WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – It's been five years since their last conference title, but on Tuesday afternoon the No. 5 Nova Southeastern University women's golf team laid claim to the 2017 Sunshine State Conference women's golf title once again, giving them a total of five conference titles to their credit since 2008.
The Sharks began the SSC tournament on Sunday with an opening round score of 295 which slotted the team in third place. But a second round low score of 291 gave NSU the lift they needed to climb two spots in the team standings to grab the tournament lead heading into the final round. And with a final round of 302, the Sharks combined for a three-day score of 888 (+24) on the 6,074-yard, par-72 Country Club of Winter Haven course to claim the conference championship by a five-stroke margin.
The Sharks' three round score of 888 is a new Sunshine State Conference record in top scores in relation to par at +24. This breaks the previous conference record of +30, also held by NSU since 2010, when the tournament was hosted at Grande Oaks Golf Club.
"I'm so happy for this team and for the hard work we have been putting in both mentally and physically," exclaimed head coach
Heather Wall. "The course played tough today and we hung in there and fought hard. It was a huge team effort and I couldn't be prouder. There is still much work to be done before regionals, but we are going to enjoy this one!"
NSU's
Michelle Ruiz finished third overall in the individual standings to lead the way for the Sharks. The junior finished with a three-round combined score of 221 (+5) after rounds of 71, 76 and 74.
Aldana Foigel (+7) finished tied for sixth, while
Jamie Freedman (+9) and
Sophie Madden (+10) finished 13
th and 14
th respectively.
Janelle Johnson (+12) finished 19
th to round out the team scores.
No. 6 Saint Leo (+29) and No. 8 Florida Tech (+29) both tied for second to finish as the tournament runners-up. Top-ranked Barry (+30) finished fourth, while No. 22 Florida Southern (+36) rounded out the top five teams.
Barry's Charlotte Puts finished as the conference tournament individual medalist. Over three rounds of play, she finished with an even par 216.
The Sharks will now await word from the NCAA on the official announcement of postseason selection for the NCAA Regional tournament. The selection announcement is scheduled to be released on Monday, May 1
st for the regional tournament participation. Currently the Sharks are ranked fourth in the NCAA South Region poll. The NCAA South Super Regional will be held May 8-10, 2017 at the Members Club at Woodcreek in Columbia, S.C.
