You’re the Seton Hall women’s golf team and you’re itching
to get out on the golf course again.
You fly to the desert Southwest for the opener of the spring
portion of the 2018-’19 season, the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz.
And it snows????
Yes, even in Arizona some snow sometimes falls. It was only
an inch or two, but it forced the postponement of the opening round of the Rio
Verde Invitational and shortened the event from 54 holes to 36 holes.
But all’s well that ends well as the Pirates, behind a solid
1-under-par 70 over the 6,215-yard, par-71 Quail Run Course at Rio Verde
Country Club by junior Maddie Sager, an Owen J. Roberts product, finished up with an
8-over 292 Sunday to take runnerup honors behind Big East rival Xavier in the team
standings.
Coming off a strong fall campaign, Seton Hall has one very
clear goal in mind: Win the Big East Championship and earn a bid to an NCAA
Regional. The Pirates finished 20 shots behind Georgetown last spring in second
place. Xavier finished another 15 shots behind Seton Hall in third, so the Musketeers
are taking aim on a Big East championship themselves.
Xavier opened with a 15-over 299 Saturday and stood in third
place, trailing first-round leader Arkansas State by two and Boise State, which
was in second place at 298, by one.
The Musketeers matched Seton Hall’s 8-over 292 Sunday for a
23-over 591 total that enabled them to hold off the Pirates by three shots.
Seton Hall, kicking the rust off after a long winter of swinging clubs in
simulators, struggled to an opening-round 302 before coming on strong with its
292 that gave the Pirates a 26-over 584 total.
Boise State slipped back a couple of shots from its
opening-round 298 with a 300 in the second round to finish third at 598, four
shots behind Seton Hall.
Western Michigan, behind individual champion Olivia
Hernandez, a senior from Canada, added a 305 to its opening-round 300 to take
fourth at 37-over 605.
Opening-round leader Arkansas State fell back into a tie for
fifth in the 18-team field with Bradley at 38-over 606. Arkansas State posted a
309 on top of its opening-round 297 while Bradley added a 300 to its
opening-round 306.
Leading the way for Xavier were Mikayla Fitzpatrick, a
junior from Phoenix, and Lyndsey Hunnell, a graduate student from Troutville,
Va., both of whom were among the trio tied for fourth in the individual
standings at 4-over 146.
Fitzpatrick matched par with a 71 in Sunday’s final round
after opening with a 75 and Hunnell added a solid 1-over 72 to her
opening-round 74.
Backing up the top two for Xavier was Mikayla Smith, a
senior from Appleton, Wis. who gave the Musketeers a third player in the top
eight as she finished among the group tied for eighth at 6-over 148. Smith
contributed a solid 1-over 72 to Xavier’s strong second round after opening up
with a 76.
Andie Shukow, a sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla, opened with
a solid 3-over 74 for Xavier and backed off with a 79 in the final round to
finish among the group tied for 34th at 153. But Amy Kucera, a
sophomore from Riverside, Ill., picked up her teammate with a counting 77 in
the final round. Kucera also opened with a 77 and finished among the group tied
for 39th at 154.
Western Michigan’s Hernandez had the low round of the
opening day and matched the low round of the weekend with a 1-under 70. She
added a 1-over 72 in Sunday’s second round to capture the individual title by
two shots with an even-par 142 total.
A couple of Bradley players, Frankie Saban, a senior from
Oakland Park, Ill., and Taylor Ledwein, a junior from New Prague, Minn., were
Hernandez’s closest pursuers. Saban carded her second consecutive 1-over 72 to
claim runnerup honors at 2-over 144. Ledwein matched the low round of the
tournament with her 1-under 70 in the second round after opening with a 75 as
she finished alone in third at 3-over 145, a shot behind her teammate.
Joining the Xavier duo of Fitzpatrick and Hunnell in the
trio tied for fourth at 4-over 146 was Northern Illinois’ Lauren Ingle, a
sophomore from Rochester Hills, Mich. Ingle added a 1-over 72 to her
opening-round 74.
Wichita State’s Hana Mirnik, a freshman from Slovenia,
matched par in the final round with a 71 to finish alone in seventh place at
5-over 147.
Leading the way for Seton Hall were Lizzie Win, a junior
from Sylvania, Ohio and probably the Pirates’ best player, and Carolina Ronchel
Salas, a junior from Spain, both of whom joined Xavier’s Smith in the group
tied for eighth at 6-over 148.
Win had the low round of the day for Seton Hall in the first
round with a 73 and finished up with a 75. Ronchel Salas opened with a 75 and
finished up with a 73.
Sager, the 2015 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Owen
J. Roberts, sparked the final-round surge by Seton Hall as she made five
birdies in her final 12 holes in matching the low round of the tournament with
a 1-under 70. She struggled a little in the opening round with a 79 and landed
among the group tied for 13th at 7-over 149.
Sophomore Mia Kness, the 2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a
senior at Peters Township, gave the Pirates four players among the top 13 as
she joined Sager among the group tied for 13th at 149. Kness added a
74 to her opening-round 75.
Rounding out the Seton Hall lineup was junior Sammie Staudt,
a former Coatesville standout who added an 80 to her opening-round 83 to finish
among the group tied for 78th at 163.
Maria Contreras Luna, a freshman from Spain, joined the
Seton Hall contingent, competing as an individual. After opening with a 79,
Contreras Luna struggled in the second round with an 88 that left her in the group
tied for 92nd at 167.
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