When the NCAA told the players who lost the spring of their senior season to the coronavirus pandemic they could have a fifth year of eligibility, Seton Hall’s Maddie Sager, the PIAA Class AAA runnerup in 2015 as a senior at Owen J. Roberts, jumped at the opportunity.
Still, the pandemic wasn’t quite finished throwing up obstacles. The fall portion of the wraparound 2020-2021 season would be cancelled for the Pirates. Even the first couple of events of the shortened spring season became casualties of the pandemic for Seton Hall.
Seton Hall was supposed to play in the annual event at Georgetown, but that tournament, too, was cancelled. Seton Hall head coach Natalie Desjardins found the Jan Weaver Invitational, Murray State’s annual spring event held at its home course, the Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray, Ky. and the host Racers graciously welcomed the Pirates into their field.
Seton Hall has only been playing for a month, but the Pirates are as ready as they can be for the Big East Championship, which tees off April 23 at The Club at Gateway in Fort Myers, Fla. Even that’s changed as the normal home of the Big East Championship, Callawassie Island Golf Club in Okatie, S.C., didn’t want to expose its largely senior population to a lot of visitors.
After opening with a 4-over-par 76 in the first round of Friday’s double round over the 6,024-yard, par-72 Miller Memorial layout, Sager fired a 1-under 71 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s final round to finish alone in third place in the individual standings at 4-over 220.
It looks like Miller Memorial provided a pretty stiff challenge and that’s something else Desjardins was likely trying to find. Sager finished four shots behind the individual winner, Bradley’s Taylor Ledwein, a senior from New Prague, Minn., and Ledwein could only match par for 54 holes with a 216 total.
The host Racers pulled out a two-shot victory over Central Arkansas to win the team title in their tournament for the first time since 2017. Murray State will tee off in Ohio Valley Conference Championship in a couple of weeks looking for its fourth straight conference crown.
After opening with a 305, Murray State carded the second-best team round of the weekend with a 6-over 294 in Friday afternoon’s second round. Unfortunately for the Racers, Central Arkansas, which had matched their opening-round 305, had the best round of the weekend, a 5-over 293, in the second round to take a one-shot lead into Saturday’s final round.
But Murray State, led by Sarah Forsythe, a junior home girl from Murray, Ky. who matched par with a 72, carded an 11 over 299 in the final round that gave the Racers a 34-over 898 total and a two-shot victory over the Sugar Bears. Central Arkansas finished up with a 302 to settle for runnerup honors with a 36-over 600 total.
Seton Hall was another two shots behind Central Arkansas in third place at 38-over 902. After opening with a 303, the Pirates added an 11-over 299 in Friday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 300.
It was another five shots back to Bradley, behind Ledwein, the individual champion, in fourth place with a 43-over 907 total. The Braves jumped out to the lead with an opening round of 10-over 298 before backing off with a 308 in Friday afternoon’s second round and finishing up with a 301.
Belmont took fifth place in the 12-team field, ending up three shots behind Bradley with a 46-over 910 total. After opening with a 14-over 302, the Bruins added a pair of 304s.
Forsythe and Payton Carter, a sophomore from Henderson, Ky., led the way for Murray State as they landed in a trio of players tied for fourth place at 7-over 223. Forsythe struggled to a 78 in the opening round, but added a 1-over 73 in Friday afternoon’s second round before matching par with her clutch 72 in Saturday’s final round. Carter was in contention for the individual title after opening with a 73 and adding a 1-under 71 in Friday afternoon’s second round before falling back with a final-round 79.
Ana Garcia Picchi, a sophomore from Spain, backed up Forsythe and Carter as she added a 77 to her opening-round 76 and closed with a 2-over 74 to join the group tied for 18th place at 228.
Raeysha Surendran, a sophomore from Thailand, contributed a 1-over 73 to Murray State’s solid second-round team showing after she had opened with a 76. Surendran struggled to an 85 in Saturday’s final round to finish among the trio tied for 35th place at 234.
Rounding out the Murray State lineup was Briana McMinn, a freshman from O’Fallon, Ill. who struggled in Friday’s double round, adding an 81 to her opening-round 80. But McMinn came up huge for the Racers with a final round of 2-over 74 that left her among the trio tied for 38th place at 235.
Bradley’s Ledwein took control of the individual race right from the start as she opened with the only sub-70 round of the weekend, a sparkling 3-under 69. She added a 74 in Friday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73 for an even-par 216 total that gave her a three-shot victory, her second straight tournament title and third overall in her college career.
Belmont’s Delia Gibbs, a freshman from Lexington, Ky., caught Ledwein by the end of Friday afternoon’s second round as she added an even-par 72 to her opening round of 1-under 71. Gibbs cooled off a little with a final round of 4-over 76, but held on to claim runnerup honors with a 3-over 219 total that left her a shot ahead of Seton Hall’s Sager.
Joining Murray State’s Forsythe and Carter in the tie for fourth place, three shots behind Sager at 7-over 223 was Evansville’s Sophia Pohleder, a senior home girl from Evansville, Ind. who matched par in Friday afternoon’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 74 before finishing up with a 77.
The Central Arkansas pair of Tania Nunez, a sophomore from Mexico, and Elin Kumlin, a sophomore from Sweden, were joined by Eastern Kentucky’s Diana McDonald, a graduate student from Canada, in a three-way tie for seventh place at 8-over 224.
After opening with a 76, Nunez added a 1-over 73 in Friday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 75. Her teammate Kumlin sandwiched an even-par 72 in Friday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 76s. McDonald struggled in the opening round with a 77 before registering a solid 1-under 71 in Friday afternoon’s second round. She finished up with a 76.
McDonald’s Eastern Kentucky teammate, Ragga Kristinsdottir, a junior from Iceland, rounded out the top 10 as she finished alone in 10th place with a 9-over 225 total. Kristinsdottir matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-over 74 in Friday afternoon’s second round before struggling to a 79 in Saturday’s final round.
Pim-orn Thitisup, a freshman from Thailand, gave Central Arkansas three finishers among the top 11 as she finished alone in 11th place at 10-over 226. Thitisup signed for a pair of 75s in Friday’s double round before closing with a 76.
Like Sager, Lizzie Win, a graduate student from Sylvania, Ohio, came back for a fifth year at the Hall. Winn opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 76 in Friday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 75 that left her in the group tied for 12th place at 11-over 227.
They came to Seton Hall together in the fall of 2016 and felt like they were building toward a Big East crown and a berth in the NCAA regionals in the spring of 2020 when the pandemic shut down college golf.
Sager and Win came back for one last shot at a Big East title. It won’t be easy. Xavier, which won the Big East the last time it was contested in 2019, finished 23 shots ahead of the Pirates in last month’s Georgia State Invitational. But Sager and Win played well this weekend and they’ll get that one last shot at a Big East crown.
Ginevra Ricciardelli, a freshman from Italy, gave Seton Hall three finishers among the top 16 as she followed up an opening-round 74 with a pair of 77s to finish in a tie for 16th place at 228.
Rounding out the Seton Hall lineup were senior Mia Kness, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2016 as a senior at Peters Township, and Sarah Fouratt, a junior from Santa Maria, Calif., both of whom landed among the group tied for 28th place at 232.
After opening with a 78, Kness carded a 3-over 75 in Friday
afternoon’s second round before closing with a 79. Fouratt added an 80 to her
opening-round 77 before finishing up with her best round of the weekend, a
3-over 75.
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