Richmond battles through some tough conditions to claim team title in Chris Banister Golf Classic

 

   It had been more than a year since Richmond had won a tournament title.

   The conditions this week for the Chris Banister Golf Classic, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Silver Lakes course in Gadsden, Ala., were extremely difficult, and the scores were high, but Richmond took the fewest strokes in the field. That meant the Spiders were crowned as the winner and that’s all they cared about.

   Richmond plays out of the Patriot League and the conference championship is what matters most to the Spiders.

   Senior Lauren Jones, the Inter-Ac League’s individual champion as a senior at Episcopal Academy in 2021, competed as an individual at Silver Lakes. But she was in the middle of it two years ago when Richmond captured the Patriot League title and represented the league in the NCAA Raleigh Regional.

   She can remind her younger teammates that it’s winning that matters, no matter how you do it.

   So yeah, it wasn’t pretty this week at Silver Lakes as Richmond outlasted host Jacksonville State by five shots with a 59-over 923 total. But I’m a firm believer that prevailing in rain, wind and cold, all of which were part of the mix at one time or another at Silver Lakes, pays off when the pressure starts to ramp up later in the spring.

   Breaking 300 as a team was an accomplishment at Silver Lakes. After opening with a 310, Richmond carded an 11-over 299 in Monday’s second round that enabled it to catch Jacksonville State and forge a tie going into Tuesday’s final round.

   The Spiders gutted out a 314 in the final round to capture the team title.

   Jacksonville State, a Conference USA representative, had jumped in front with a 10-over 298 in the opening round. The Gamecocks fell back into a tie with Richmond with a 311 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 319 that left them five shots behind the Spiders with a 64-over 928 total.

   Richmond struggled for much of the fall portion of the wraparound 2024-2025 season, but got the second half of its season off to a solid start by finishing in fourth place in the RiverTowne Invitational at RiverTowne Country Club in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. The Spiders’ last team title had come at RiverTowne a year ago.

   Richmond had four players finish among the top 10 in the individual standings, led by Maya Beasley, a sophomore from Pinehurst, N.C.  who ended up in a tie for third place with Samford’s Grace Engel, a sophomore from Huntsville, Ala., each landing on 14-over 230.

   After struggling in the opening round with an 81, Beasley matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 before closing with a 5-over 77.

   Engel’s teammate and fellow Huntsville, Ala. resident, Gabi Nicastro, like Engel a sophomore, was the runaway winner of the individual title. It was Nicatro’s second straight individual crown and fifth overall in a bustout 2024-’25 season.

   Nicastro matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 5-over 77 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 4-over 76 that gave her a 9-over 225 total in the brutal conditions that prevailed for most of the tournament.

   North Alabama’s Jahnavi Prakhyn, a senior from India, was Nicastro’s closest pursuer as she closed with the best individual round of the tournament, a 2-under 70, but still ended up four shots behind Nicastro in second place with a 13-over 229 total.

   Samford’s Engel bounced back from an opening-round 83 with a couple of solid rounds, a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round and a final round of 1-over 73 that enabled her to join Richmond’s Beasley in the tie for third place at 14-over, a shot behind Prakhyn.

   Nicastro and Engel helped Samford, a Southern Conference entry, finish six shots behind Jacksonville State in third place in the team standings with a 70-over 934 total.

   The Bulldogs added a 312 in Monday’s second round to their opening-round 315 before closing with a 307.

   Behind Prakhyn, North Alabama, an Atlantic Sun Conference representative, finished seven shots behind Samford in fourth place with a 77-over 941 total. The Lions struggled in the first two rounds, adding a 322 in Monday’s second round to their opening-round 317, but stepped up their game in the final round with a 14-over 302.

   Murray State, out of the Missouri Valley Conference, finished four shots behind North Alabama in fifth place in the seven-team field with an 80-over 944 total. The Racers added a 317 in Monday’s second round to their opening-round 313 before closing with a 314.

   Backing up Beasley for Richmond were Katie Magner, a freshman from Winnetka, Ill., and junior Hannah Lydic, who starred scholastically at Sussex Academy, as they were two of the four players tied for sixth place at 16-over 232.

   Magner recorded back-to-back 4-under 76s in the first two rounds before closing with an 80. Lydic opened with a solid 2-over 74, but struggled to back-to-back 7-over 79s in the final two rounds.

   Olivia Wilkie, a junior from Canada, gave Richmond a fourth finisher in the top 10 as she finished alone in 10^th place, a shot behind her teammates Magner and Lydic with a 17-over 233 total. Wilkie added a 4-over 76 in Monday’s second round to her opening-round 79 before closing with a 78.

   Rounding out the Richmond lineup was Christine Mandile, a senior from Winchester, Mass. who finished among the trio tied for 24^th place with a 241 total. After struggling to an 84 in the opening round, Mandile contributed a crucial counter with a 3-over 75 in Monday’s second round before closing with an 82.

   Jones, competing as an individual, finished among the trio tied for 27^th place with a 242 total. After opening with a 79, Jones struggled to an 86 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 5-over 77.

   With Richmond not earning a berth in an NCAA regional last spring, Jones was able to return home and help Merion Golf Club capture the Philadelphia Cup in the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Inter-Club Team Matches for the 74^th time in 126 playings of the annual series of matches.

   Two other Spiders, Caroline Thompson, a freshman from Montgomery, Ohio, and Heather Appelson, a sophomore from Wake Forest, N.C., also competed as individuals with Thompson finishing alone in 31^st place with a 245 total and Appelson joining a trio tied for 32^nd place at 247.

   Thompson opened with a solid 4-over 76 and struggled to an 88 in the tough conditions of Monday’s second round before closing with an 81. After opening with an 81, Appelson added an 84 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with an 82.

   Sandra Menes, a redshirt sophomore from Norway, led the way for Jacksonville State as she finished alone in fifth place, a shot behind Richmond’s Beasley and Samford’s Engel with a 15-over 231 total. After opening with a solid 3-over 75, Menes added a 76 in Monday’s second round before closing with an 80.

   Joining Richmond’s Magner and Lydic in the tie for sixth place at 16-over were Samford’s Anika Richards, a junior from Fernandina Beach, Fla., and Murray State’s Ella Scherer, a sophomore from Vine Grove, Ky.

   Richards gave the Bulldogs a third finisher in top six as opened with a solid 3-over 75 and added a 79 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 78. After opening with a 78, Scherer added a pair of 5-over 77s in the final two rounds.