Kness, Sager power Seton Hall to dominating victory in Brown Bear Invitational

   Three players on the Seton Hall roster teed it up in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club in August.

   And that same trio was at the top of the leaderboard Monday when the Pirates completed a dominating team victory in the Brown Bear Invitational, hosted by Brown at Legdemont Country Club in Seekonk, Mass.

   Freshman Mia Kness, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Peters Township last fall, and sophomore Maddie Sager, the former Owen J. Roberts standout who was the runnerup in the 2015 PIAA Class AAA Championship, finished tied for the individual title at 1-under 141.

   The teammates, celebrating a 34-shot team victory for the Pirates, went out for a playoff and Kness finally captured the title on the fourth extra hole.

   Kness and Sager each carded a 1-under 70 over the 6,099-yard, par-71 Ledgemont layout in Sunday’s opening round and came back with an even-par 71 in Monday’s second round.

   Lizzie Win, a sophomore from Sylvania, Ohio and the third member of Seton Hall’s U.S. Women’s Amateur trio, finished third in the Brown Bear, two shots behind Kness and Sager at 1-over 143. Win had the low round Monday for the Hall with a 1-under 70 after opening with a 2-over 73.

   The trio led Seton Hall to an opening round of even-par 284, six shots better than any Seton Hall team has ever recorded on a par-71 course. The Pirates were just one shot higher Monday, with a 1-over 285 that gave them a 1-over 569 total for the 36-hole event.

   Seton Hall’s Big East rival St. John’s was a distant runnerup with rounds of 295 and 308 for a 35-over 603 total. Quinnipiac was another shot behind St. John’s in third at 604 with rounds of 294 and 310. Lehigh (305-301) and Farleigh Dickinson (298-308) shared fourth place at 606 and host Brown had a pair of 304s to finish alone in sixth at 608.

   Seton Hall also got a strong showing from Cassie Pantelas, a senior from Canton, Ohio who had rounds of 72 and 73 to finish tied for sixth at 3-over 145. Sophomore Sammie Staudt, a former Coatesville standout, rounded out the starting five for the Hall with solid rounds of 72 and 76 as she finished tied for 12^th at 6-over 148.

   Seton Hall also sent out three players competing as individuals. Gianna Tomeo (82-79), a junior from Bradenton, Fla., finished tied for 46^th at 161, senior Macky Fouse (83-82), the 2013 PIAA Class AA champion at Central Valley, finished 51^st at 165 and Jamie Greene (91-85), a junior from Troy, Mich., finished tied for 66^th at 176.

   Lehigh’s Aileen Jeong, a junior from Dublin, Calif., and St. John’s Alejandra Sanchez, a junior from Mexico, finished tied for fourth at 2-over 144. Jeong opened with an even-par 71 and added a 1-over 73 Monday. Sanchez matched the 2-under 70s posted by Kness and Sager in the opening round and added a 3-over 74 in the second round.

   Joining Seton Hall’s Pantelas in the tie for sixth at 145 was St. John’s Kaitleen Shee, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. who matched par in the opening round with a 72 and a 1-over 74 in Monday’s second round.