FINAL SCORES (PDF) -- TEAM | INDIVIDUAL | COMBODAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Morehead State women's golf team closed out its fall campaign on Sunday by winning the 13-team LPGA Xavier Invitational. The Eagles carded a tournament-best 292 in the final round at the LPGA International Hills Course to finish with an 887.
The tournament victory, Morehead State's first since Sept. 17, 2013, comes after three consecutive second-place finishes. The Eagles, who own a 303.9 stroke average, finish their fall season with 47 head-to-head wins and just six losses for an 88.7 winning percentage.
The tournament win was Morehead State's 10th under Head Coach Stephanie Barker. The Eagles have also claimed five dual or tri matches in the past seven school years. In addition, Sunday's final-round score was MSU's best since firing a 291 on Sept. 16, 2013.
"We've had a strong fall," Barker said. "We were in contention to win four out of five events. I'm very excited for our team. They work very hard, play well together and are so supportive of each other. We have to continue to work hard over break, if we want to be in contention this spring."
Morehead State and Daytona State (298, 895) were the only schools to break 900. Campbell (300, 901), North Florida (304, 916) and Boston College (305, 924) rounded out the top five. The Eagles defeated six teams by at least 50 strokes, including the last-place squad by 115.
"We adapted well to the course and played as well as we could," Barker said. "The course conditions were very tough because the Bermuda was incredibly thick and penalizing. It was extremely difficult if we missed the fairways or greens. We played smart, minimized our mistakes and made several birdies."
Sophomore Anna Magnusson and freshman Jeanette Petersen paced the Eagles by tying for second out of 74 individuals. Both golfers fired 73s over the final 18 holes to close out with 219s.
Junior Katie Rice managed Morehead State's best final-round score, a 72, on her way to a 224 and tie for sixth. Senior Vanessa Bognot tallied a 78 en route to a 229 and share of 14th.
Senior Hannah Sublett (74, 232) was also in MSU's line-up, while freshman Ebba Gustafsson (77, 241) played as an individual. The course measured at a par of 72 and yardage of 6,084.
"It's exciting to have three players in the top 10," Barker added. "All three played some amazing golf this week. All of our young ladies should be proud of how they played in this tournament. It's always exciting to win, especially wire to wire. It's even better to know all of our hard work is paying off."
Daytona State sophomore Tiffany Chan claimed medalist honors by 14 strokes over MSU's duo and Campbell freshman Annelie Sjoholm. Chan posted a 72 in the final round and 54-hole score of 205.
Morehead State is now idle until its spring slate, which will be announced soon on MSUEagles.com.
