Women's Golf Readies to Defend Title at Rutgers

Oct. 13, 2013

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's golf team will return to the links on Monday when it attempts to defend its championship at the Rutgers Women's Invitational.

This year, in addition to Seton Hall and host Rutgers, competing teams include Albany, Bucknell, Central Connecticut, Delaware, Fairfield, Fairleigh Dickinson, Georgetown, Hartford, Hofstra, Lehigh, Long Island, Monmouth, Navy, Quinnipiac, Saint John's, Sacred Heart, St. Francis and Wagner.

The Rutgers University Golf Course was founded in 1961 with the construction of the present day 18-hole layout that was expertly designed by Hal Purdy, a noted golf architect. The course was officially opened May 29, 1963. Today, the par-72 course can be stretched to 6,337 yards and features a course rating of 70.5 and a slope of 130.

Over the past decade, the course has undergone extensive renovations and updates, which include a modern irrigation system, the addition of several bunkers and the planting of many trees, including a host of impressive evergreens. Once a rather wide-open tract, today's Rutgers Golf Course features a host of tree-lined holes, featuring undulating greens and water that comes into play on five holes.

Seton Hall won this tournament by seven strokes in 2012 with a 27-over-par, 299-304-603. A trio of Pirates tied for second place among all individual golfers. Ali Kruse (Overland Park, Kan.) was 6-over-par with a 76-74-150. Megan Tenhundfeld (Loveland, Ohio) shot a 6-over-par, 74-76-150 and departed Pirate Christina Cantu fired a 6-over-par, 72-78-150. The team victory is only the second in the short history of the Seton Hall women's golf program.

The Pirates have participated in this tournament in all three prior fall seasons, so it's a course the team knows well.

"We're looking forward to getting down to Rutgers and defending our title," said head coach Sara Doell. "We're coming off a strong performance at Yale and our ladies are hungry to attack a course they're very comfortable with. "

Seton Hall is coming off a fourth place showing at the 17-team Yale Intercollegiate three weeks ago. Junior Erin McClure (Tucson, Ariz.) is having a tremendous fall. She led the Pirates at Yale with a career-best 8-over-par, 76-71-74-221, to tie for seventh place among 91 individual golfers. It was McClure's second top-10 finish in three tournaments this fall. For her efforts, she was recently named BIG EAST Women's Golfer of the Week.

"I've been really pleased with the maturity of Erin's game this fall," Doell said. Her improvement, coupled with the emergence of Karlie Zabrosky (Erie, Pa.), a healthy Hannah Basalone (Brea, Calif.) and a steady Ali Kruse, really makes for a formidable lineup that can compete for a title every week."

Tee times on Monday and Tuesday are from 8-10:20 a.m. Results will be posted on www.SHUpirates.com at the conclusion of competition each day.