There’s going to be a
whole bunch of conference champions crowned in the next few weeks and I’m
hoping to wrap up as many of them as I can. Let’s start with …
North Carolina Wilmington had the best round of the weekend
in Sunday’s final round, a 15-over 303, to capture its first victory in the
Colonial Athletic Conference Championship since 2012 by a comfortable 17-shot
margin over Delaware.
The title over a Reserve Club Course at St. James Plantation
in Southport, N.C. that played very, very tough earned the Seahawks an
automatic berth in the NCAA regionals.
Behind individual champion Phu Khine, a freshman from
Myanmar, UNC Wilmington opened with a 309 Friday and added a 306 in Saturday’s
second round before the closing 303, the low team round of the weekend by any
team in the eight-team field, gave it a 54-over 918 total.
The Blue Hens, who tuned up for the CAA Championship with a
practice round at Stonewall’s Old Course April 4, struggled to an opening-round
315. After a 307 in Saturday’s second round, Delaware was still only seven
shots behind UNC Wilmington heading into Sunday’s final round.
But Delaware couldn’t get it going Sunday, carding a 313 for
a 71-over 935 total. It was the second straight year Delaware had to settle for
runnerup honors.
Defending champion the College of Charleston closed with a
310 to finish a shot behind Delaware in third at 72-over 936. Towson was
another two shots behind the College of Charleston in fourth place at 74-over
938 after a final-round 312.
Elon had its best round of the weekend, a 312, in Sunday’s
final round to finish 14 shots behind Towson in fifth place at 88-over 952.
Khine saved her best for last as she was one of just two
players to so much as match par over the 6,103-yard, par-72 Reserve Club layout
and her final-round 72 gave her the CAA individual title by a shot over the
College of Charleston’s Victoria Huskey, a junior from Greenville, S.C.
Khine opened with a 4-over 76 and added a 75 in Saturday’s
second round to trail teammate Thao My Nguyen, a junior from Vietnam, by three
shots and Huskey and Towson’s Jordan Conelius, a freshman from Bethesda, Md.,
by two shots heading into Sunday’s final round.
Khine, who birdied her first three holes Sunday, closed with
that even-par 72 that left her with a 7-over 223 total. Huskey, who had
finished in a tie for second in last spring’s CAA Championship, carded a
final-round 75 to finish a shot behind Khine at 2-over 224. Huskey had opened with
a 1-over 73 before adding a 76 in Saturday’s second round.
My Nguyen, who had opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 75 in
Saturday’s second round, closed with a 77 to share third place with Towson’s
Cornelius at 9-over 225. Cornelius had matched My Nguyen’s opening-round 73 and
then added a pair of 4-over 76s to get her piece of third.
The rest of the Seahawks’ lineup kept grinding away all
weekend and had as much to do with the team title as Khine and My Nguyen did.
Madison Isaacson, a freshman from Greensboro, N.C., carded
three straight 78s to finish alone in 12th place at 234. Rachael
Mast, a sophomore from Lexington, S.C., closed with a solid 76 to finish alone
in 14th place at 236.
Rounding out the UNC lineup was Elinoora Moisio, a senior
from Finland who finished up with a 79 to end up with the group tied for 28th
at 248.
William & Mary’s Allison Olberding, a junior from West
Des Moines, Iowa, finished alone in fifth in the individual chase at 12-over
228, two shots behind My Nguyen and Cornelius. Olberding matched the low round
of the weekend with her even-par 72 in Saturday’s second round to get in the
hunt for the individual title before finishing up with a 77.
A couple of Elon players, Aurelia Hamm, a senior from
France, and Adel Vadkerti, a sophomore from Hungary, landed in a tie for sixth
at 13-over 229, a shot behind Olberding. Hamm, who had opened with a 2-over 74,
closed with a 76 while Vadkerti’s final round of 2-over 74 was her best of the
weekend.
The College of Charleston’s Jordee Tindal, a sophomore from
Rock Hill, S.C., had her best round of the weekend in Sunday’s final round, a
2-over 74, to finish alone in eighth place at 14-over 230.
Delaware accounted for the next three spots in the
individual standings as Ashley Dingman, a senior from Fairfield, Calif., closed
out her career with a ninth-place finish, posting a 15-over 231 total, Ariane
Klotz, a junior from New Caledonia, took 10th with a 16-over 232
total and Thitaree Sakulbunpanich, a sophomore from Thailand, was 11th
with a 17-over 233 total.
Dingman opened with a 76 and added a 77 in Saturday’s second
round before closing with a 78. Klotz had shared second place a year ago with
the College of Charleston’s Huskey and just couldn’t get it going in Friday’s
opening round, carding an 84. She was more like herself in the final two
rounds, carding a 75 Saturday and closing with a solid 1-over 73 Sunday.
Sakulbunpanich, coming off individual co-medalist honors in
the Edisto Island Invitational, had a pair of 77s in the first two rounds
before closing with a 79.
Sophia Dieter, a freshman from Jupiter, Fla., gave the Blue
Hens a fourth finisher in the top 20 as she landed among the group tied for 17th
at 239. After posting a pair of 78s in the first two rounds, Dieter struggled
to a final-round 83.
Rounding out the Delaware lineup was another senior closing
out her college career, Valentina Mueller of Switzerland. Mueller never solved
a challenging Reserve Club course, finishing up with an 86 to end up in the
group tied for 32nd at 253.
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