The Seton Hall women’s golf season takes a hiatus from late April until late September, but rising senior and team leader Lizzie Win kept busy competing this summer. Win, who earned Big East All-Tournament and All-Conference honors for the second straight season in 2018-19, played in the LPGA Marathon Classic from July 11-14.
Win qualified for this year’s event by notching an even par-72 in a qualifying event earlier in that week, topping a field of 78 golfers for an automatic berth in the weekend field. The Marathon Classic is held in Win’s hometown of Sylvania, Ohio, where she played varsity golf all four years of her high school career and eventually became a team captain. Win also participated in the 2018 tournament, entering by way of a tournament sponsor’s exemption rather than purely on merit.
The field consisted of over 100 elite amateur and professional golfers, highlighted by world No. 3 Lexi Thompson and 11th-ranked Sei Young Kim of South Korea. Kim went on to win the event with a four-day score of 22-under-par on the par-71 course, with Thompson following close behind at 20-under-par.
Win, competing as an amateur, had a consistent start to her first round in front of the hometown crowd, notching a birdie on the ninth hole to finish the front nine at 1-over-par. She saved her best for last on Day 1, finishing with three consecutive birdies to end the day with a 1-under-par 70 and in contention to make the cut for the final two rounds.
Unfortunately, Friday’s second round proved more difficult, and a score of 77 meant Win finished behind the cut mark at 5-over-par, ending her weekend earlier than she would have wished. Despite the disappointment, Win put on a strong performance contending with the pros and will return to South Orange for her senior campaign ready to lead a veteran squad with Big East Championship ambitions.
The 2019-20 edition of the Pirates, a veteran team led by second-year coach Natalie Desjardins, is primed for one of the program’s most successful seasons in recent memory. In Desjardins’ maiden season, Seton Hall paced the field at both the Delaware Lady Blue Hen Invitational and the William & Mary Intercollegiate while producing several strong finishes elsewhere.
Win headlines a roster including three more accomplished seniors – Maddie Sager, Carolina Ronchel Salas, and Sammie Staudt. Mia Kness, who earned Big East Freshman of the Year honors in 2017-18 and was recently named Seton Hall’s Sophomore Athlete of the Year, returns as a junior. Promising sophomore Sarah Fouratt rounds out the team.
The previous season culminated in a third-place finish at the Big East Championship, with the team posting their lowest collective total score in the four years at the event’s current venue, on Callawassie Island in South Carolina. Win finished second overall amongst individuals at the tournament, and she joined Ronchel Salas in earning All-Big East honors at the conclusion of the season.
The Pirates open their fall campaign on Sept. 21 at the Nittany Lion Invitational hosted by Penn State. They return to New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational the next weekend before traveling to Delaware.
Kyle Beck can be reached at kyle.beck1@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @notkylebeck.
