DADE CITY, Fla. –In the final tournament in the first semester, the Lee University women's golf team came in tied for second place at the Saint Leo Invitational. Lee finished tied for second to Seminole State College which is the #1 junior college program in the country and Wingate University. Barry University won the tournament and are the #2 ranked team in all of NCAA DII.
Barry shot an 883 (290-297-296) to win by 15 strokes. Lee, Seminole State, and Wingate each had a 898. Lee had a 304-296-298. Seminole State had a 297-300-301. Wingate ended with a 302-292-304.
Olivia Ireland had her best tournament of the fall and came in tied for seventh. She shot a 219 over the three rounds (73-74-72). Justine Emond was tied for 17
th. She had a 77-74-74 to shoot a 225.
Lehane Louis-Dumond was two strokes back at 227. She had a 78-74-75 to finish tied for 22
nd. Jackie Knight came in tied for 37
th with a 232 (76-77-79).
Keira DeLand shot a 237. She went 79-74-84 to come in 58
th. Kariann Campbell was competing as a independent and was 75
th. She had a 89-85-85 to shoot a 259.
The overall winner was Mckenzee Sullivan of Nova Southeastern University. She shot a 214 (71-72-71) to win by one stroke over Ines Marty of Wingate who shot a 215 (73-69-73).
Lee's next competition will be in February at the Lady Moc Golf Classic in Saint Augustine, Fla.
Coach Geandra Almeida's Thoughts:
"I'm really proud of the way we finished our fall season. This was a great team effort, and finishing tied for second in a strong field like this is something we can feel really good about. Everyone contributed to our success, and Olivia did a fantastic job leading the way this week. One of the things I love about this team is that we've had different players step up and lead us throughout the fall, and that's exactly what you want to see. The conditions were challenging with the wind and cold mornings, but I'm proud of how our girls battled. We know our finish in the first round really hurt our chances of competing for the win, but what encourages me most is how we responded. We made adjustments, finished much stronger in the second round, and were outstanding coming down the stretch today. That shows growth, resilience, and a willingness to learn. I truly believe we got better with every opportunity we had this fall, and that's exciting as a coach. I love the direction this team is heading, and I'm looking forward to putting in the work this offseason and carrying that momentum into what I believe will be a very exciting spring season."
