Xavier, behind McMyler, Kiefer, holds on for three-shot victory over Kennesaw State in Georgia State Invitational

    The last time the Big East Championship was contested in the spring of 2019 at the Callawassie Island Golf Club in Okatie, S.C., Xavier captured the team crown, beating Georgetown by 14 shots with Seton Hall in third, 16 shots behind the Musketeers.

   Maddie Sager, the runnerup in the 2015 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Owen J. Roberts, and Lizzie Winn of Sylvania, Ohio came back for a fifth year at Seton Hall in search of an elusive Big East crown that they thought they were building toward when the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the world last spring.

   The Pirates ran into Xavier in this week’s Georgia State Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at Rivermont Golf Club in Johns Creek, Ga., and found out that the Musketeers are again going to be a formidable hurdle in Seton Hall’s goal to overtake them and win a Big East crown.

   With three finishers among the top nine in the individual standings, Xavier held off Kennesaw State by three shots to claim the team crown in the Georgia State Invitational. The Musketeers put together a 2-under-par 286 over the 6,075-yard, par-72 Rivermont layout in the second round of Monday’s double round to take a one-shot lead over Jacksonville State with Kennesaw State lurking another four shots behind the Gamecocks in third place heading into Tuesday’s final round.

   Rivermont appears to have played pretty tough in Monday morning’s opening round with Kennesaw State grabbing the lead with a solid 8-over 296, which was one shot better than Xavier.

   The Musketeers, getting a 1-under 71 from Emma McMyler, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, carded a final round of 11-over 299 for an 18-over 882 total that left them three shots clear of Kennesaw State. The Owls, out of the ASUN Conference, had added a 4-over 292 to their opening-round 296. Their final round of 9-over 297 left them with a 21-over 885 total.

   Jacksonville State, out of the Ohio Valley Conference, had struggled to a 300 in the opening round, but got within a shot of Xavier with the best team round of the tournament, a 4-under 284, in Monday afternoon’s second round. A final round of 303 left the Gamecocks two shots behind Kennesaw State in third place with a 23-over 887 total.

   It was another eight shots back to host Georgia State and Little Rock, which ended up in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 31-over 895 total. Georgia State bounced back from an opening-round 310 with a 6-over 294 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 3-over 291. Little Rock also struggled in the opening round with a 307, but rebounded with a pair of 6-over 294s to get its share of fourth place.

   Florida International finished seven shots behind Georgia State and Little Rock in sixth place with a 38-over 902 total. The Golden Panthers shaved 14 shots off an opening-round 308 with a 6-over 294 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 300.

   Seton Hall settled for a tie for seventh place along with South Alabama at 41-over 905, three shots behind Florida International, but more importantly to the Pirates, 23 shots behind their Big East rival Xavier.

   Seton Hall was consistent, opening with a 301 and adding a 304 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 300. After struggling to rounds of 308 and 306 in Monday’s double round, South Alabama finished up with a solid 4-over 292 to climb into the tie for seventh place with Seton Hall.

   McMyler and Abby Kiefer, a junior from Dublin, Ohio, led the way for Xavier as they finished in a tie for seventh place in the individual standings, each landing on 3-over 219. McMyler’s 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s final round made her the Musketeers’ medalist for the day. She had had opened with a 76 before matching par with a 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   The starring role belonged to Kiefer in Monday’s double round as she led the field by two shots after adding a 70 to her opening round of 4-under 68 to get it to 6-under. Kiefer struggled to an 81 in Tuesday’s final round, but she had certainly provided the spark for Xavier’s solid start in Monday’s first two rounds.

   Much like Seton Hall’s Sager and Win, Mikayla Fitzpatrick, a graduate student from Phoenix, Ariz., took advantage of the NCAA’s offer to come back for a fifth year of eligibility. Fitzpatrick was the Big East’s individual champion two springs ago at Callawassie Island, leading the Musketeers to the conference crown.

   Fitzpatrick got a little better in each round at Rivermont, adding a 1-over 73 to her opening-round 75 before matching par in the final round with a 72 to finish in a tie for ninth place at 4-over 220.

   Andie Shukow, a senior from Boca Raton, Fla., came up big for the Musketeers with a 1-under 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 78. Shukow closed with a 76 to finish among the group tied for 18^th place at 225.

   Rounding out the Xavier lineup was Morgan Tinsley, a senior from Louisville, Ky. who finished among the group tied for 60^th place with a 236 total. Tinsley sandwiched a 76 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 80s, although the final-round 80 proved to be crucial counter for the Musketeers.

   High Point’s Samantha Vodry, a graduate student from Mooresville, N.C., finished up with a steady 1-under 71 to end up a shot ahead of Georgia State’s Mahina Leveau, a freshman from France, and Kennesaw State’s Tai Anudit, a senior from Thailand, with a 5-under 211 total that gave her the individual crown.

   Vodry had matched par in the opening round before adding a 4-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round that left her two shots behind Xavier’s Kiefer heading into Tuesday’s final round.

   Leveau carded the low round of the tournament, a 5-under 67, in Monday afternoon’s second round to get into contention after she had opened with a 74. She matched Vodry’s final-round 71 to finish in a tie for second place with Anudit at 4-under 212. Anudit had added a 71 to her opening round of 3-under 69 and was right with Vodry, two shots behind Kiefer going into Tuesday’s final round. Anudit matched par in the final round with a 72 to join Leveau at 4-under.

   After opening with a 75, South Alabama’s Julie Hovland, a junior from Norway, carded a solid 3-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round and closed with a 70 to finish alone in fourth place, two shots behind Leveau and Anudit at 2-under 214.

   Jacksonville State’s Berta Sanchez, a freshman from Spain, was another shot behind Hovland in fifth place at 1-under 215. After opening with a 74, Sanchez bettered par in the next two rounds with a 2-under 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round followed by a final-round 71.

   Another Spaniard, Florida International senior Agueda Cortilla, finished three shots behind her country woman Sanchez in sixth place with a 2-over 218 total. Cortilla opened with a 73 and added a 76 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing strong with a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Little Rock’s Viktoria Krnacova, a freshman from Slovakia, joined Xavier’s Fitzpatrick in a tie for ninth place at 4-over 220, a shot behind the Xavier duo of McMyler and Kiefer. Krnacova sandwiched a 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 1-over 73s.

   Leading the way for Seton Hall was Ginevra Ricciardelli, a freshman from Italy who finished in a tie for 16^th place with an 8-over 224. Ricciardelli got off to a great start, adding a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 74 that left her at even-par 144 following Monday’s double round. Ricciardelli, however, struggled in the final round with an 80.

   Win’s bad round came in Monday afternoon’s second round when she carded an 80, but the veteran matched par in the first and final rounds with 72s that left her in the group tied for 18^th place at 9-over 225.

   Senior Mia Kness, the 2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Peters Township, closed with a solid 1-over 73 to finish among the group tied for 36^th place at 230. Kness started slowly, adding a 79 in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 78.

   Sager was another shot behind Kness in the group tied for 40^th place at 231 as she added a 3-over 75 to her opening-round 77 before finishing up with a 79.

   Rounding out the Seton Hall lineup was Sarah Fouratt, a junior from Santa Maria, Calif. who finished among the group tied for 56^th place at 235. Fouratt couldn’t get it going in Monday’s double round, signing for a pair of 80s, but she closed with a solid 3-over 75.