This past weekend was the culmination of it all for the Seton Hall women’s golf team and its 2018-19 campaign, a sweet chance for a year’s worth of work and season-long dreams to be realized with a hopeful Big East title. The Big East tournament, featuring the conference’s six women’s golf programs – Xavier, Georgetown, St. John’s, Butler, Creighton and Seton Hall, was the task on hand. The Pirates put forth a good effort in the tournament, but they finished in third overall.
Seton Hall was the best of the bunch entering the tournament according the Golfstat.com’s nationwide rankings, being the only school able to boast a rating under the 100 mark and sitting at 98th.
The Pirates are just removed from a painstaking second place finish at last year’s Big East Championship, in which they fell just short to Georgetown. Led by Lizzie Win and Mia Kness, the Pirates ultimately fell just short, but the experience was valuable for moving forward.
“I’m always excited about this group”, head coach Natalie Desjardins told Pirate Sports Network. “There’s just something special about the five that are going out there. I’m so proud of them.”
The island course in South Carolina was set aside specifically for golf, with a distinctive lush green scenery and plethora of wildlife to put golfers right in the heart of the states’ most celebrated natural settings. The first nine holes would be played on the Dogwood section of the course, with the second nine taking place on the Magnolia side. Tee time for the event was set for 8:50 a.m., with Win teeing off first for the Pirates.
The tournament was a par-72 course, and Win’s play was right on pace with it, as she posted a 74 in round one, followed by a 73 in round two. Kness, along with Win, was expected to head the Pirates’ attack for both individual and team competitions. She was lackluster, however, in round one, putting up a 78 to start the tournament before falling below the 80 threshold with an 81 and 82 in rounds two and three to finish 21st overall.
Carolina Ronchel Salas tied for fourth in the tournament with a 79-75-74-228, placing her alongside teammate Maddie Sager, who put together a solid run, posting a 80-75-73-228 to place her in the top-five. Sarah Fouratt would round out the Pirates lineup, shooting 33-above-par at 249.
The final team scores after round one saw Seton Hall in second place behind Xavier, but the team would need a boost from the rest of its individual performers to eclipse the Musketeers.
Seton Hall ultimately finished in third place for the tournament with a 918 total, 54 above par, registering its fifth top-three finish in Big East tournament history. Sager and Win earned all-tournament honors for the event.
Justin Morris can be reached at justin.morris@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Justin_JM12.
