USCB women’s golf rallies for second-place finish
The USCB women’s golf team rallied for a second-place finish — and took home plenty of hardware — on the final day of the Sun Conference Championships on Monday at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.
Freshman Vanessa Schloo and sophomore Franzi Knoetsch added All-Sun Conference honors to their top-10 finishes this week and USCB’s Alexis Bennett was named the league’s Coach of the Year after the seventh-ranked Sand Sharks posted a team score of 313 in the final round to finish at 949, four shots clear of fourth-ranked SCAD Savannah. No. 2 Keiser closed with the best round of the tournament, a 12-over-par 300, to finish at 910 and run away from the pack.
“I’m extremely proud of the effort the girls showed today,” Bennett said. “It would have been easy to settle after the hole we dug for ourselves Sunday, but they came out determined to finish strong and it paid off.”
Schloo capped off her strong week with a 6-over-par 78 to finish fifth at 16-over 232, while Knoetsch closed with a 78 to finish seventh and senior Lina Sekerkova (237) shot USCB’s best round of the day with a 77 to tie for eighth. Sophomore Emily Turner (245) tied for 16th, and sophomore Moa Kristenson (254) placed 27th.
The Seahawks earned the league’s lone automatic berth in the NAIA National Championships next month at Savannah Quarters Country Club in Pooler, Ga., but the Sand Sharks certainly strengthened their resume and should be a lock for an at-large berth. Bennett is optimistic her team can improve upon last year’s ninth-place finish.
“We still have work to do in terms of consistency,” she said, “but the ability to claw our way to a great finish will certainly serve us well should we be fortunate enough to return to the National Championship.”
Team Scores
Keiser 308-302-300—910; USCB 312-324-313—949; SCAD Savannah 311-315-327—953; Thomas 326-313-315—954; Southeastern 335-336-320—991; Webber International 335-344-340—1019; Warner 373-376-371—1120; Ave Maria 375-380-370—1125
Top 10 Individuals
1. Elsa Westin, Keiser 76-75-69—220
2. Rebecka Holmstrom, Keiser 76-76-74—226
3. Sabrina Schloo, Keiser 77-74-77—228
4. Sofia Molinaro, SCAD 72-76-82—230
5. Vanessa Schloo, USCB 78-76-78—232
6. Caroline Parrish, Thomas 80-77-77—234
7. Franzi Knoetsch, USCB 77-80-78—235
T8. Michelle Edwards, Thomas 82-78-77—237
T8. Lina Sekerkova, USCB 76-84-77—237
10. Anna Felip, Keiser 79-80-81—240
Other USCB Results
T16. Emily Turner 81-84-80—245
27. Moa Kristenson 88-84-82—254
All-Conference Team
Caroline Parrish (Thomas)
Franzi Knoetsch (USCB)
Vanessa Schloo (USCB)
Marionna Maeso (SCAD)
Paulina Camacho (SCAD)
Sofia Molinaro (SCAD)
Caroline Retabi (Keiser)
Rebecka Holmstrom (Keiser)
Sabrina Schloo (Keiser)
Elsa Westin (Keiser)
Player of the Year: Elsa Westin, Keiser
Coach of the Year: Alexis Bennett, USCB
This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 8:13 PM with the headline "USCB women’s golf rallies for second-place finish."