The Seton Hall women’s golf team finished with another strong performance over the weekend, placing fourth in the Rio Verde Invitational out of a field of 18 teams. The Pirates continue to place within the top-five and have never placed farther than fourth throughout the whole 2019-2020 season.
The Pirates ended with a team total of 42-over-par, 306-296-304, and a total stroke count of 906. Individually, the Pirates leader was Lizzie Win, who tied for 9th place which was her best finish of the 2019-2020 season. She finished with a 7-over-par, 71-71-81, and a stroke count of 223.
The Pirates opened the first round of the Rio Verde Invitational with a solid fifth place start. The Pirates were led by Win, who tied for the individual lead among the 95 other participating golfers, ending with a 1-under-par, 71, in the opening round. This was her seventh career sub-par round, and her first of this season. The Pirates as a team shot an 18-over-par, 306, and ended the first round trailing the team leader, Xavier, by nine strokes.
Due to heavy rain in Arizona, the second day of the tournament was postponed, so on Sunday the field would play 36 holes. To start the second round on Sunday, the Pirates finished a bit better than the first round, ending the second round tied at third place heading into the final round. The Pirates also attempted 296 strokes which was the second lowest amount of all teams in the field in that round.
The Pirates looked to capitalize the best of its opportunities to finish strong in the final round of the tournament. Win, after having the two strong performances and shooting a team-high 71 strokes in the first two rounds, took 81 strokes in the third. Mia Kness, Sammie Staudt and Maddie Sager looked to help the team try to place as high as possible, all performing well in the final round. Kness and Sager both shot around 75 strokes, while Sager had 74 strokes which were key in helping the Pirates to finish in fourth place behind Big East rival Xavier in the end.
Outside of Win’s individual showing, Kness also had a strong performance, finishing tied in 22nd place with a final score of 10-over-par, 72-72-75, for a total of 226 strokes.
The Pirates look to build off its strong momentum two weeks from now in the UNF Collegiate in Jacksonville, Florida.
Ryan Beltran can be reached at Ryan.Beltran@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @RyanB591011.
