Pirates Begin 2024 BIG EAST Championship, Saturday

OKATIE, S.C. – The Seton Hall women's golf team has once again reached the marquee event on its tournament calendar, the BIG EAST Championship, April 20-22, at Callawassie Island Golf Club.

The tournament returns to Callawassie after spending the last three seasons elsewhere with the Club undergoing renovations. The Championship was held at Callawassie for four straight years from 2016-2019. The Hall's last BIG EAST title came in 2016, the conference's first year at Callawassie.

Tournament Details:
2024 BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Host: BIG EAST Conference
Location: Okatie, S.C.
Resort: Callawassie Island Golf Club
Course Vitals: Par-72, 6,162 yards
Dates: April 20-22, 2024

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 2024 BIG EAST Championship will be played on the Magnolia and Dogwood courses.

THE FIELD
The field will be limited to only the six member schools of the BIG EAST Conference. Below are the teams in order of their by their national ranking.

Georgetown – 108
Xavier – 120
Butler – 200
St. John's – 210
SETON HALL – 219
Creighton – 225

THE FORMAT
Teams will play five golfers and count the four lowest scores per round.

THE LINEUP
Seton Hall will be bringing the following lineup to South Carolina:

Ana Sarrias Pro, Junior
Ginevra Zavagli, Senior
Renee Rane, Freshman
Anne-Sofie Ekman, Sophomore
Kasumi Tran, Freshman

Lara Todorovic will serve as the team's substitution if needed.

LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Anne-Sofie Ekman (Copenhagen, Denmark) fired a career-low round to fuel the Seton Hall women's golf team to a seventh-place finish at the Rutgers Invitational on April 7.

Ekman had 17 pars and only one bogey for a career-low 1-over-par, 72, on Tuesday. Her performance shot her up the individual leader board into at tie for 34^th place overall. For the tournament, she was 24-over-par with a 79-86-72-237.

As a team, The Hall climbed one spot to finish seventh in round three. The Pirates shaved off 23 strokes from their second-round performance to fire their best round of the tournament, a 16-over-par, 300. For the three-round event, Seton Hall was 78-over-par with a 307-323-300-930. Host Rutgers won the team title at 24-over-par. BIG EAST competitors Georgetown and St. John's finished fourth and sixth respectively.

The top performer of the tournament for The Hall was senior Ginevra Zavagli (Rome, Italy), who used a pair of birdies to pace a 5-over-par, 76, on Sunday. For the event, she tied for 21^st place with a 19-over-par, 76-80-76-232.

LAST YEAR AT THE BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP
Ana Sarrias Pro (Cadiz, Spain) carded the top Pirate round of the tournament in round three and the Seton Hall women's golf team finished fifth at the 2023 BIG EAST Championship.

Sarrias Pro had five birdies and seven pars in route to a sterling 2-over-par, 74, in round three. She was 1-under-par through 15 holes, but bogeyed the final three to settle for 2-over. For the tournament, Sarrias Pro tied for 16th place with a 21-over-par, 79-84-74-237.

As a team, The Hall improved once again in round three, shooting a 20-over-par, 308, but it slipped to a fifth-place team finish. St. John's was just 12-over-par in round three to edge the Pirates for fourth place. Xavier won its fourth consecutive title at 29-over-par. Georgetown was second at 44-over-par, while Creighton finished third at 54-over-par. St. John's was just three strokes ahead of the Pirates at 78-over-par.

The top Pirate for the tournament was Sarah Fouratt, who was playing in her final collegiate round. The graduate student had two birdies and 13 pars on Wednesday for a stellar 4-over-par, 76. Fouratt placed just outside the top-10, settling for 11th with a 17-over-par, 82-75-76-233.

THE STAKES
The BIG EAST will crown a team champion, which earns an automatic berth to the 2024 NCAA Championship. The individual champion also receives an NCAA Championship invitation.

MEDIA
For the second straight year, GKLive.TV, will provide online coverage of the Championship. The broadcast is free.

TEE TIMES
The field will play one round (18 holes) over each day for three days. Competition on each day will begin at 8:00 a.m. Seton Hall will be paired with golfers from St. John's and Creighton in round one.

THE RESULTS
Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com. Full day results will also be available at SHUPirates.com.