DeLaGarza claims individual title, leads Dallas Baptist to team crown over 40 other teams in Kiawah Island Classic

    There were no heavyweights of women’s college golf teeing it up in the Kiawah Island Classic, which wrapped up Tuesday, but the event can still boast that it’s the largest in women’s college golf because 41 teams were in the field.

   For many of the teams – Delaware being one of them – it was the first time they teed it up since the coronavirus pandemic shut down college golf nearly a year ago. There were so many teams, it took more than one golf course to stage the event, Cougar Point Golf Course and Oak Point Golf Club, both located on the barrier island that is Kiawah Island.

   And while many of the programs weren’t big, there are really good players everywhere and the Kiawah Island Classic proved that point. Plus, it was the college debut for Delaware’s Christina Carroll, a freshman from Bear, Del. whose development as a player I watched from afar while reporting on her numerous starts on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour over the years. And Carroll played pretty well.

   Dallas Baptist University, the top-ranked team in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association, was much the best as the Patriots finished 27 shots clear of runnerup, host and defending champion, the College of Charleston, behind individual champion Faith DeLaGarza, a sophomore from Midland, Texas. Looks like Dallas Baptist is an NCAA Division II program.

   It looks like teams traded off either course the first two days. Dallas Baptist opened with a 4-over 292 over the 5,991-yard, par-72 Cougar Point layout in Sunday’s opening round and then took command with an 11-under 277 in Monday’s second round over the 5,958-yard, par-72 Oak Point layout.

   The top teams, pretty sure it was the top 19, then played Cougar Point in Tuesday’s final round with the Patriots posting an 8-over 296 to end up with a 1-over 865 total.

   College of Charleston had a rough start with a 305 at Cougar Point, but bounced back by matching par with a 288 at Oak Point. The Cougars closed with an 11-over 299 at Cougar Point for a 28-over 892 total that left them 27 shots behind Dallas Baptist.

   East Tennessee State got the jump on the field with a 2-under 286 in Sunday’s opening round at Cougar Point that gave it a six-shot edge on Dallas Baptist.

   The Buccaneers struggled to a 304 at Oak Point in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 305 at Cougar Point to finish three shots behind College of Charleston in third place at 31-over 895.

   Northern Illinois opened with a solid 6-over 294 Sunday at Cougar Point and was equally impressive in registering a 5-over 293 in Monday’s second round at Oak Point. With chilly temperatures and win buffeting Kiawah Island in Tuesday’s final round, the Huskies struggled to a 309 at Cougar Point, but finished just a shot behind East Tennessee State at 32-over 896.

   Much like Northern Illinois, Stetson was solid in the first two rounds, opening with an 8-over 296 at Cougar Point and adding a 7-over 295 at Oak Point in Monday’s second round. The Hatters struggled in the difficult conditions that came up for Tuesday’s final round, closing with a 307 at Cougar Point to finish two shots behind Northern Illinois in fifth place at 34-over 898.

   The pandemic prevented Delaware from competing in the fall, so the trip to Kiawah Island was the long-awaited season opener for the Blue Hens. They opened with a 300 at Cougar Point and added a 306 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 319 back at Cougar Point to finish in a tie for 19^th place with Youngstown State and Oakland at 61-over 925.

   DeLaGarza opened with a sparkling 5-under 67 at Cougar Point, added a 1-over 73 at Oak Point that, remarkably, was a throwout for the Patriots, and closed with another 1-over 73 in the difficult conditions of Tuesday’s final round for a 3-under 213 total that gave her a two-shot margin of victory over East Tennessee State’s Wanda Amira Rawof, a senior from Malaysia, and Murray State’s Raeysha Surendran, a senior, also from Malaysia.

   Backing up DeLaGarza for Dallas Baptist were Jaycie Stewart, a freshman from San Diego, Calif., and Olivia Mitchell, a freshman from Plano, Texas, both of whom landed in a tie for fifth place in the individual standings at 1-over 217. Both contributed a 3-under 69 at Oak Point to the Patriots’ sizzling team performance in the second round. Stewart opened with a 76 at Cougar Point and matched par with a 72 back at Cougar Point in the final round. Stewart had bookend 2-over 74s in the opening round and final round at Cougar Point.

   Hanna Harrison, a senior from Plano, Texas, gave Dallas Baptist four finishers among the top 12 as she landed among the group tied for 12^th place at 6-over 222. After opening with a 3-over 75 at Cougar Point, Harrison posted a solid 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round at Oak Point before closing with a 77 back at Cougar Point.

   Rounding out the Dallas Baptist lineup was Julia Garcia, a freshman from Temple, Texas who ended up in the group tied for 78^th place at 232. After opening with a 76 at Cougar Point, Garcia delivered a third 3-under 69 for the Patriots in Monday’s second round at an Oak Point layout that was much more to her liking before struggling to a final-round 87 back at Cougar Point.

   East Tennessee State’s Rawof opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71, one of just a handful of rounds under par at Cougar Point in the final round, to get her share of second place at 1-under 215.

   Murray State’s Surendran had the individual lead heading into the final round as she added a 4-under 68 to her opening-round 69. Surendran, however, struggled to a 78 in Tuesday’s final round at Cougar Point, but still shared runnerup honors with Rawof at 1-under 215.

   Elon’s Apple Ngamwong, a freshman from Thailand, was another shot behind Rawof and Surendran in fourth place at even-par 216. Ngamwong opened with a 75 and then added a 3-under 69 before matching par in the final round at Cougar Point with a 72.

   Surendran’s Murray State teammate, Payton Carter, a sophomore from Henderson, Ky., finished in a tie for seventh place with Lipscomb’s Emily Keeling, a junior from Farragut, Tenn., and Northern Illinois’ Lauren Ingle, a senior from Rochester Hills, Mich., at 4-over 220, three shots behind the Dallas Baptist pair of Stewart and Mitchell.

   Carter had a pair of even-par 72s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 4-over 76 at Cougar Point. Keeling matched the low round of the day in Tuesday’s final round at Cougar Point with a 2-under 70 after she had posted back-to-back 75s in the first two rounds. After opening with a 74, Ingle got it going with a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 77 in Tuesday’s final round at Cougar Point.

   Rounding out the top 10 were Boston College’s Angel Lin, a freshman from Canada, and IUPUI’s Amelie Svejda, a junior from Austria, both of whom finished in a tie for 10^th place at 5-over 221. Lin closed with her second straight 1-over 73 after carding a 75 in Sunday’s opening round. Svejda finished up with a second straight 74 after posting a 1-over 73 in Sunday’s opening round.

   Delaware’s Carroll opened her college career with a sparkling 2-under 70 at Cougar Point that included birdies at the ninth, 12^th and 15^th holes and 14 pars and left her in a tie for fourth place. A 3-over 75 in Monday’s second round at Oak Point still had Carroll in a tie for 10^th place going into Tuesday’s final round.

   Carroll struggled to an 84 in the final round as she shared medalist honors for the Blue Hens, joining teammate Oihana Etxezarreta, also a debuting freshman from Spain, both landing among the group tied for 51^st place at 13-over 229.

   Etxezarreta opened with a 77 at Cougar Point and added a 76 at Oak Point before closing with another 76 back at Cougar Point to join Carroll at 229.

   Backing up the top two for Delaware was Lexi Dart, a sophomore from England who finished among the group tied for 68^th place at 231. Dart’s best round was her 4-over 76 at Cougar Point in Sunday’s opening round. She added an 80 at Oak Point in Monday’s second round before closing with a 76 at Cougar Point.

   Anna Kittelson, a junior from Boise, Idaho, shaved 10 shots off her opening-round 85 at Cougar Point with a solid 3-over 75 in Monday’s second round at Oak Point before closing with an 83 at Cougar Point to join the group tied for 161^st place at 243.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Lene Sperling, a sophomore from Germany who finished a shot behind Kittelson in the group tied for 164^th place at 244. Sperling opened with a 78 at Cougar Point and added an 81 at Oak Point in Monday’s second round before struggling to an 85 in Tuesday’s final round back at Cougar Point.

   Also showing up in the Elon lineup was junior Sophia Mancuso, who finished 13^th in the PIAA Class AAA Championship in 2018 as a senior at Central Bucks East. Mancuso opened with a 76 and added a 77 in Monday’s second round before closing with an 80 to finish among the group tied for 83^rd place at 233.

   Another woman making her college debut after an outstanding junior career in Delaware was James Madison’s Haley Quickel, a Padua Academy product. After struggling to an opening-round 87, Quickel settled down with an 80 in Monday’s second round before closing with an 81 to finish in a tie for 183^rd place at 248.

   James Madison, a Colonial Athletic Association rival of Delaware’s, finished in ninth place in the team standings with a 45-over 909 total.