Pirates Open Spring Season at Rio Verde Invite

RIO VERDE, ARIZ. - The Seton Hall women's golf team will begin the 2018 spring season this weekend when it plays three rounds at the Rio Verde Invitational, Feb. 23-25.

Tournament Details:
RIO VERDE INVITATIONAL
Host: Western Michigan University
Location: Rio Verde, Ariz.
Course: Rio Verde Country Club (Quail Run Course)
Course Vitals: Par-72, 6,215 yards
Dates: February 23-25, 2018, Three Rounds

The Course:
Rio Verde features two traditional-style courses with a soft desert look. They are more Midwestern in style with a lot more grass than one would imagine in a desert setting. When Tom Lehman led the $6 million course renovation project a few years ago, he achieved his vision of creating two uniquely distinct courses, giving members a never-ending variety of golf experiences. Quail Run has all the elements of a traditional golf course, and White Wing plays more like a links course. Common to both courses are meticulously groomed fairways, greens loaded with personality, and outstanding mountain views.

The Field:
In addition to Seton Hall and host Western Michigan, the field is comprised of 14 other teams including: Akron, Arkansas State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Bradley, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Missouri State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Arkansas-Little Rock, UMKC, Wichita State and fellow BIG EAST competitor, Xavier.

The Lineup:
Seton Hall will bring the following golfers to Arizona, in order as listed:

Mia Kness, Freshman
Lizzie Win, Sophomore
Sammie Staudt, Sophomore
Maddie Sager, Sophomore
Cassie Pantelas, Senior

Individual - Macky Fouse, Senior

Last Time at Rio Verde:
Last year, Lizzie Win (Sylvania, Ohio) fired a 3-over-par, 75, in the final round of the 2017 Rio Verde Invitational to lead the Seton Hall women's golf team to a 16^th place tie team finish. For the three-day event, Win tied for 37^th among 103 individual golfers with a 13-over-par, 78-76-75-229.

Collectively, the Pirates tied for 16^th place with Ohio University and finished the tournament 39 strokes behind the team champion, Eastern Michigan.

Maddie Sager (Phoenixville, Pa.) finished the tournament as the top Pirate competitor, tying for 33^rd place overall with a 12-over-par, 74-77-77-228.

Last Time Out:
Seton Hall is coming off a strong fall season, which saw three top-5 team finishes in five tournaments. The Pirates finished the season in strong fashion, winning the Brown Bear Invitational for head coach Natalie Desjardins first tournament victory at Seton Hall. Furthermore, both Mia Kness and Maddie Sager tied atop the individual leader board with Kness besting her teammate in a playoff for her first career collegiate individual win.

Tee Times:
The field will play one round on each of three days. The tournament will begin on Friday with a 4:00 PM ET shotgun start. The shotgun start for both Saturday and Sunday is at 11:30 AM ET.

Results:
Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.com. Complete results will also be available following each day's competition at SHUpirates.com.