Tuesday, April 24, 2018

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Facing a 10-stroke deficit heading into the final round of the 2018 GNAC Women’s Golf Championships, Concordia used a spirited comeback to claim its first-ever conference title Tuesday afternoon at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

Behind a solid team effort, Concordia fired a 299 in the second round to edge Simon Fraser by seven strokes. Finishing in first place with a 7-over par 149, Concordia’s Caitlyn Villatora fired rounds of 74 and 75 to lead the Cavaliers to a GNAC Championships course-record of 611 strokes.

Teammate Cammie Decker finished the tournament in second place at 8-over par 150 while Shantel Antonio tied for fourth with a 153. Heading into the last round nine strokes over par, Antonio clubbed a tournament-low 72 and managed a team-high five birdies in the final round of play to finish 10 strokes over par. Staesha Flock rounded out the Cavaliers’ top-four scorers in 10th with a 159.

Leading the pack at even-par after round one, Simon Fraser’s Estee Leung guided the Clan to second place (618) after carding a 152 for a third-place individual finish.

Belinda Lin paced the Clan’s second-round efforts by scoring a 5-over par 76. She ended the tournament in a fourth-place tie at 153 while Erin Farner ended at 160.

Western Washington concluded the event with a third-place finish at 644. Hannah Drake, who led the field with six birdies, fired a pair of 77’s to lead WWU for a seventh-place finish while Jenn Paul tied for 14th with 164 strokes.

Opening the tournament with a 3-over par 75, Montana State Billings’ Shealyn Hafer carded a 153, which included five birdies, for a share of fourth place. Sammy Walter was the other Yellowjacket to finish within the top-10, tying for a team-low 78 on the final round for ninth place. Montana State Billings finished the event with a 645.

Lisa Zelasko paced Saint Martin’s (665) with a tie for 14th after she fired two rounds of 82. Teammate Celia Beyke and Hailey Warren ended two strokes behind Zelasko. Stephanie Miller was the highest Northwest Nazarene finisher at 160 to end in a tie for 11th.