NOVA SOUTHEASTERN WINS WOMEN’S GOLF NATIONAL TITLE!
For the 10th consecutive year, the NCAA Division II Women's Golf National Championship belongs to a Sunshine State Conference team. This year, Nova Southeastern chalked a 15-stroke win to claim the school's first DII national title in any sport. A round-by-round recap appears below.
Three SSC teams are vying for the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship in Findlay, Ohio, May 13-16. Florida Southern, Nova Southeastern, and Rollins are in the championship hunt, as well as Florida Tech's Daniela Iacobelli. For round-by-round coverage, read below.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 (Round One):
Cool temperatures and wet conditions made for a tough opening round for a trio of teams from the Sunshine State. Rollins fared the best of the SSC contingent, posting a 309 to assume third spot in the standings. Tarleton State jumped out to the early lead, firing a 301. Indianapolis sits six strokes behind Tarleton State with a 307.
Nova Southeastern finished the first round 13 strokes behind the leader, tallying a 314. Florida Southern is currently eighth with a 320.
Individually, Florida Tech's Daniela Iacobelli shot a two-over 74 to tie for third. Rollins' Cecilia Kleinert carded a 75 to tie for sixth, while Nova Southeastern's Sandra Changkija is tied for ninth with a 76.
Play resumes on Thursday.
THURSDAY, MAY 14 (Round...Zero):
A soaking rain was the only thing to hit the links at the Findlay Country Club on Thursday, as weather rendered round two action impossible. After initially pushing tee times back to noon, the NCAA and country club officials deemed the course unplayable. The players will look to make up lost ground with 36 holes on Friday.
FRIDAY, MAY 15 (Rounds Two and Three):
The weather cooperated, and the teams had some ground to make up in Friday's second and third rounds at the women's golf championship. The unexpected day of rest seemed to suit Nova Southeastern well, as the Sharks rocketed from fifth place to first. Turning in the lowest score of both of Friday's rounds, NSU (314-302-307=923) built a 10-stroke cushion over second-place Indianapolis (307-311-315=933) heading in Saturday's final round.
Rollins (309-315-310=934) held steady in third place after turning in rounds of 315 and 310. The Tars are 11 strokes off championship pace. Fueled by an impressive 307 in round two, Florida Southern (320-307-320=947) climbed two spots to sixth.
Indianapolis' Lyndsay McBride (74-75-72=221) holds a four-stroke advantage over NSU's Sandra Changkija (76-74-75=225) in the race for the individual title. Florida Tech's Daniela Iacobelli (74-80-73=227) is also still in the hunt, holding steady in a tie for third place with a 227.
Saturday will be the final round of competition.
SATURDAY, MAY 16 (Final Round):
For the third straight round, Nova Southeastern carded the lowest score of the day to roll to a 15-stroke victory over Grand Valley State at the NCAA DII Women's Golf Championship. The Sharks' (314-302-307-307=1230) final round 307 gave them a tally of 1,230 strokes, outpacing the Lakers' (310-309-317-309=1245) final total of 1,245.
Rollins (309-315-310-314=1248) shot a final-round 314 to tie for third with a final score of 1,248. For the second day in a row, Florida Southern (320-307-320-311=1258) moved up in the standings, finishing fifth with a score of 1,258.
The individual title went to Indianapolis' Lyndsay McBride (74-75-72-77=298), who finished with a score of 298. NSU's Sandra Chagkija (76-74-75-75=300) fired a final-round 75 to tie for second place, just two strokes behind McBride. Daniela Iacobelli (74-80-73-78=305) closed out a fine career at Florida Tech by finishing sixth with a score of 305.
Three other SSC golfers also finished in the top ten individually. NSU's Maria Garcia Austt tied for seventh (82-74-77-75=308). Rollins' Joanna Coe (78-77-77-77=309) and Florida Southern's Heather Burgner (78-76-79-76=309) tied for ninth.
Nova Southeastern's title is especially significant, inasmuch as it's not only the school's first women's golf title, but it is also the first NCAA Division II national championship of any kind won by an NSU team. NSU's victory also extended the SSC's strangle hold on women's golf national crowns, as it was the 10th straight title won by a member institution.
Final Results