TOCCOA, Ga. – Coach Geandra Almeida is probably thinking she could not have picked a worse time to travel high in the mountains to play in a fall golf tournament. Usually during this time of year the weather is still near perfect but a front moved in and gave the Lee University women's golf team a tough go of things on Sunday through Tuesday in the Ralph Hayes DII Elite Invitational held at the Currahee Club.
Playing in rain and below normal temperatures, the 9th-ranked Lady Flames placed ninth (604) in the field of 18 teams. The event was scheduled for 54 holes but was shortened to 36 holes because of the weather conditions. Host Anderson University (S.C.), ranked 2nd in DII, claimed top honors with a 7-over 583. Nova Southeastern University was second (593) followed by Lenoir-Rhyne University (595). The University of Texas-Tyler, Lincoln Memorial University and Eckerd College (Fla.) tied for fourth (597).
Ariana Carvalho of Nova Southeastern was the medalist with a 3-under 141. Olivia Ireland was Lee's highest finisher. She placed 13th with a 3-over 147. After a slow start, Hannah Nall fired an even-par round on Tuesday and finished with a 4-over 148 and placed in a tie for 17th. Justine Emond was 10-over (154) and Lehane Louis-Dumond was 11-over (155). It was the final tournament of the fall for the Lady Flames.
Coach Geandra Almeida's thoughts:
"This definitely wasn't the way we envisioned our last tournament of the season. There were many challenges this week that were out of our control, but I'm really proud of the team's attitude and effort throughout it all. Our practice round had to be canceled and turned into round one instead, but unfortunately, we were among the few teams with late tee times and didn't get to finish before darkness. Monday was a complete washout, and today we finally got back on the course, still needing to finish round one while many teams only had to play 18 holes. We completed our last six holes of round one in heavy rain and played part of round two in the same conditions. Pace of play was also a challenge as it took us nearly seven hours to get through 18 holes today. Considering all the adversity we faced, I truly believe our girls gave their best effort. We will continue to learn from every experience and use the offseason to keep improving and prepare for a strong spring season."
