Throughout the weekend of Sept. 22 and 23, the Saint Leo Lions’ women’s golf team opened up their season with the Battle at Old South in Bluffton, South Carolina. The Lions have extraordinary expectations placed on the team this year as they opened up the season as the sixth-ranked program in Division II. In the span of the tournament, the Lions jumped up one spot to crack the top-five in the nation.
After the first 18 holes of the tournament, the Lions sat in fifth place out of 17 teams with a team score of 302 (+14). After the final round Sunday, the Lions came out and ended the tournament in fourth place overall with a team score of 605 (+29) to finish off the weekend. Redshirt sophomore Synne Lauritzen finished tied for sixth out of all competitors with a 146 (+2), and sophomore Isabel Nesteus managed to improve her performance, jumping 23 spots on the final 18 holes to finish the tournament four-over.
Last year at the same event on the same course, the Green and Gold managed to shoot a 590 (+14) which was good enough to give the team second place overall. Last season head coach Lyndsey Bevill led the Lions to the NCAA Super Regionals and placed sixth overall at the event. Both Bevill and the team would like to improve from the 2017-2018 season and are predicted to do so by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Redshirt sophomore Synne Lauritzen set the pace for the Lions as she finished +2 for the tournament. Credit: Saintleolions.com
This team is constantly getting better and adapted to the course as the tournament went on, which is a great sign so early in the season. Lauritzen, junior Izzy Lawrence, freshman Louise Henningsson, and sophomore Jasmin Pnaiser all finished the tournament inside the top 50 competitors as it concluded.
As of this writing, the only programs the Lions are looking up at in the rankings are the University of Indianapolis, Nova Southeastern, Dallas Baptist and Barry. A few rivals from the ultra-competitive Sunshine State Conference are ahead of the Lions, but a few are also chasing them to round off the top 10 in the nation.
The team came out of the tournament feeling good, especially with the improvements they had Sunday but will look to build on this performance for the remainder of the season. The team plays this upcoming week as they travel to Cleveland, Tennessee to participate in the Lee Lady Flames Super Regional Preview at the Cleveland Country Club Oct. 1-2. This will be the first time the Lions compete in the tournament but don’t let the fact fool you as this team can compete on any course with any team at any part of the season.
