Individual champion Hund leads host College of Charleston to team crown in Briar's Creek Invitational

                                                                                                                                                                Victoria Huskey, a graduate student from Greensville, S.C., holed a birdie putt on the 18^th hole to give  host the College of Charleston a one-shot victory over hard-charging Miami in the Briar’s Creek Invitational, which concluded Tuesday at The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek on Johns Island, S.C.

   College of Charleston is No. 66 in the latest Golfstat rankings, but that may be going up after what Jamie Futrell, the head coach of  the Cougars, called the biggest win in the history of the program.

   According to the College of Charleston website, Huskey was on the practice green preparing for the 2020 Briar’s Creek Invitational when word came down that the coronavirus pandemic was forcing the NCAA to cancel the rest of the spring of her senior season. When the NCAA offered seniors like Huskey an extra year of eligibility to make up for that lost spring, she decided to come back for a fifth year.

   Huskey’s birdie putt gave the Cougars a 4-under 284 over the 6,110-yard, par-72 Briar’s Creek layout in Tuesday’s final round and a 9-over 873 total. The original plan was for teams to play 36 holes Monday, but darkness caused play to be suspended with players returning Tuesday morning to complete the second round. The College of Charleston, which plays out of the Colonial Athletic Association, had opened with a 9-over 297, the only first-round total to come in less than 300, and added a 4-over 292 when the second round finally went into the books Tuesday morning. The Cougars had a 13-shot lead over No. 18 Miami and No. 84 Michigan going into the final round.

   And the Hurricanes nearly caught the College of Charleston. Miami ripped off the second-lowest 18-hole team score in relation to par in program history with a scintillating 16-under 272, but came up just short of the Cougars with a 10-over 874 total. Miami, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, had a pair of 13-over 301s in the first and second rounds.

  Maryland also closed strong with a final round of 10-under 278 that left it in third place, 12 shots behind the Hurricanes with a 22-over 886 total. The Terrapins had risen to No. 14 in the Golfstat rankings, but fell back to No. 21 when the rankings were updated following the Briar’s Creek Invitational. Maryland had struggled in the opening round with a 313, but bounced back with a 301 in the split second round.

   Maryland led a parade Big Ten teams that accounted for the next four spots in the team standings. No. 55 Ohio State finished in fourth place, three shots behind Maryland at 25-over 889. The Buckeyes also struggled in the first round with a 314, but bounced back with a 4-over 292 before carding a solid 5-under 283 in the final round.

   No. 34 Michigan was tied for second place going into the final round after adding a 302 to its opening-round 300. The Wolverines matched par in the final round with a 288, but dropped back to fifth place, a shot behind Ohio State at 26-over 890.

   No. 40 Michigan State was three shots behind its in-state rival in sixth place as the Spartans ended up with a 29-over 893 total. Michigan State opened with a 307 and added a 301 before finishing strong with a 3-under 285.

   Old Dominion moved up a few spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 64 to No. 61 after finishing in seventh place, two shots behind Michigan State at 31-over 896. The Monarchs, representing Conference USA, carded a 303 in Monday’s opening round and added a 300 before finishing up with a 4-over 292.

   Miami’s ACC rival, No. 50 North Carolina, was another shot behind Old Dominion in eighth place at 32-over 897. The Tar Heels, like most of the field, struggled in the first two rounds, opening with a 303 and adding a 305 in a second round that started Monday and was completed Tuesday. North Carolina closed with a solid 2-over 290.

   No. 68 Penn State, another Big 10 entry, finished with its best round of the tournament, a solid 1-under 287 in Tuesday’s final round that lifted the Nittany Lions into a tie for 12^th place with No. 69 East Carolina in the 18-team field at 44-over 908. Penn State hadn’t played since the Gator Invitational three weeks ago and the rust was evident in its opening-round 317, but the Nittany Lions battled back with a 304 in the second round before putting together a strong final round.

   Leading the way for the College of Charleston was the individual champion, Viktoria Hund, a freshman from Germany who finished two shots ahead of Ohio State’s Aneka Seumanutafa, a sophomore from Emmitsburg and No. 47 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Hund trailed her teammate Huskey by two shots after opening with a 1-over 73, but Hund signed for a 2-under 70 when the second round was completed Tuesday morning and closed with a sparkling 5-under 67 to finish with a 6-under 210 total.

   Huskey’s 1-under 71 matched the low round of Monday’s opening round. She slipped a little with a 74 in the second round, but matched par in the final round with a 72 that left her among a trio of players tied for fourth place at 1-over 217.

   Olivia Hamilton, a senior from England, gave the College of Charleston a third finisher among the top eight as she joined four other players tied for eighth place at 4-over 220. After opening with a 76, Hamilton carded a critical 1-under 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Othilie Lied, a freshman from Norway, matched par in the final round with a key 72 that left her among the group tied for 53^rd place at 230. Lied had struggled in the first two rounds, opening with an 81 and adding a 77 in the second round, which was a counter for the Cougars.

   Rounding out the College of Charleston lineup was Jodee Tindal, a senior from Rock Hill, S.C. who sandwiched an 81 in the second round with a pair of 77s to finish in the group tied for 69^th place at 235. Tindal’s opening-round 77 was a counter for the Cougars.

   Seumanutafa was one of 12 players invited to Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in late January for a practice session for candidates for the U.S. Curtis Cup team, which will take on Great Britain & Ireland in August at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales. She struggled a little in the opening round with a 75, but got it going after that, posting a 69 in the second round and finishing up with a 4-under 68 to earn runnerup honors, two shots behind Hund with a 4-under 212 total.

   Miami’s Nataliya Guseva, a freshman from Russia, fired a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish a shot behind Seumanutafa in third place at 3-under 213. Guseva had matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Joining College of Charleston’s Huskey in a tie fourth place at 1-over 217, four shots behind Guseva, were Michigan State’s Leila Raines, a freshman from Galena, Ohio, and Maryland’s Laura Van Respaille, a senior from France.

   Raines made a huge move up the leaderboard in the final round with a sparkling 6-under 66 after struggling to rounds of 75 and 76 in the first two rounds. Van Respaille struggled to an opening-round 77, but bounced back with a 71 in the second round before closing with a solid 3-under 69.

   Michigan’s Ashley Lau, a junior from Malaysia, finished alone in seventh place at 3-over 219, two shots behind the trio tied for fourth.  Lau put together back-to-back 74s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Illinois’ Tristyn Nowlin, a senior from Richmond, Ky., and Crystal Wang, a junior from Diamond Bar, Calif., were two of the four players who joined the College of Charleston’s Hamilton in the logjam tied for eighth place at 4-over. Nowlin battled back from an opening-round 79 with a 73 in the second round before finishing up with a sparkling 4-under 68. Wang added a 76 to her opening-round 73 and closed with a solid 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the quintet at 220 were Guseva’s Miami teammate, Kristyna Frydlova, a junior from the Czech Republic, and Boston College’s Angel Lin, a freshman from Canada. Frydlova struggled in the first two rounds with rounds of 77 and 76, but helped spark the Hurricanes’ blazing finish with a sparkling 5-under 67 in the final round. Lin bounced back from an opening-round 77 with a 73 in the second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Penn State was led by Sarah Willis, a junior from Eaton, Ohio who sparked the Nittany Lions to their strong finish with a 4-under 68 in the final round that left her in the group tied for 20^th place at 7-over 223. Willis had struggled in the opening round with an 81, but bounced back with a 74 in the second round.

   Mathilde Delavallade, a sophomore from France, also broke 70 in the final round with a 3-under 69 that left her among the group tied for 34^th place at 226. Delavallade also struggled in the opening round with an 81 and added a 76 in the second round.

   Megan McLean, the Voorhees High product who came back for a fifth year, opened with a 76 and added a 78 in the second round before finishing up with a 75 that left her in the group tied for 50^th place at 229. All three rounds were counters for the Nittany Lions.

   Isha Dhruva, a sophomore from Katy, Texas, was a shot behind McLean in the group tied for 53^rd place with a 230 total. Dhruva’s best round also came in Tuesday’s final round, a 3-over 75. She had registered rounds of 79 and 76 in the first two rounds.

   Victoria Tip-Aucha, a freshman from Vienna, Va. via Thailand, has certainly been thrown into the deep end of the pool to open her college career. She struggled to rounds of 82 and 80 in the first two rounds before closing with a 77 that left her in a tie for 78^th place at 239.