WGolf Looks for 4th Straight Top-5
10/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's golf team will return to the links this Friday and Saturday when it makes the short trip down the N.J. Turnpike to take on the competition at the 2012 Rutgers Women's Invitational.
The 36-hole event will take place on Rutgers' par-72, 6,337-yard golf course. The Pirates will be one of a large field of 21 teams competing for the team title including: Albany, Boston University, Central Connecticut, Dartmouth, Delaware, Fairfield, Fairleigh Dickinson, Hartford, Hofstra, Lehigh, LIU, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, St. John's, Sacred Heart, St. Francis, USC-Upstate, Wagner, and of course, host Rutgers.
Seton Hall will bring a lineup of Hannah Basalone (Brea, Calif.), Christina Cantú (Houston, Texas), Ali Kruse (Overland Park, Kan.), Megan Tenhundfeld (Loveland, Ohio) and Karlie Zabrosky (Erie, Pa.). Due to the tournament's close proximity to campus, sophomores McKenzie Cutter (Waldorf, Md.) and Erin McClure (Tucson, Ariz.) will also make the trip and compete as individuals.
"After nearly two weeks off, I feel like this team is well-rested and ready to perform this weekend," said Head Coach Sara Doell. "Right now, we're playing very good golf and this is a course we're familiar with, so I look forward to us continuing what has been an already very productive season."
Last year, Boston College won the team title at this event with a 40-over-par, 616. Rutgers' Kortnie Maxoutopouli took home the individual crown with a 6-over-par, 150.
This is the third straight year competing in this tournament for the young program. Basalone and Cantú have contributed to the team score in prior years.
Last year, Seton Hall placed fourth among 19 teams, while Basalone tied for fourth among 98 golfers with a 9-over-par, 76-77-153. Cantú was second on the Pirates with a 15-over-par, 79-80-159, and tied for 20th overall. In 2010, Basalone led the Pirates with a 27th place tie.
For Seton Hall, it will be the fourth of five tournaments in what has been a very successful fall. The Pirates have recorded all top-5 finishes thus far and twice have come up just one stroke away from a team title.
The Pirates are coming off a fourth place tie at the highly-competitive Yale Intercollegiate. The Pirates entered the final round in eighth place, but were able to pass Boston College, Longwood and Princeton to tie host Yale for fourth. Their 300 in round three is the Pirates' second-best single-round team score in program history. It's Seton Hall's best single-round team score on a par-72 course.
Seton Hall was paced by Kruse who notched her third straight top-10 finish. Kruse finished eighth among 89 individual golfers, leading the Pirates with a 4-over-par, 77-70-73-220.
Tee times on Friday are from 8:00 am - 10:20 am, and on Saturday, the teams will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 am. Complete coverage of both rounds of the Rutgers Invitational will be available following each day's events at www.SHUpirates.com. Stay tuned.
