April 16, 2019
Women’s Golf
DADE CITY, Fla. – Lynn University’s women’s golf team saved its best play for the home stretch, shooting a combined three-under on the final nine holes to secure the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Women’s Golf Championship for the first time since 2014, one stroke ahead of Barry. Matilda Wahren finished second individually to earn SSC All-Tournament Honors and all four of the Fighting Knights counted scores were inside the top-15.
INSIDE THE TOURNAMENT:
Standing: 1st of 11 Teams
Location: Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club (South Course) | Dade City, Fla.
Par/Yardage: 72 / 6,067
History at Event: 21st consecutive appearance (won in 2019; 3rd last year)
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lynn trailed by as many as seven strokes on the first nine and sat in fourth place at the turn. The Fighting Knights then made a combined eight birdies in the final nine holes to pull off the narrow victory in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, finishing with a combined score of 884.
- Barry (885), Nova Southeastern (887) and Tampa (890) finished two through four, respectively, in a highly-competitive field featuring some of the top teams in NCAA Division-II.
- Wahren shot 73 to finish the tournament at one-under, garnering SSC Individual runner-up accolades with a combined 215.
- Helen Kreuzer put it all together on Tuesday, shooting a one-under 71, posting Lynn’s lowest total in the final round. Kreuzer went two-under on the back-nine and birdied three of the last five holes, finishing tied-11th.
- Cristina Gutierrez fired a 75 (+3) to finish her SSC Championship with a combined 223 (+7).
- Kristina Ortiz was right behind her fellow-senior, posting a 76 for a 224 (+8) overall score in three rounds of play.
- Amber Lee Svendsen shot 80 to finish at 239 for 41st-place, ahead of 14 other individuals.
BEYOND THE SCORECARD:
- This is the 39th overall SSC Championship for Lynn University and the second for the women’s golf program.
- Wahren becomes the second Fighting Knight to notch a runner-up finish, joining Jessica Bradley in 2012-13. Her -1 score is tied for third-best three-round score in SSC history.
- Currently ranked eighth-nationally, the Blue and White took down No. 5 Florida Tech, No. 4 Nova Southeastern and No. 1 Barry on their way to the SSC title.
- The Fighting Knights score of 20-over is the second lowest three-round tournament score in SSC history and the lowest ever at Lake Jovita.
- The Blue and White’s only other SSC Championship also came at Lake Jovita in 2014
- Head Coach Marcelo Huarte becomes the third Fighting Knight coach to win an SSC Championship in his first-ever appearance
- Lynn finished as the only team in the top-four in scoring average on par 3s (3.05-2nd), par 4s (4.25-2nd) and par 5s (5.03-4th).
- The top-four teams were separated by just six strokes.
- Wahren was the only golfer to finish in the top-seven of all three scoring average categories.
- The Fighting Knights played the last three holes at a combined two under par.
- Kreuzer’s birdie-birdie finish included a clutch long putt on 18.
- Gutierrez and Wahren tied for fourth in the field with 37 pars each.
- Lynn’s 37 combined birdies were second-best in the tournament, one behind Barry.
- Tampa’s Kiira Riihjarvi finished the tournament at -4, securing her second-straight SSC individual crown.
NEXT ROUND:
Lynn will now gear up for the NCAA Division II Super Region Two Tournament in Cleveland, Tenn., May 6-8. Fans can keep up with the action live atLynnFightingKnights.com.
