BC's Herbert Goes Wire-to-Wire to Claim Individual Medal
NELLYSFORD, Va. --- ODAC women's golfers played nearly all 54 holes of the 2017 conference championship in some sort of rain over three days of competition at Stoney Creek Golf Club at Wintergreen Resort. Bridgewater College won the team title by finishing 50 strokes better than second place Washington and Lee University, securing the program's second straight trophy with a 983 total (328-332-323).
Bridgewater junior Christina Herbert, who was named the ODAC Women's Golfer of the Year as part of the All-ODAC women's golf awards ceremony on Monday evening, completed the Eagles' dual wire-to-wire win by capturing the individual medal. Her 13-over 229 bested last season's individual champion, Mary-Frances Hall from Washignton and Lee, by six strokes.
The less than ideal conditions forced tournament officials to adjust the format from a standard tee time setup where all players begin each round on the first hole to a shotgun start with all players taking to the course at the same time on various holes. On Sunday, each participant completed a full 18 holes, but then continued on until 6:00 p.m. local time to attempt to get ahead of the weather forecasted for the area.
The strategy proved fruitful as heavier rains fell on Monday after the players completed the 10 or so holes that remained of their second rounds.
Round three featured rain throughout much of the early portion of the competition before letting up later in the day. The course, which featured competition on three separate nine-hole layouts, held the water extraordinarily well and remained playable throughout the entire 54-hole event.
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Herbert and Hall were the lone players to card sub-80 rounds all three days in the less than ideal conditions. Herbert opened with a tournament low even-par 72 while Hall signed off on a 79 after completing her first turns on the Stoney Creek's Tuckahoe and Monocan nines. Both registered 78's over the split-day second round, and Hall picked up one stroke on Herbert with a 78 compared to the champion's 79.
All five of Bridgewater's team contingent finished in the top-nine amongst the field's 30 competitors. Danielle Cook (85-82-80) finished third, while Amanda Kelley (85-84-86) slotted fifth and Casey Gaffney (86-88-84) ranked seventh. Jesse Bartley (92-94-80) tied for ninth after a 14-shot improvement from round two to round three.
While the ODAC does not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championships, there is still a chance a team and/or individuals could be selected via at-large entry. Selections for the Divsion III Championships will be published on www.ncaa.com at 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, May 1.
For more information on ODAC women's golf, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow the @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.