Seton Hall Aims For Fourth Straight Women’s Golf Crown
CALLAWASSIE ISLAND, S.C. – The BIG EAST Women’s Golf Championship Presented by Jeep is returning to the Callawassie Island Golf Club for the second straight year, but Seton Hall is trying to extend its own streak to four as the Pirates pursue a fourth consecutive league crown. The Championship, which will be held April 21-23, is scheduled for 54 holes over three days.
The BIG EAST will crown a team champion, which earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. The competition is scheduled to begin each day at 8 a.m. ET. All rounds of the Championships, which will be played on the Dogwood and Magnolia Courses, are free and open to the public. The following week, the BIG EAST Men’s Golf Championship also will be held at Callawassie Island April 30-May 2.
Friday’s threesomes will be determined by team and player seedings while Saturday’s and Sunday’s groupings are assembled from the previous day’s leaderboard. Six BIG EAST schools participate in women’s golf – Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Xavier.
In 2016, Seton Hall held off runner-up Georgetown for a third straight year. The Pirates won with a team score of 935 (+71) with the Hoyas 12 strokes back at 947 (+83). Seton Hall junior Cassie Pantelas is the top returnee from last year’s Championship. She tied for fourth last year with a 15-over-par 231 (80-73-78). The other top-10 returnees from the top 10 are Butler’s Kelsey McDougall, who finished sixth at 233 (79-76-78) and Georgetown’s Alexa Popowitz, who took seventh place, one stroke behind McDougall at 234 (81-77-76).
Georgetown is led by Popowitz, a sophomore who has posted three top-20 finishes this spring and is first on the squad with a 74.92 stroke average. In last year’s Championship, she was the top freshman finisher and was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Sophomore Christina Parcells is second on the Hoya team with a 75.18 stroke average for this year. Junior Jacquelyn Eleey was the BIG EAST medalist as a freshman in 2015.
Xavier finished third last year, only three strokes behind Georgetown. The Musketeers had the individual medalist, Shane Crutchfield, who carded a six-over-par 222 (74-73-75). Crutchfield has graduated, but freshman Mikayla Fitzpatrick has enjoyed an impressive year with a team-leading 76.46 stroke average. Junior Grace Howie has a 78.38 stroke average. Two years ago, Howie tied for ninth at the Championship.
This year, Georgetown holds the top team seed, according to Golfstat, going into the Championship followed by St. John’s, Seton Hall, Xavier, Butler and Creighton.
The BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) will provide coverage of the final rounds on www.bigeast.com. Additional information on the championship courses is available at www.callawassieisland.com.
BIG EAST Team Notes
BUTLER
Butler will be looking to improve on its fourth-place finish last year anchored by sophomore Lauren Tibbets and junior Abigail Gleixner. Tibbets is coming off a win in the Big Four event. She has two wins and seven top-five finishes this spring. Gleixner has finished in the top five four times.
CREIGHTON
Junior Sarah Eversman leads the Bluejays with a 79.0 stroke average and has been the team’s top performer in the last four tournaments. Senior Kelsey Petersen ranks second in stroke average at 81.5. In last year’s championship, Caroline Lake, now a sophomore, tied for the team lead by placing 17th, which remains the best showing of her career.
GEORGETOWN
After three consecutive second-place finishes to Seton Hall, the Hoyas are aiming to take home their first BIG EAST Championship trophy. Sophomore Alexa Popowitz is coming off a win at the Hoya Invitational. She is the top Hoya returnee from last year’s championship, finishing seventh. Junior Jacquelyn Eleey was the BIG EAST individual champion two years ago as a freshman.
ST. JOHN’S
Freshman Kaitleen Shee has been a top performer in her rookie season. She has posted four top-10 finishes which have occurred in the team’s last six tournaments. Sophomore Kirsty Beckwith also has been a strong contributor.
SETON HALL
Last year, the Pirates became the first team to capture three BIG EAST consecutive titles and want to keep their streak going. In 2016, they finished 12 strokes ahead of second-place Georgetown. This spring, junior Cassie Pantelas has been one of the leaders on a roster that includes three freshmen. Pantelas is the league’s top returnee from last year’s championship when she tied for fourth by carding a 231 (+15).
XAVIER
The Musketeers posted their second straight third-place finish in last year’s championship led by BIG EAST individual winner Shane Crutchfield. This year, freshman Mikayla Fitzpatrick, who has led the Musketeers in stroke average throughout the season (76.46), has produced rounds in the 60’s and has been playing as the number one. Junior Grace Howie finished ninth in the 2015 championship.