Turner, James Madison stage furious rally to claim CAA crowns; Delaware finishes third

    The first of what, hopefully, will be a bunch of roundups of conference championships …

   James Madison, getting a 1-under-par 71 from individual champion Kendall Turner, a redshirt freshman of Chesapeake, Va., matched par in the final round with a 288 at the Grandover Resort’s East Course in Greensboro, N.C. to overcome a 16-shot deficit and beat the College of Charleston for its fifth Colonial Athletic Association Championship victory, but its first since 2013.

   The Dukes had carded a 14-over 302 in Sunday’s opening round over the 6,050-yard, par-72 East Course layout before adding a 19-over 307 in Monday’s second round that left them 16 shots behind the College of Charleston, which had trailed James Madison by four shots with its opening-round 306, but ripped off the best team round of the tournament, a 1-under 287, to take command of the team race.

   But James Madison bounced back with its final-round 288 while the Cougars fell back with a 309 that enabled the Dukes to finish with a 33-over 897 total and earn the CAA’s automatic berth in the NCAA regionals. The College of Charleston finished five shots behind James Madison with a 38-over 902 total.

   It was another 14 shots back to a young Delaware team that closed with its best round of the tournament, a 10-over 298 to finish in third place with a 52-over 916 total.

   The Blue Hens were coming off a team victory in the Kingsmill Intercollegiate at the Kingsmill Resort’s River Course in Williamsburg, Va. two weeks ago. They struggled in the opening round in the CAA Championship with a 314, but got better as the week wore on, shaving 10 shots off their opening round with a 16-over 304 before finishing up with a 298.

   Elon was another 10 shots behind Delaware in fourth place at 62-over 926. The Phoenix struggled to a 321 in the opening round, but bounced back with a 307 in Monday’s second round before matching Delaware’s final round of 10-over 298.

   Towson was another 13 shots behind Elon in fifth place in the seven-team field as it added a pair of 309s to its opening-round 321 for a 75-over 939 total.

   Much like her team, Turner trailed the College of Charleston’s Viktoria Hund, a freshman from Germany, by five shots heading into Tuesday’s final round in the individual chase. Hund had added a 4-under 68 to her opening-round 76 to get it to even-par through two rounds. Turner had added a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 74 that left her at 5-over.

   After making a bogey on the third hole, Turner ripped off three straight birdies at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes. She fell back to 1-over for the round with bogeys at eight, nine and 11. But Turner rallied again with birdies at the 13^th and 16^th holes to finish out a 1-under 71 that gave her a 4-over 220 total.

   Hund struggled a 5-over 77 in the final round and settled for runnerup honors at 5-over 221.

   Backing up Turner for James Madison was Amelia Williams, a freshman from Gainesville, Fla. who was the medalist for the Dukes in their final-round surge with a 2-under 70 that left in her a tie for third place with the College of Charleston’s Olivia Hamilton, a senior from England, at 8-over 224. After opening with a 2-over 74, Williams had struggled in the second round with an 80 before bouncing back in a big way in the final round.

   Kate Owens, a redshirt sophomore from Suwanee, Ga., was a shot behind her teammate Williams in fifth place at 9-over 225 for the Dukes. Owens sandwiched a 77 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 2-over 74s.

   Carly Lyvers, a redshirt sophomore from Simpsonville, S.C., saved her best for last, a final round of 1-over 73 that enabled her to join the group tied for 11^th place at 230. Lyvers had opened with an 80 before adding a 5-over 77 in Monday’s second round.

   Rounding out the James Madison lineup was Ana Tsiros, a redshirt freshman from Asheville, N.C. who finished alone in 23^rd place at 238. After struggling to an opening-round 84, Tsiros carded a solid counting 78 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 76.

   The College of Charleston’s Hamilton kept improving as the week wore on as she added a 75 to her opening-round 77 before matching par in the final round with a 72 to get her share of third place with James Madison’s Williams at 8-over 224.

   The College of Charleston’s Victoria Huskey, a senior from Greenville, S.C., finished a shot behind James Madison’s Owens in sixth place at 10-over 226. Huskey, the runnerup the last time the CAA Championship was held two springs ago at St. James Plantation’s Reserve Club in Southport, N.C., bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a sparkling 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with another 79.

   William & Mary’s Sarah Houle, a junior from Sandy Hook, Conn., and Elon’s Adel Vadkerti, a senior from Germany, shared seventh place, each landing on 11-over 227. Houle improved in every round, adding a 76 to her opening-round 78 before closing with a solid 1-over 73. After opening with an 80, Vadkerti bounced back with a 1-over 73 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 74.

   Delaware’s Oihana Etxezarreta, a freshman from Spain, earned a top-10 finish in her first CAA Championship appearance as she ended up alone in ninth place at 12-over 228. Etxezarreta opened with a solid 75 and struggled a little in Monday’s second round with a 79 before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Rounding out the top 10 was Elon’s Apple Ngamwong, a freshman from Thailand who finished a shot behind Etxezarrata in 10^th place with a 13-over 229 total. Ngamwong struggled in the first two rounds, adding a 79 to her opening-round 77 before finishing up with a solid 1-over 73.

   Backing up Etxezarreta for Delaware was another freshman, William Penn High product Christina Carroll, who finished among the group tied for 11^th place at 230. Carroll, who honed her game on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, was in a tie for fifth place after adding a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 78. She finished up with another 78.

   Liz Coffren of Owings, Md. gave Delaware a third freshman among the top 13 as she shared 13^th place at 232 with teammate Anna Kittelson, a junior from Boise, Idaho who was the Blue Hens’ most veteran player in the CAA Championship field. Both got better as the week went on as Coffren added a 77 to her opening-round 81 before finishing up with a 2-over 74 and Kittelson adding a 79 to her opening-round 80 before closing with a solid 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Lexi Dart, a sophomore from England who landed in the group tied for 15^th place at 233. Dart shaved eight shots off her opening-round 82 with a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a counting 77.