun environment where the girls can be successful,” she said. “That’s trying to figure out how to make the practice schedules a little bit more accommodating, build in some more free time in the week, which I don’t know if that’s possible, but just being a little bit more accommodating to all the different personalities … Juli kind of started that with the pods and the personality test and that kind of stuff, and she certainly got us on a good path there.”

At 38 years and 7 months old when the tournament begins next year, Lewis will be the youngest American captain in Solheim Cup history and the second-youngest captain in tournament history.

“I obviously knew this was going to happen at some point in my career,” Lewis said. “Obviously earlier than I thought, but it’s OK. I feel like it’s the right time for Team USA and it’s the right time for me to step in.”

Lewis will go up against Norwegian golfer and Team Europe captain Suzann Pettersen, a two-time major champion on the LPGA Tour.

Korda, Vu Look to Settle the Score at Solheim Cup

Team USA's Lilia Vu drives the ball during practice for the the 2024 Solheim Cup.
This weekend's 2024 Solheim Cup is the second for Team USA's Lilia Vu. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The 2024 Solheim Cup tees off on Friday, with US golf stars looking to topple three-time defending champs Europe in the team tournament's 19th iteration.

Alternating between European and US host courses each edition, teams compete in three days of match play, collecting one point for every win and a half-point for every tie. The US needs a total of 14.5 points to take this year's Cup outright, while Europe needs just 14 to retain it. 

Team USA spans 12 of the sport's top-ranked and most decorated athletes, including Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz, Lauren Coughlin, Megan Khang, Ally Ewing, Lilia VuRose Zhang, and the soon-to-retire Lexi Thompson.

Team Europe and Team USA pose with the Solheim Cup outside the Robert Trent Jones Gold Club.
No team has won four straight Solheim Cups, a feat three-peat champs Europe will attempt to conquer this weekend. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

US golfers on a mission to reclaim Solheim Cup dominance

Team Europe has held the Cup since 2019, but the margins have been razor thin. The 2023 event actually ended in a 14-14 tie, but as reigning champions, Europe retained the title in what the team considers their eighth victory over the US.

While the US holds the advantage over Europe in overall Solheim Cup wins, they haven't raised the trophy in seven years. And unlike other competitions with continuously swelling prize purses, only international bragging rights are on the line here.

Neither team has ever won four consecutive titles, and the US will aim to keep Europe from claiming that historic victory on home soil in Gainesville, Virginia, this weekend.

Team USA's Nelly Korda plays a shot at the 2024 Solheim Cup practice.
World No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda hopes her 2024 season success will help the US take the Solheim Cup this weekend. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Star US golfer Nelly Korda sees Solheim Cup as "unfinished business"

All eyes are now on Team USA's Korda, who's coming off a banner 2024 after winning six different LPGA Tour events, including her second major.

"Whenever you get to wear the red, white, and blue and stars and stripes, there's a different meaning to it," the world No. 1 golfer told the BBC earlier this week. "You're playing not just for yourself, but for your captains, for your teammates, and your country, and there's just nothing like it. We have got some unfinished business."

How to watch the 2024 Solheim Cup women's golf tournament

The Solheim Cup starts Friday, September 13th, at 7:05 AM, with live coverage across NBC, the Golf Channel, and Peacock.

The Late Sub Podcast: Alex Morgan’s Final Game

US soccer icon Alex Morgan is sprayed with champagne after her final game on Sunday.
US soccer legend Alex Morgan played her last professional match on Sunday. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire takes a moment to talk about the final few days of Alex Morgan’s professional career, how the soccer world has changed since Morgan’s debut, and how the star herself spoke about what’s next.

Then, she discusses what Angel Reese’s season-ending injury means for the WNBA playoff race, salutes the US Open, reflects on the 2024 Paralympic Games, and more.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

NWSL, NCAA Soccer Stars Take U-20 Women’s World Cup by Storm

USYNT and ACFC defender races past Paraguay players with the ball on Saturday.
ACFC defender Gisele Thompson was one of five goalscorers in the USYNT's 7-0 defeat of Paraguay at the U-20 World Cup on Saturday. (Julian Medina/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

The USYNT cruised to the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup knockout round in historic fashion on Saturday, routing Paraguay 7-0 in Bogotá, Colombia, thanks to stellar showings from young NCAA and NWSL standouts.

Armed with the most pros to ever feature on a US U-20 World Cup roster with eight NWSL rookies, the USYNT pulled off the largest U-20 WWC win in team history.

The US hasn't won a U-20 WWC in 12 years, with 2024 marking the first time they've made it out of the tournament's group stage since 2016.

USYNT striker and Princeton junior Pietra Tordin celebrates her first U-20 World Cup goal on Saturday.
USYNT striker Pietra Tordin scored a hat trick in Saturday's U-20 World Cup win over Paraguay. (Ricardo Moreira - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Young NWSL and NCAA players level up the U-20 game

Though long viewed as inferior to Europe and its club-based academy system, US players opting to turn pro at younger ages are making the USYNT increasingly competitive — a trend that's also pushing college programs to new heights.

In Saturday's win, Angel City defender Gisele Thompson and Utah Royals rookie Ally Sentnor both found the back of the net, while the youngest goal-scorer in Seattle Reign history, winger Emeri Adames, tied Heather O'Reilly's 2002 national record for most assists in a single U-20 World Cup game with three in the first half. 

Representing the NCAA, Princeton junior Pietra Tordin made her U-20 World Cup scoring debut count with a hat trick — the first US player to do so since Savannah DeMelo in 2018.

USYNT and Utah Royals attacker Ally Sentnor battles Mexico players for possession in a July friendly.
The US will face Concacaf rival Mexico in Wedneday's U-20 World Cup Round of 16. (Jason Allen/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

USYNT to face Mexico in U-20 knockout clash

Unlike previous editions, this year's expanded U-20 World Cup includes a Round of 16 for the first time. 

The USYNT will face regional rival Mexico tomorrow, a team they lost to in the 2023 Concacaf Championship​ final before settling two July friendlies with a draw and a win.

How to watch the US vs. Mexico at the U-20 World Cup

Catch the US women's youth national team take on Mexico in U-20 World Cup action at 9 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage on FS2.

NCAA Volleyball Off to a Whirlwind Start

A packed house watches the 2023 NCAA volleyball championship game between Texas and Nebraska.
With realignment packing more talent into Power conferences, the already popular sport will likely garner even more success in 2024. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Already one of the most popular women’s spectator sports in the US, the 2024 NCAA volleyball season is off to the races this month as the shifting lines of modern college sports plays out in real time.

Thanks to major conference realignments, regional rivalries turned national storylines will drive the narrative all the way to December's NCAA tournament.

Nebraska outside hitter Ally Batenhorst preps for a dig during a game.
2023 runners-up Nebraska will face an expanded Big Ten field this season. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Big Ten's big changes

At the forefront of these shifts is longtime volleyball powerhouse the Big Ten, which welcomed USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington from the Pac-12 this summer to bring the conference total to 18 teams.

Added travel, raucous home crowds, and even fiercer competition will play into the conference's season storyline as Midwest heavyweights Wisconsin and Nebraska meet West Coast specialists in a quest to bring the Big Ten its first NCAA title since 2021.

"We knew the venues, everything was comfortable," Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer, speaking with JWS at last month's Big Ten Media Day in Chicago, said of his team’s former Pac-12 home. "I think we're going to [see] a lot of uncomfortableness this year, just with new change."

Surprises and upsets already define the 2024 season

Mirroring that uncertainty, several 2023 heavy-hitters​ have already produced surprising results this season. Two-time defending champion Texas fell to Minnesota in early non-conference play and again to unranked Miami last weekend, while Wisconsin went 0-3 before picking up a pair of weekend wins.

Then last week, 2023 runners-up Nebraska suffered a historic upset loss to unranked SMU, though they also bounced back with weekend victories.

With Power 10 rankings already a rollercoaster, expect even more impressive performances, greater parity, and larger crowds as college volleyball rides its meteoric rise through 2024.

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