On a day when golf conditions were not ideal, the Seton Hall women's golf team finished second, by one stroke, to St. John's with sophomore Alison Kruse taking home an individual title at the St. John's Intercollegiate on Tuesday.
As a team the Pirates finished 37-over-par, 613, but the main story of the day was the impressive round by Kruse.
Kruse earned the victory with a 4-over-par 74 for the tournament, helped by her performance in crunch time.
"It was my first time ever in a final pairing," Kruse said. "I knew conditions were rough so I wanted to keep it in play and not make any big mistakes."
With rainy winds gusting, Kruse and the rest of the Pirates put together a round to remember.
Coach Sara Doell said she was pleased with all of her players, but she couldn't help but go back to the round that Kruse put together. For the day, Kruse hit 14 out of 18 greens, including the last seven.
Doell said she thought Kruse's performance was, "solid."
Kruse said she felt just as confident in herself during the round. "I was hitting the ball really well and was able to trust where I wanted the ball to go," Kruse said.
After two tournaments in the books Doell said she is not just liking, but loving what she is seeing from her resilient team. "
We finished the first two tournaments 2nd and 1-stroke back," Doell said. "We can go down the avenue of being frustrated, but we won't, we'll use it for motivation to realize how important every shot is."
In only the third year of being a Division I program, Doell said she sees potential success.
"We started in 2010, so I am certainly thrilled because I knew they could do this," Doell said. "They are stepping up to the plate across the board."
The Pirates will look to continue their early success at the Yale Women's Intercollegiate in New Haven, Conn. this weekend.
Kenny Lenoci can be reached at Kenneth.Lenoci@student.shu.edu
