WGolf Readies for the BIG EAST Championship
4/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 16, 2014
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. - The Seton Hall women's golf team will complete play for the 2013-14 year with the 2014 BIG EAST Women's Golf Championship at the picturesque LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., from April 16-19. Six teams will compete on the Hills Course in a three-round 18-hole format with a practice round held on the first day of competition, April 16.
Competition is scheduled to begin Thursday-Saturday at 8 a.m. Eastern. Butler, Creighton, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall and Xavier will vie for the 2014 women's golf team crown. St. John's senior Harin Lee, the 2011 individual champion, is the top returning scorer from last year when she finished fourth.
Xavier is one of three BIG EAST newcomers at this year's championship, and the Musketeers come into the event boasting two spring victories. Senior Ariel McNair, sophomore Shane Crutchfield and junior Abigail Smith are the top three seeded golfers, while the Musketeers are seeded first as a team. Lee is fourth entering the championship, and Seton Hall's Ali Kruse (Overland Park, Kan.) is fifth. The Pirates' Erin McClure (Tucson, Ariz.) is ranked seventh in the individual field according to Golfstat.
Kruse enters the year's final event with a team-leading 76.64 scoring average and five, top-10 finishes in nine tournaments this year. Her top performance was an eye-opening even-par effort at the Cincinnati Spring Invitational. Kruse finished second among all individuals in the event and shot a staggering 4-under-par, 68, in the event's third round to set a program record.
McClure had a dominant fall season and became the third Pirate on the current roster to claim an individual championship with a victory at the Rutgers Invitational. The junior recorded six, top-10 finishes this year, and most recently, led the Pirates with a ninth place tie at Seton Hall's own Pirate Invitational.
Golfers will find challenges at every turn on the signature Arthur Hills Course. The par-72 layout is a classic at 6,984 yards. Hills used a superb natural setting to create a masterpiece in playability and variety. It features natural wetlands, narrow pine corridors, small greens and strategically placed water hazards. The Hills Course calls for the player to use mind over muscles. Good strategic planning rewards the player with good results and an enjoyable round. Each hole is unique and memorable. The Hills Course, played from the proper tees, poses an appropriate challenge to more accomplished players and fairness to high handicappers, seniors, women and junior golfers.
"This is our fourth year participating in the conference's marquee event and I don't think I've ever felt more prepared," said Head Coach Sara Doell. "This team has worked hard all year long to be ready for the BIG EAST Championship and I'm confident that any one of our five starters is talented enough to win it."
The BIG EAST Championship will mark the end of a historic collegiate career for one of the Pirates' starters. Hannah Basalone (Brea, Calif.) was one of the original golfers when the program began four years ago and this will be her fourth and final conference championship. The senior has seen the Pirates grow from a distant last place team as a freshman to a legitimate contender for the conference crown this week. Along the way, Basalone won the first-ever individual title in program history and no Pirate has played in more tournaments or more rounds.
"Although this week brings great excitement, it also comes with a certain sense of impending loss," Doell said. "Hannah has been everything you could ask for in a student-athlete. She is an excellent golfer, student and representative of Seton Hall... but she's an even better person. Our program is where it is today in large part because of the role Hannah and the other seniors have played in its growth. I will be forever grateful to Hannah and this remarkable senior class."
Joining Basalone, Kruse and McClure in Florida are a pair of sophomores Megan Tenhundfeld (Loveland, Ohio) and Karlie Zabrosky (Erie, Pa.). Both have enjoyed significant growth over the course of the year and can vie for individual honors this week.
Collectively, the Pirates are coming off a fifth place finish among 18 teams at their own Pirate Invitational at Trump National a week and a half ago. Despite poor weather conditions early in the tournament, Seton Hall was able to shave 17 strokes off its first round score in the final round to out-shoot 13 other teams. BIG EAST rival St. John's finished three strokes ahead of the Pirates for fourth place.
"This is a new-look BIG EAST with fresh opportunities for all six programs," Doell said. "It's going to be an exciting week and I look forward to seeing what we can bring to the table. I can't wait for it to get started."
Results will be available at SHUpirates.com and Golfstat.com following each round's completion.
