The Seton Hall women’s golf team shined at the Princeton Invitational over the weekend, finishing first place among a field of 13, including two Big East opponents, St. John’s and Georgetown.
The Pirates got off to a quick start with three players all shooting under-par through the first nine holes. Maddie Sager shot even through the first nine and improved her playing finishing at 3-under-par, 68, to finish the round on Saturday. Sarah Fouratt, Sammie Staudt, and Carolina Ronchel Salas all finished their first nine with scores of -1, -4, and -2, with Fouratt birdying four times and Ronchel three. Staudt ended the first round with the best score of the three, shooting even on-par, and she went on to finish the round with her best play of golf in her career as she shot at 4-under-par, 68, including 4 birdies. This earned her a second place finish overall.
Mia Kness and Lizzie Win were not able to shoot well through the first round,. Kness shot at 3-over-par, and Win finished the day at 9-over-par. The team played well as a unit, shooting a new par-72 team record at 5-under-par, 283, besting its total a week ago at Penn State.
Staudt, Sager, and Fouratt all entered Sunday in the top-10 on the leaderboard. Staudt entered the second round on Sunday only one stroke behind the tournament leader, Yale’s Ami Gianchandani. She would shoot even through the first nine and finish her tournament tied for second, finishing at 1-over-par, 73.
Fouratt started well shooting at 2-under-par through the first nine and finished her day at a solid 1-under-par, 71, finishing fourth among all golfers. Sager would cool off on Sunday, shooting at 2-over-par for the round and finishing at 4-over, 76, tied for 8th. Ronchel Salas and Win finished their tournaments at 3-over and 1-over respectively, and Kness rounded out the individual competition at 2-over-par, 74.
The strong opening round by the Pirates fueled by Staudt’s fantastic play led to a first place finish for Seton Hall, as they outlasted the hosts Princeton, 575 strokes to 582.
The women’s golf team will look to achieve the same result at Rehoboth Beach, as they will compete in the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, hosted by the University of Delaware, next.
Jacob Ford can be reached at Jacob.ford@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @JakeFord_5.
