ETSU Completes Wire-to-Wire Win at A-Sun Championships
Laura Jansone overcame a two-stroke deficit to capture Medallist honors at the A-Sun Championship. Photo Courtesy ASunPhotos.com
Date Posted: 4/16/2008
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – The host ETSU Lady Buccaneers won their first ever team title and crowned their first individual medalist at the 2008 Atlantic Sun Women’s Golf Championship on Wednesday at The Ridges Golf and Country Club. The Buccaneers ran away with the team title by 25 strokes, while sophomore Laura Jansone recovered from a tumultuous second round in claiming the individual title by a single stroke.
The individual race remained tightly contested throughout the final round, as only three strokes separated six golfers. Jansone, could not claim victory until the final hole, when she successfully navigated an up-and-down from behind the green on the 18th hole to preserve the one-stroke victory. Last year’s A-Sun Freshman of the Year struggled in the second round with a 10-over par 82, recovered to shoot a 5-over par 77 in round three for a total of 226 on the tournament.
“I kind of knew that we were close, but I didn’t know if it was even, or [a] one-shot [margin],” Jansone said. “[The pitch] was the shot of the day for me to be honest and it felt awesome when I heard everyone yell, ‘Go in!’ It was a great feeling, but winning as a team was more special.”
Campbell’s Belen Diaz Cisneros finished the championship tied for second with Lorie Warren of Belmont at 11-over. Diaz Cisneros started the final round in sixth place and Warren entered the day with the overall lead.
After finishing second behind Campbell for the past two seasons, ETSU knocked off the two-time defending champion Camels by matching the fifth-best team score in A-Sun Championship history of 903 (Georgia State, 2003). Including Jansone, every Lady Buccaneer who competed finished in the top-10. Natalia Giraldo ended in a tie for fifth (229), Sinead O’Sullivan and Maria Ringdahl tied each other for seventh (230), and Lucy Gould held sole-possession of ninth (234). Gould, a junior, fired the best round of the day (1-under par 71) earned her third-consecutive top-10 championship finish.
“I’m beside myself; I’m so excited,” ETSU head coach Stefanie Shelton said. “To win our first conference championship is something we have been dreaming about since I got here and this is just the first step in winning championships. To have everyone in the top nine…it’s been such a great adventure and this whole spring has been incredible”
Campbell had the best team round of the day, shooting a 303 for a 928 championship total. Maite Ortiz de Pinedo followed team-leader Diaz Cisneros in fourth with a 12-over 228 final tally. The top-ten finish marks three-in-a-row for Cisneros, a senior. Mary Mattson came in 10th for the championship, shooting 19-over par. All five Campbell competitors ended the tournament in the top-20.
Led by Lorie Warren, Belmont registered their highest A-Sun Championship finish in school history, coming in at third-place (984). In second-place, Warren is the highest individual finisher in Bruin history. Rebekah Wilson recorded a team-best 1-over 73, ending the tournament in a tie for fifth (229).
Stetson held steady in the team standings for the third day in a row, completing championship play in the No. four spot (984) led by Lauren Darnell in 12th (240). Mercer went home in sixth place, paced by last year’s First-Team All-Conference member, Anna Rogers, who placed 11th (237).
Gardner-Webb (993) and Lipscomb (1030) completed the eight-team field, placing seventh and eight, respectively.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
