Wilmington, N.C.–Georgia State tied for the lowest round of the tournament on Sunday and finished second, just two strokes behind former conference foe Old Dominion at the UNCW Seahawk Classic at the River Landing Golf Club. The Panthers shot a final round 301 to jump three spots up the leaderboard as three members of the squad finished in the top 15.
Junior Laura Sanchez shot a final round 72 to finish at the low Panther, alone in sixth place at 8-over par. Fellow junior Maria Palacios shot 76 on Sunday to finish just one stroke back at 9-over and tied for seventh.
Junior Melissa Siviter finished with a final round 76, placing in a tie for 13th at 14-over.
“Today was a huge stepping-stone for us and our confidence,” commented head coach Cathy Mant. “I wanted to see how our team would bounce back after a tough second round and they did a great job with it. We have seen some huge improvements over the last couple of weeks and I think we are peaking at the right time.
“We obviously wanted to play well to try and win today, but we also wanted to play well to give us some confidence and momentum heading into the conference championship next week. Before the last few weeks, we were hitting the ball well, but couldn't score. The last two tournaments proved that all of the hard work is paying off. If we continue to use that momentum, there is no reason to not be excited heading into the tournament next week.”
Junior Solveig Helgeson shot her lowest round of the tournament, a final round 78 to finish tied for 46th at 25-over, while freshman Julie Lied tied for 48th at 26-over following a final round 77.
Old Dominion tied the Panthers for the lowest round of the tournament on Sunday to earn the come from behind victory at 53-over. Georgia State finished at 55-over, followed by UNCG at 57-over after a final round 306. Host UNCW, which led after the second round, shot a final round 309 to fall to fourth at 58-over. Princeton rounded out the top five, which was separated by just six strokes, shooting a final round 306 to finish at 59-over.
UNCG's Fanny Cnops took low medalist honors at 2-over following an even par final round. ODU's Elizabeth Haycock shot a final round 2-under 70 to jump to second at 4-over, followed by UNCW's Lori Beth Adams who finished third at 6-over. Princeton's Kelly Shon and UNCG's Courtney Taylor tied for fourth at 7-over for the 54-hole event.
Georgia State will return to the course for the Sun Belt Conference Championship, April 15-17. A victory there would send the Panthers back to the NCAA Regionals.
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