Nova Southeastern dominated from start to finish and won its second consecutive NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship on Saturday at the Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. SSC teams filled out the top three slots, as Rollins finished second, and Florida Southern took third. A complete round-by-round recap of all NCAA golf, including Saturday's championship around, appears below.
With NSU's victory on Saturday, SSC teams have won the last 11 NCAA DII women's golf championships.
DII Championship Live Scoring
REGIONAL ROUND ONE UPDATE (MAY 2): SSC teams hold the top four spots after Sunday's first round of action at the NCAA DII Women's Golf South Regional. Nova Southeastern and Florida Southern are tied at the top of the leaderboard with a 304. Rollins sits four strokes back in third place with a 308. Barry is just one stroke behind Rollins in fourth with a 309. Lynn (319) and Saint Leo (322) are in sixth and eighth place, respectively.
Individually, Rollins' Joanna Coe and Lynn's Maha Haddioui are tied for first after firing a day one score of 72.
Play will resume on Monday. Live tournament scoring is available at the following link.
REGIONAL ROUND TWO UPDATE (MAY 3): Nova Southeastern took sole possession of the top spot on the team leaderboard, but it was of the slimmest of margins over SSC rival Florida Southern. After concluding the first round of play tied with a 304, NSU shot a second-round 302 (304-302=606) to edge one stroke ahead of the Moccasins at the DII Women's Golf South Regional. FSC fired a day-two 303 (304-303=307) to assume second place with one round remaining.
Rollins and Barry are knotted in a tie for third. The Tars carded a 306 (308-306=614) on Monday, while the Buccaneers tallied a 305 (309-305=614). Lynn (319-318=637) slipped one spot to seventh, while Saint Leo (322-319=641) stayed put in eighth.
Individually, Rollins' Joanna Coe built a two-stroke advantage at the top of the standings. Coe (72-71=143) notched a second-round 71 to take over first place. Nova Southeastern's Sandra Changkija (74-71=145) and Florida Southern's Marianne Andersson (74-71=145) are tied for second with two-round scores of 145. After a strong opening round that saw her tie for the lead, Lynn's Maha Haddioui (72-77=149) posted a 77 on Monday to slip to a tie for sixth.
The regional championship will be decided with 18 holes on Tuesday.
REGIONAL FINAL ROUND UPDATE (MAY 4): Nearly all of the nine teams competing in Tuesday's final round of the NCAA DII Women's Golf South Regional shaved a significant number of strokes off their second round scores, but no team bettered its peformance more than Nova Southeastern (304-302-284=890), which shot a final-round 284 to take the regional title. The Sharks' score of 284 on Wednesday was a whopping 18-stroke improvement over Tuesday's total and propelled the squad to a nine-stroke win over Florida Southern. The Moccasins (304-303-292=899) concluded play with an 899, having carded a 292 in the final round. FSC's final-round tally was 11 strokes lower than its second-round total.
Both NSU and FSC advance to the NCAA DII Women's Golf Championship, which will be contested May 12-15 in Mesa, Ariz. They will be joined by SSC counterpart Rollins (308-306-291=905), which concluded the regional with a score of 905 to earn the third team spot in the national field. The Tars' third-day score of 291 was a 15-stroke improvement over Tuesday's round.
Barry (309-305-313=927) took fourth place in the final standings, carding a final day 313. Having whittled 17 strokes off its second-round score, Saint Leo (322-319-302=943) fired a final-round 302 to climb two spots up the leaderboard and finish sixth. Lynn (319-318-318=955) fell two places to ninth, concluding the event with a total tally of 955.
Rollins' Joanna Coe (72-71-69=212) won medalist honors, shooting a third-round two-under par 69 to finish with a final tally of 212. Nova Southeastern's Sandra Changkija (74-71-68=213) fired a three-under 68 to finish one stroke behind Coe. Florida Southern's Marianne Andersson (74-71-72=217) placed third, while teammate Melanie Audette (75-79-68=222) tied for fourth.
Barry's Isadora Stapff tied for seventh to enter a four-player playoff for the four individual slots to the tournament. She was joined in the quartet by teammate Lizzi Over, who tied for seventh. Each player shot par on the first playoff hole. Stapff then shot par on the second playoff hole, and Over shot one-over par. Stapff advanced to the national championship along with Newberry's Maria Luz Besio (birdie) and Belmont Abbey's Carley Warrington (par).
With three teams advancing to the national championship, the SSC will look to win its 11th straight DII title. Nova Southeastern will try to defend the national title it won a year ago, which was the first in program history.
NCAA FIRST ROUND UPDATE (MAY 12): Defending national champion Nova Southeastern got off to a good start in Wednesday's first round of the NCAA DII Women's Golf Championship, firing a 298 to take the top spot on the leaderboard. The Sharks hold an eight stroke lead over SSC rival Rollins, which shot a 306 to assume second place in the standings. Florida Southern concluded the first round with a score of 317 to tie for sixth with Indianapolis.
In the individual race, Newberry's Maria Luz carded an even-par 71 to claim the early lead. Augustana's Emily Kvidera is second with a 72. Three strokes behind the leader, five golfers are tied for third with a three-over 74, including NSU's Sandra Changkija and Abbey Gittings and Rollins' Joanna Coe and Elin Marcsdottir. Marianne Andersson was Southern's top golfer with a score of 76, which ties her for 12th. Barry's Isadora Stapff, who is competing for the individual title, shot a 78 to tie for 18th.
Second-round action tees off Thursday at 7:30 a.m. PDT.
NCAA SECOND ROUND UPDATE (MAY 13): Firing a one-over score of 285 in Thursday's second round, Nova Southeastern (298-285=583) opened up a big 29-stroke lead at the DII Women's Golf Championship. Rollins (306-306=612) replicated its first-round 306 to hang on to second place. Florida Southern (317-302=619) improved its day two score by 15 strokes to creep up one slot to fifth.
Sitting four strokes behind the Tars in third place is Tarleton State with a total score of 616. Sonoma State is fourth with a two-day tally of 618.
Newberry's Maria Luz (71-68=139) continues to hold the top spot in the individual standings, firing a day two 68 to maintain her lead. NSU's Sandra Changkija (74-67=141) fired a four-under 67 on Thursday to assume second place, two strokes back of Luz. Rollins' Joanna Coe (74-70=144) carded a four-stroke improvement to place third at the half-way point. Coe sits five strokes behind the leader. FSC's top golfer after two rounds is Melanie Audette (82-72=154), who is tied for 14th with a 154. Barry's Isadora Stapff (78-79=157) dropped into a tie for 30th with a 157.
Play continues with 18 holes on Friday.
NCAA THIRD ROUND UPDATE (MAY 14): With just one round remaining at the NCAA DII Women's Golf Championship, it would seem virtually impossible that anyone will catch Nova Southeastern (298-285-296=879), which stretched its lead to 35 strokes on Friday. The Sharks' 296 was once again the best round of the day and added a six-stroke cushion to squad's already significant lead. Rollins (306-306-302=914) turned in a third-day 302, its best round of the event, to hang on to second place. Florida Southern (317-302-303=922) continued its steady climb up the leaderboard, moving into a tie for third with Friday's 303.
Tarleton State shared the No. 3 slot with Southern, having compiled a three-round score of 922. Sonoma State sits just one stroke behind the Mocs and Tarleton with a 923.
Much like NSU in the team standings, Newberry's Maria Luz Besio has retained her tight grip in the individual standings. Luz Besio (71-68-69=208) sits atop the leaderboard with a total score of 208. NSU's Sandra Changkija held solid in second place with an even-par 71 on Friday. Changkija (74-67-71=212) sits four strokes behind Luz Besio. Rollins' Joanna Coe (74-70-77=221) held steady in the third slot despite a 77 on Friday. Coe is nine strokes back of SSC foe Changkija and 13 shy of the leader. Melanie Audette (82-72-74=228) continues to lead FSC. She is tied for 10th with a 228. Isadora Stapff (78-79-78=235) is teid for 28th with a 235.
Play tees off in Saturday's final round at 7:30 a.m. PDT.
NCAA FINAL ROUND UPDATE (MAY 15): For the second straight year, the NCAA DII women's golf title belongs to Nova Southeastern University. The Sharks (298-285-296-301=1180) put the wraps on a dominating performance, firing a 301 in Saturday's final round to claim the national crown. The 301 was NSU's highest score of the tournament, but it made no difference, as the Sharks registered a 40-stroke victory over second-place Rollins. NSU completed the four-round event with a total score of 1180.
Not only did NSU walk away with the team championship, but Shark junior Sandra Changkija overcame a four-stroke deficit heading into Saturday's final round to win the individual title as well. Newberry's Maria Luz Besio (71-68-69-82=290) had held the lead in each of the first three rounds of golf, but she suffered a meltdown on the final 18 holes, carding an 11-over-par 82. Besio's troubles opened the door for Changkija (74-67-71-72=284), who lurked in second place after rounds two and three. She responded with a one-over 72 on Saturday, winning the individual championship with a total score of 284. Besio did manage to hang on to second place, six strokes back of Changkija.
Rollins (306-306-302-306=1220) concluded play with a final-round score of 306 to finish runner-up. The Tars held off SSC rival Florida Southern by one stroke. The Moccasins (317-302-303-299=1221) posted a 299, their best round of the tournament, to lock up third place in the final standings. Joanna Coe (74-70-77-74=295) led the Tars, finishing third with a final score of 295. Melanie Audette (82-72-74-71=299) concluded play with an even-par 71 to tie for fourth.
Tarlteton State finished fourth, just one stroke behind Florida Southern with a final score of 1222. Sonoma State rounded out the top five with a tally of 1236.
In addition to Changkija, the Sharks had two other golfers who finished in the top 10 of the individual standings. Maria Garcia Austt (75-74-78-72=299) tied for fourth with a 299. Nicole Whitmore (75-75-73-79=302) tied for seventh with a score of 302.
Competing in the national championship as an individual, Barry's Isadora Stapff (78-79-78-79=314) finished tied for 34th with a score of 314.