Georgetown repeats as Big East champion; Seton Hall fnishes second

   Georgetown claimed the team crown in the Big East Championship, presented by Jeep, for the second straight year Sunday at Callawassie Island Golf Club in Okatie, S.C., but Seton Hall, with several former Pennsylvania scholastic standouts on the roster, is gaining on the Hoyas.

   Georgetown, led by individual champion Jacquelyn Eleey, a senior from Quincy, Mass., got the jump on field with an 11-over-par 299 over the 6,010-yard, par-72 Dogwood and Magnolia nines at Callawassie Island in Friday’s opening round and closed with a 10-over 298 for a 39-over 903 total. The Hoyas’ first and third rounds were the only sub-300 rounds of the weekend.

   Seton Hall, which finished fifth a year ago, was the runnerup at 923, 20 shots behind Georgetown. The Pirates got off to a tough start with an opening-round 314, but played better as the weekend wore on with a second round of 302 and a final-round 307 Sunday.

   Xavier was another 15 shots behind the Hall in third at 938 after a final-round 316. Butler finished fourth at 946 after a final round of 307, St. John’s was fifth at 952 after a final-round 318 and Creighton was sixth at 993 after a final-round 328.

   Eleey trailed teammate Christina Parsells, a junior from Bernardsville, N.J., by a shot heading into the final round, but carded a solid 1-over 73 to finish with a 6-over 222 total while Parsells posted an 81 to fall back into a tie for second.

   Eleey opened with a 1-under 71 before falling behind Parsells with a 78 in Saturday’s second round. But Eleey came on strong in the final round to make it bookend individual titles for her at Georgetown. Eleey captured the title as a freshman in 2015. Her victory Sunday made her the first two-time individual winner in conference history.

   Parsells finished seven shots behind Eleey in a tie for second with Butler’s Abigail Gleixner, a sophomore from Greenwood, Ind., at 13-over 229.

   Georgetown had two other players finish in the top 10 as both Ashley Fitzgibbons, a sophomore from Sammamish, Wash., and Pendleton Bogache, a junior from Myrtle Beach, S.C., ended up in the group tied for ninth at 232. Fitzgibbons finished up with a solid 2-over 74 while Bogache carded her second straight 78 after opening up with a 76.

   Alexa Popowitz, a junior from Boca Raton, Fla., rounded out the Georgetown lineup as she finished just outside the top 10 in 11^th place at 233. Popowitz’s final round of 1-over 73 shared medalist honors for the Hoyas for the day with Eleey.

   Butler’s Gleixner caught Georgetown’s Parsells for a share of second with a final round of 3-over 75. Gleixner had posted a pair of 76s in the first two rounds.

   A trio of Seton Hall players comprised the three-way tie for fourth as Cassie Pantelas, a senior from Canton, Ohio., Lizzie Win, a sophomore from Sylvania, Ohio, and freshman Mia Kness, the 2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Peters Township, all landed on 14-over 230.

   Pantelas, wrapping up her Seton Hall career, was in the hunt for the individual title after following up an opening-round 76 with a 75. But she slipped back with a final-round 79.

   Win and Kness, key parts of Seton Hall’s young nucleus, each opened with an 80. Win fired a solid 1-over 73 in the second round before finishing up with a 77. Kness also recovered from her slow start with a 2-over 74 in the second round before finishing up with a 76.

   Xavier’s Mikayla Smith, a junior from Appleton, Wis., and St. John’s Linda Wang, a sophomore from Fresh Meadows, N.Y., finished in a tie for seventh at 231, a shot behind the Seton Hall trio. Smith put together three straight 77s while Wang finished up with a solid 2-over 74.

   A couple of former Chester County scholastic standouts rounded out the lineup for Seton Hall.

Sophomore Maddie Sager, the 2015 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Owen J. Roberts, finished alone in 14^th place at 238. After struggling with rounds of 83 and 80 Friday and Saturday, Sager finished strong with a 3-over 75 that was the best score of the day for the Pirates.

   Sophomore Sammie Staudt, a Coatesville product, was a shot behind Sager in the group tied for 15^th at 239. Staudt opened with a 78 and added an 82 before finishing up with a 79.