Championship Quest Begins Friday at Callawassie

CALLAWASSIE ISLAND, S.C. – The Seton Hall women's golf team will return to action this weekend for the marquee event on the conference calendar, the BIG EAST Championship at beautiful Callawassie Island, N.C., April 19-21.

The Pirates enter the 2019 Championship coming off one of their most-storied years in program history. Seton Hall reached a program-best GolfStat ranking of 75 in the fall, and has remained in the top-100 for much of the year. The Pirates claimed a pair of tournament victories during the 2018-19 year, winning the Delaware Lady Blue Hen Invitational in the fall, and the William & Mary Intercollegiate this spring. Furthermore, The Hall's current 300.39 stroke average for the year is the lowest in its nine-year history.

Both Lizzie Win (Sylvania, Ohio) and Mia Kness (Venetia, Pa.) have claimed individual titles this year and rank amongst the BIG EAST's top-7 in scoring average.

Tournament Details:
2019 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Callawassie Island, S.C.
Course: Callawassie Island Golf Club (Dogwood & Magnolia)
Course Vitals: Par-72, 5,959 yards
Dates: April 19-21, 2019, Three Rounds

Championship Format:
Six team, 54-hole, stroke play Championship. Teams compete in groups of three. The event is conducted over four days with each team's five members playing a practice round of 18 holes on day one, one 18-hole round on days two, three and four.

The Course:
The club features three nine-hole courses. The competition will play the first nine holes on the Dogwood Course and the second nine on the Magnolia Course. Designing Callawassie Island's award-winning championship 27-hole course, Tom Fazio took advantage of the island's natural beauty to create a juxtaposition of visual drama and superb playability. Magnificent live oaks and magnolias, as well as freshwater ponds and the surrounding saltwater marsh, come into play on most holes. Inspiring vistas and abundant wildlife make nature part of the golf experience.

The Field:
For the BIG EAST Championship, the field is limited to only the six women's golf teams of the conference. This includes (in order of Golfstat ranking):, Seton Hall (98), Xavier (104), Georgetown (130), St. John's (196), Butler (220) and Creighton (234).

The Seton Hall Lineup:

Carolina Ronchel Salas, Junior
Maddie Sager, Junior
Sarah Fouratt, Freshman
Mia Kness, Sophomore
Lizzie Win, Junior

Last Year at Cassawassie:
Win and Kness tied for fourth place, and therefore were named to the All-Tournament Team, and lifted the Pirates to a second place finish at the 2018 BIG EAST Championship.

For the three-rounds, Win tallied a 14-over-par, 80-73-77-230, while Kness had a 80-74-76-230.

Although the Pirates cut into Georgetown's lead in round two, the Hoyas shot another sub-300 round in the final round, and built their lead back up to win the team championship by 20 strokes. The Hall tied Butler for having the second-best final round with a 19-over-par, 307. For the three-round event, Seton Hall shot a 59-over-par, 314-302-307-923. The Pirates placed second by 15 strokes over third place Xavier.

Last Time Out:
Kness shot a team-best 6-over-par, 78, in round three to lead the Pirates to a 12th place team finish at the 2019 Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational on Sunday.

Kness was the most consistent Pirate throughout the three-round tournament, shooting a 6-over-par, 78, in all three rounds. For the tournament, she tied for 45th place overall with an 18-over-par, 78-78-78-234. One of the players she tied was teammate Carolina Ronchel Salas (Huelva, Spain). The junior finished her tournament with a 76-76-82-234. Both Pirates finished 19 strokes behind Indianapolis' Pilar Echeverria, who was 1-under-par for the tournament.

Collectively, The Hall finished the tournament with a 29-over-par, 317, in round three. For the three-round event, the Pirates were 76-over-par with a 309-314-317-940. Kent State won the team title at 16-over-par.

Tee Times:
The top-seeded Pirates will be paired with golfers from No. 2 Xavier and No. 3 Georgetown in Friday's first round. WIn will get the Pirates started at 8:50 a.m. off the first tee of the Dogwood course. Each Pirate will follow in increments of 10 minutes thereafter.

Results:
Golfstat.com will provide live scoring of the event. Complete results will also be available after each round's completion at www.SHUpirates.com.