FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The #NSU50 "Top Moments in NSU Athletics History" continues with the 33rd moment on the list: Nova Southeastern University wins its first NCAA National Championship in women's golf.
  
Arguably the Sharks' most impressive feat ever was winning four straight NCAA National Championships in women's golf from 2009-2012. In order for the Sharks to reach that accomplishment, they had to unseat a Rollins team that had won four straight National Championships themselves from 2005-2008. Despite Rollins' stranglehold on the national title, NSU had lofty expectations heading into the spring of 2009 and were ranked preseason No. 1 in the nation by GolfStat.
 
The Sharks welcomed the praise and met the high bar set for them. NSU won five regular season tournaments in 2009, led by NGCA Player of the Year Sandra Changkija and All-Americans Maria Garcia-Austt and Taylor Collins. Even with the high level of talent on the roster, the Sharks faced steep competition in the postseason, coming up just short in the Sunshine State Conference Championship before winning a competitive NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship.
 
However, NSU was dominant when the lights shined the brightest on the national level. NSU led by 10 strokes over University of Indianapolis and by 11 strokes over Rollins College entering the final round of play. On the final day of Nationals, NSU shot a round-low team score of 307 to clinch the title, while Indianapolis carded a 315 and Rollins shot a 314. Grand Valley State would finish second overall in the tournament, but were still 15 strokes back from the Sharks.
 
"Right from the beginning, we knew the best team was going to win this week," National Coach of the Year Kevin Marsh said after the tournament. "The way the course was set up and with the weather conditions the way they were, this was definitely the toughest course we have played this season. After an average first day, we followed with a great next day by making up about 30 strokes over the course of 36 holes to lead by 10 heading into the final round of play. We felt that Rollins was the team to beat and getting off to a great start today was big for us."
 
The Sharks were led by sophomore Changkija, who shot a final round 75 to conclude play in a tie for second place among all individuals with Pfeiffer's Charlene Reid. Changkija was just two strokes behind tournament medalist Lyndsay McBride of Indianapolis, who carded a 77 on the final day to win the individual title. Junior three-time All-American Garcia-Austt also finished in the top ten, placing in a tie for seventh place with a final round 75. Sophomore Nicole Whitmore had an impressive 14th place finish and was followed by sophomore Collins in 21st and sophomore Fredrika Hakansson in 28th place.
 
"I'm very excited, especially after coming in second place last year," said Garcia-Austt in the aftermath of the team's win. "We won a lot of tournaments this year, but we knew that this was the one that we really wanted. We had great team spirit and really pulled together as a team, which led us to win the tournament."
 
"Winning the first national championship in school history is obviously a great accomplishment," NSU Director of Athletics Michael Mominey said. "This is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of coach Marsh, coach (Amanda) Brown and the entire women's golf team. More than this though, it is a national championship for the entire university. We share this championship with President Ray Ferrero, Dr. Frank DePiano, the board of trustees and the administration who have supported the athletic program over the years. We hope that this is only the beginning of many more national titles for the athletic department in the years to come."
 
As history shows, Mominey's hopes would come to fruition. The Sharks were the premier women's golf team from 2009-2012, winning national titles in every season. NSU would sweep all awards over the next three seasons, as Changkija, Collins and Abbey Gittings would all take home the individual crown. 

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