Seton Hall Begins Spring Season at Rio Verde

RIO VERDE, ARIZ. - The Seton Hall women' golf team will begin the 2019 spring season this weekend when it plays three rounds at the Rio Verde Invitational, Feb. 22-24.

Tournament Details:
RIO VERDE INVITATIONAL
Host: Western Michigan University
Location: Rio Verde, Ariz.
Course: Rio Verde Country Club (Quail Run Course)
Course Vitals: Par-72, 6,215 yards
Dates: February 22-24, 2019, Three Rounds

The Course:
Rio Verde features two traditional-style courses with a soft desert look. They are more Midwestern in style with a lot more grass than one would imagine in a desert setting. When Tom Lehman led the $6 million course renovation project a few years ago, he achieved his vision of creating two uniquely distinct courses, giving members a never-ending variety of golf experiences. Quail Run has all the elements of a traditional golf course, and White Wing plays more like a links course. Common to both courses are meticulously groomed fairways, greens loaded with personality, and outstanding mountain views.

The Field:
In addition to Seton Hall and host Western Michigan, the field is comprised of 16 other teams including: Akron, Arkansas State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Boise State, Bradley, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Little Rock, UMKC, Missouri State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Wichita State. BIG EAST member Xavier, is also in the large field.

The Lineup:
Seton Hall will bring the following golfers to Arizona, in order as listed:

Lizzie Win, Junior
Mia Kness, Sophomore
Carolina Ronchel Salas, Junior
Maddie Sager, Junior
Sammie Staudt, Junior

Individual – Maria Contreras Luna, Freshman

Last Time at Rio Verde:
Sophomore Lizzie Win (Sylvania, Ohio) shot a team-best 2-over-par, 74, while three other Pirate golfers fired a 3-over-par, 75, in the final round to lift the Pirates to a come-from-behind team championship of the 2018 Rio Verde Invitational.

Seton Hall entered the final round trailing Akron by four strokes, but the Pirates were able to fire an 11-over-par, 299, while the Zips shot a 16-over-par, 304, giving The Hall a slim one-stroke victory. For the three-round tournament, Seton Hall shot a 38-over-par, 307-296-299-902. Seton Hall's lone BIG EAST competition, Xavier, finished a distant 20 strokes behind.

On the heels of her first collegiate individual title, Mia Kness (Venetia, Pa.) notched her second straight top-10 finish. Kness finished her final round strong with birdies in two of her final four holes to finish with a 3-over-par, 75, in round three. For the tournament, she tied for seventh place among 97 individual golfers with an 8-over-par, 73-76-75-224.

Last Time Out:
Seton Hall is coming off arguably its best individual season in the program's history. In four tournament's last fall, the Pirates finished in the top-6, all four times, and won the Delaware Lady Blue Hen Invitational. Their "75" Golfstat ranking is the highest in the history of the program, and their 297.
64 stroke average in the fall is the lowest for a single-season ever.

Win had three top-10 individual finishes including an individual championship of the Delaware Lady Blue Hen Invitational to complete the fall, breaking Seton Hall's par-71, three-round record. Her even-par, 216 at the Nittany Lion Invitational tied The Hall's par-72 tournament record.

Tee Times:
The field will play one round on each of three days. The tournament will begin on Friday with a 4:00 p.m. ET shotgun start. The shotgun start for both Saturday and Sunday is at 11:30 AM ET.

Results:
Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.com. Complete results will also be available following each day's competition at SHUpirates.com.