Women’s golf second at Big East Championship; three Pirates earn All-Tournament honors

Seton Hall senior Cassie Pantelas, sophomore Lizzie Win and freshman Mia Kness all tied for fourth place in individual scoring, lifting the Pirates to second place as a team at the Big East Women’s Golf Championship in Callawassie Island, S.C., from April 20-22. The trio’s efforts earned each of them All-Tournament honors in the team’s final competition of the spring season. Day one of the tournament saw abnormally high scores throughout the field, due to high winds on the par-72, 5,959-yard course. Pantelas was the top performer of the day for the Hall, with a strong 76, despite the added challenge. Sophomore Sammie Staudt also put in a strong first round, recording a pair of birdies en route to a six-over-par 78. [caption id="attachment_22902" align="aligncenter" width="838"] Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption] Collectively, the Pirates shot a 24-over-par 314 in the first round, well above their normal team scoring average. The tough first round left the Pirates in third, one stroke behind Xavier and 14 strokes behind championship favorite Georgetown. However, the Hall turned it around on day two. Four of the five Pirate golfers improved on their first-round performance, led by Win. The sophomore scored a 1-over-par 73, the best round of the weekend for Seton Hall, as the Pirates passed Xavier and shaved the gap on Georgetown to 11 strokes entering the final day of action. While the Pirates could not catch the Hoyas, who recorded the best team round of the weekend on day 3, the Hall played well regardless and cemented its second-place finish. Sophomore Maddie Sager put in the best back nine of any Pirate all weekend, as she scored a team-best 75 on the last day. Pantelas, Win, and Kness all finished with a 14-over-par 230 to tie for fourth and earn the All-Tournament honors. Sager finished in 14^th overall with a 22-over par 238, while Staudt tied for 15^th with a 23-over-par 239. The fact that all five Pirates finished in the top half of the 30-player bodes well for the future of the program under head coach Natalie Desjardins. While Cassie Pantelas’ excellent Big East career comes to a close, all four of her teammates at the championship were underclassmen, who will look to improve in time for the fall season. Kyle Beck can be reached at kyle.beck1@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @notkylebeck.