FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The #NSU50 "Top Moments in NSU Athletics History" continues with the 39th moment on the list: women's golf wins its third straight NCAA Division II National Championship.
May 14, 2011
In 2011, the Sharks were in the midst of its historic run of NCAA titles in women's golf and had no signs of slowing down. In fact, the 2011 season was the pinnacle of success during NSU's era of dominance. The Sharks had a perfect spring season in 2011, winning all seven tournaments they competed in. It was the first perfect season in program history and a feat that has not been duplicated since.
The culmination of that success came at Nationals, where the Sharks carded a four-round 1,157 (+5) on the 6,111-yard, par-72 The Meadows course in Allendale, Michigan. In a field featuring the best teams in the nation, no school came close to challenging the Sharks. All-Americans Sandra Changkija, Taylor Collins and Abbey Gittings entered the last day representing the top-3 overall, with Collins eventually bringing home her individual NCAA National Championship. Seniors Fredrika Hakansson and Nicole Whitmore both finished in the top-30 overall.
"When we had our first team meeting back in the fall of this year, we talked about the perfect finish," head coach Kevin Marsh said after the championship. "We really wanted to see one of our seniors hit the final putt at nationals and that's exactly what happened. The motivation for the entire year was for that perfect finish. With Taylor, Sandra and Abbey finishing in the top three, that was the perfect finish we were looking for from the very beginning."
Many expected the nation's top ranked player, Changkija, to walk away with the individual title in 2011, especially since she won it in 2010. However, it was Collins' record-setting performance over the four-day event that stood out, as she posted an NCAA Division II Championship record for best score in relation to par after four rounds with a 10-under 278."I think what a lot of people forget is that Taylor is a First-Team All-American and one of the top-three Division II players in the country," Marsh said. "I expected her to have the best finish of her career at Nationals, but she has also put in a ton of work to get there."
2011 represented a fantastic finish to the career of Changkija, quite possible the most accomplished student-athlete in NSU history. The Orlando native became the first student-athlete in history to solely receive PING/National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Player of the Year honors four times. Changkija concluded her prolific career by leading all Division II golfers with a 72.71 scoring average. She was named the Sunshine State Conference Golfer of the Year after lifting the Sharks to their second straight conference title. Changkija claimed medalist honors at the SSC event for the second year in a row and was named SSC Female Athlete of the Year for the second time as well.
Gittings, the team's third All-American, was the only non-senior on the team that competed at the NCAA National Championship. She would go on to be the team's rock in 2012, lead the Sharks to a fourth championship and win her first individual national title. Gittings, Collins and Changkija are all still playing professional golf to this day and representing the Sharks with pride.
Check back with NSUSharks.com next Tuesday for the next #NSU50 "Top Moments in NSU Athletics History."Moment No. 1: NSU Athletics is Born
Moment No. 2: Knights Chosen as School Mascot
Moment No. 3: Hansley Hired as Director of Athletics
Moment No. 4: Nova Adds Four Sports
Moment No. 5: Nova Joins NAIA
Moment No. 6: Nova Adds Three More Teams
Moment No. 7: Nova Helps Form FIAC
Moment No. 8: Nova Wins First Conference Championship
Moment No. 9: Baseball and Volleyball Win First Conference Titles
Moment No. 10: NSU Adds Softball
Moment No. 11: NSU Adds Women's Soccer and Wins FSC Tournament Championship
Moment No. 12: NSU Names Ray Ferrero Jr. as School's Fifth President
Moment No. 13: NSU Adds Women's Basketball and Wins Conference Title in First Season
Moment No. 14: NSU Jumps to NCAA Division II and Sunshine State Conference
Moment No. 15: Kyle Ruwe Becomes NSU's First NCAA All-American
Moment No. 16: NSU adds Rowing, Tennis and Men's Cross Country
Moment No. 17: NSU Breaks Ground on University Center
Moment No. 18: Rembe Becomes NSU's First Female NCAA All-American
Moment No. 19: NSU Men's Golf Wins First SSC Championship
Moment No. 20: NSU Unveils Sharks as New Mascot
Moment No. 21: NSU Enshrines Inaugural Hall of Fame Class
Moment No. 22: Women's Golfer Garcia Austt Becomes NSU's First-Ever NCAA Player and Freshman of Year
Moment No. 23: NSU Tennis Goes Program-Best 22-3
Moment No. 24: NSU Volleyball Hosts the Inaugural Sharks Classic
Moment No. 25: NSU Begins Outdoor Track and Field Programs
Moment No. 26: NSU Volleyball Earns First-Ever NCAA Postseason BidMoment No. 28: NSU Wins Women's Division of 2007-08 SSC Mayors' Cup
Moment No. 29: Abdalla Earns Cross Country Program's First SSC Runner of the Year Award
Moment No. 30: NSU Volleyball Wins South Region and Advances to Elite Eight
Moment No. 31: NSU Launches Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Programs
Moment No. 32: NSU Rowing V4 Claims the School's First Individual DII National Championship
Moment No. 33: NSU Brings Home First NCAA National Championship in Women's Golf
Moment No. 34: NSU Baseball Has Four Players Chosen in MLB Draft
Moment No. 35: Mominey Steps Into Full-Time Role as NSU Director of Athletics
Moment No. 36: The NSU Women's Golf Team Goes Back-to-Back
Moment No. 37: Men's Cross Country Qualifies for NCAA Division II National Championship for First TimeMoment No. 38: The Fledgling Men's and Women's Swimming Teams Have Successful First Season
