ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Finishing on a high note at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Women's, the Christopher Newport women's golf team set a record for 18 holes with the first sub-300 round in program history. The Captains fired a nine-over 297 to shave six strokes off the program record set twice earlier this year at 303.
In the record-breaking round, rookie
Ayla Browning set a personal low with a two-under 70 while
Katie Watson signed for a one-over 73 and
Alex Delgado wrapped up a three-over 75. Rounding out the 297 effort was a seven-over 79 from
Elena Rezac while
Julia Pelletier's drop score would have also kept CNU under 300 with an eight-over 80.
CNU set the program record with a 303 at the UW-Whitewater Invitational in the Fall and matched that effort in their last tournament at the Westbrook Village Invitational. Both of those events were played on a Par 71 track while Sunday's record-breaking round was on a Par 72, making the final score even more impressive. The previous program low on a Par 72 was 304 at the VSGA Intercollegiate on April 13, 2021.
The effort also shatters the low single round relative to par with the first-ever single digit score in relation to par. The round at the VSGA Intercollegiate was 16-over par, meaning Christopher Newport bested the mark by seven strokes on Sunday.
Overall, Christopher Newport finished 12th at the star-studded event among 24 of the top-ranked teams in the nation. The Captains fired a 948 (332-319-297), ranking as the third finest 54-hole score in program history. The 297 was one of only nine sub-300 rounds out of 72 played by the field.
With the final round effort, thee Captains vaulted four spots on the team leaderboard to finish 12th and just two strokes from a top-ten team effort. Emory (+18) won the three-round event by one stroke over Carnegie Mellon (+19).
Browning and Watson (+16) led the individual effort and tied for 28th in the event. Both players recovered from tough opening rounds and finished in 232 strokes. Watson fired an 83-76-73 and Browning was at 86-76-70 over the weekend. The duo each recorded 34 pars in 54 holes while Browning added five birdies to lead the team. Rezac (+19) was just three strokes behind and tied for 38th with a 235 (78-78-79); she was one of only 24 players in the 117-player field to sign for sub-80 in all three rounds.
Delgado (+36) rebounded on day three by trimming 17 strokes off her final score from the second round to the third. She finished 80th overall with a 252 (85-92-75). Pelletier (+40) concluded the event with a 256 (87-89-80).
Christopher Newport will look to continue its success at The Stith Invitational next week, hosted by Randolph-Macon College at The Dominion Club. CNU will take the course on Monday, March 31-April 1.
