PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The word Impressive may be an understatement with how the Nova Southeastern women's golf team opened up its 2019-20 season this week at the BUBBA Burger Jacksonville Classic. Competing in a field that featured nine NCAA Division I programs, the Sharks blew the competition out of the water, cruising to a 15-shot victory - its second win in as many years at the event. Sophomore
Hanna Ahlander captured individual medalist honors after setting the 54-hole tournament record with a score of six-under par, while
Sofia Garcia Austt and
Valentina Albertazzi also earned Top-10 finishes.
INSIDE THE TOURNAMENT:
Tournament Finish: 1st of 13 teams
Tournament Champion: Nova Southeastern
Location: Marsh Landing Country Club | Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Par/Yardage: 72/6,051
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_WGolf | Instagram - @NSU_WGolf | Facebook - /NSUSharksGolf
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- NSU held an eight-shot advantage at the start of the morning, and managed to double that mark just midway through the final round. The Sharks ultimately posted a final-round score of (+3) 291 to finish well clear of second-place Seminole State (Fla.) at 11-over par for the tournament.
- Seminole State (+26) was followed by Stetson (+32) and High Point (+33) on the leaderboard, with USC-Upstate (+41) rounding out the Top-5.
- After closing with a birdie and an eagle over her final three holes on Monday, Ahlander picked up right where she left off by firing a bogey-free (-4) 32 on the front side of Tuesday's final round. The Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year in 2018-19 carded her lone bogey of the day on No. 12, but quickly bounced back with birdies on No. 13 and No. 16 to secure the four-stroke win over Minori Nagano of Seminole State.
- As was the case throughout, Garcia Austt relied on a steady approach again Tuesday en route to collecting a share of fourth overall. The junior tallied 15 more pars in the final round, wrapping up play at five-over par for the tournament.
- Albertazzi rolled in nine straight pars to begin the day before hitting a bit of a rough patch on the back nine. However, the freshman would respond down the stretch by shooting one-under par over the last three holes to post a (+3) 75. Her 54-hole score of (+6) 222 was good enough to finish tied for sixth.
- Nicola Fall missed out on a Top-10 finish of her own by just one shot, yet still managed to tie for 11th thanks to a strong round of (+2) 74 on Tuesday.
- Mathilde Bertuol scattered four birdies throughout her final round, using a (+5) 77 to claim a share of 29th at 14-over par.
STATS OF THE DAY:
- The Sharks ranked first in both Par-3 (3.18) and Par-4 (4.08) scoring average this week, while their 189 pars were 18 more than any other team.
- Ahlander topped the field in both Par-4 (3.87) and Par-5 (4.75) scoring average, as well as in total birdies with 14.
- Garcia Austt's 43 combined pars were the most by any player in the tournament.
- The scoring average in Tuesday's final round was the highest of the tournament at 77.77.
BEYOND THE SCORECARD:
- NSU has now won the last two Jacksonville Classic's by a combined 21 shots.
- In addition to setting the 54-hole tournament record, Ahlander also tied a tournament, single-round record with her 67 on Tuesday
- The Sharks have now won their season-opening tournament in each of the past three years.
- NSU was the only team to have three players finish among in the Top-10 of the leaderboard. Only Seminole State had more than one.
UP NEXT:
NSU will have another tournament title to defend when it hosts the Shark Invitational at PGA National Golf Club next week from Oct. 7-8. For complete coverage of the action, visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_WGolf.
