Behind Kness, Seton Hall is the runnerup to Arkansas State in FAU Winter Warmup

   It is the final spring of their college careers for Seton Hall’s four seniors and the goal, as it has been the last three springs, is the same: Win the Big East Championship and earn the automatic bid to an NCAA regional that goes with it.

   It is a goal that has gone unreached and this is their last shot , which brings a special kind of urgency. The Pirates finished third a year ago at Callawassie Island Golf Club in Okatie, S.C., 16 shots behind Big East champion Xavier, and were the runnerup two years ago, 20 shots behind Georgetown.

   Seton Hall began its final push to that coveted Big East crown with a runnerup finish in the FAU Winter Warmup, which wrapped up Tuesday on the Hawk and Falcon nines at Osprey Point Golf Club in Boca Raton, Fla.

   It was a frustrating second-place finish because the Pirates held a 10-shot lead over Arkansas State after Monday’s double-round. But give the Red Wolves credit. Their 4-under-par 284 team score over the 6,017-yard, par-72 Hawk and Falcon nines in Tuesday’s final round was a program record.

   It gave Arkansas State a 14-over 878 total, three shots better than Seton Hall, which closed with a 9-over 297 that gave it a 17-over 881 total. The Pirates had the best team scores in each round of Monday’s double-round, opening with a 3-over 291 and adding a 5-over 293 in the afternoon.

   Yale, behind individual champion Amy Gianchandani, a sophomore out The Pingry School, was another eight shots behind Seton Hall in third place at 25-over 889 after the Bulldogs matched Arkansas State’s final-round 284.

   Dartmouth finished six shots behind its Ivy League rival Yale in fourth place at 31-over 895 after the Big Green had its best round of the tournament, a 5-over 293. Dartmouth struggled in the opening round with a 306 before shaving 10 shots off that with an 8-over 296 in Monday afternoon’s second round. The 5-over final round was a program record for a single round in relation to par.

   Tournament host Florida Atlantic was two shots behind Dartmouth in fifth place in the 14-team field as it closed with a 1-over 289 for a 33-over 897 total.

   Arkansas State was led by Grayson Gladden, a senior from Helena, Ala. who closed with a 2-under 70 that enabled her to finish alone in fourth place in the individual standings with a 1-over 217 total, three shots behind Gianchandani. Teammate Elise Schultz, a freshman from Pace, Fla., matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish tied for fifth place at 3-over 219.

   Arkansas State also got a pair of 1-under 71s in the final round from Olivia Schmidt, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., and Maria Jose Atristain Vega, a junior from Mexico, both of whom landed among the group tied for eighth place at 5-over 221.

   Rounding out the Arkansas State lineup was Sydni Leung, a freshman from Plano, Texas who finished strong with a 2-over 74 to join the group tied for 49^th place at 232.

   Yale’s Gianchandani, who finished fourth in the Ivy League Championship at The Ridge at Back Brook in Ringoes, N.J. last spring, was typically solid in claiming individual honors. Gianchandani sandwiched an even-par 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s for a 2-under 214.

   The only other player to finish under par was Seton Hall junior Mia Kness, the 2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Peters Township. Kness carded a 2-under 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round to move into a share of first place with Gianchandani. Kness matched par in Tuesday’s final round with a 72 that left her a shot behind Gianchandani at 1-under 215.

   Dartmouth’s Angela (Zi Lan) Zhang, a freshman from Canada, closed with a 1-under 71 to finish alone in third place with an even-par 216 total, a shot behind Kness.

   One of the four Seton Hall seniors in the FAU Winter Warmup field, Carolina Ronchel Salas of Spain, shared fifth place with Arkansas State’s Schultz at 3-over 219. Ronchel Salas was solid in Monday’s double-round, opening with a 1-over 73 and adding a 1-under 71 before finishing up Tuesday with a 3-over 75.

   Quinnipiac’s Leeyen Peralta, a freshman from Brea, Calif., finished alone in seventh place at 4-over 220 after closing with a 2-over 74. Peralta had one of just a handful of sub-70 rounds when she fired a 4-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Maddie Sager, the runnerup in the 2015 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Owen J. Roberts, has been in the lineup for nearly every tournament of her four years at Seton Hall. Her 2-under 70 was the Pirates’ best score of the opening round, although she fell back with a 79 Monday afternoon. Sager finished up with a 4-over 76 to end up in the group tied for 18^th place at 7-over 225.

   Lizzie Win, a senior from Sylvania, Ohio, struggled in the opening round with an 80, but bounced back with a 3-over 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s final round to end up in the group tied for 35^th place at 229.

   Win, Ronchel Salas and Sager finished second, third and tied for fourth, respectively, in last spring’s Big East Championship at Callawassie Island.

   Senior Sammie Staudt, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Coatesville, opened with a solid 3-over 75 and added a 77 Monday afternoon before closing with a 79 that left her in the group tied for 45^th place at 231.

   Third-year Seton Hall head coach Natalie Desjardins had brought Staudt along to fall tournaments to compete as an individual and Staudt had a couple of strong showings, including a career-best tie for fifth in Penn State’s Nittany Lion Invitational. Her solid fall performances probably earned Staudt a February trip to Boca Raton this week.

   While Seton Hall didn’t come away with a tournament win at Osprey Point, the Pirates did finish 17 shots ahead of reigning Big East champion Xavier, which ended up in sixth place with an 898 total and well clear of the other Big East entry in the field, Butler, which finished in 14^th place at 960.

   Backing up Zhang for Dartmouth was sophomore Kaitlyn Lees, the Agnes Irwin product who was a three-time Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ champion. Lees, who finished third as a freshman in the Ivy League Championship last spring, matched par in the final round with a 72 to end up in the group tied for 12^th place at 6-over 222.

   Lees struggled to a 5-over 77 in the opening round before bouncing back with a 1-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Freshman Samantha Yao, a two-time District One Class AAA champion at Conestoga, closed with a 3-over 75 and was among the group tied for 30^th place at 228. Yao, who worked her way into Dartmouth’s first five last fall, had rounds of 77 and 76 in Monday’s double-round. All three of her rounds were counters for the Big Green.

   Kristen Chen, a sophomore from Thousand Oaks, Calif., was a shot behind Yao in the group tied for 35^th place at 229 after also posting a final-round 75. Rounding out the Dartmouth lineup was Maddie Nelson, a senior from Sammamish, Wash. who finished among the group tied for 62^nd place at 240 after recording three consecutive rounds of 80.

   Although it finished behind Yale at Osprey Point, Dartmouth did finish ahead of two other Ivy League rivals as Princeton was eighth with a 907 total and Columbia was 11^th with a 918 total.