DEARBORN, Mich. – Anderson University sophomore Emma Charles carded her third consecutive 8-over-par 80 and finished in a tie for 55th, Thursday at the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships.
The 54-hole, three-day tournament, which was hosted by Wayne State and the Detroit Sports Commission on a par-72, 5,848-yard TPC Michigan course, featured a dozen teams and 12 individuals.
The top eight teams will now be placed into a quarterfinal bracket and seeded based on their 54-hole scores and will compete in head-to-head medal play, with winning teams advance to the semifinals and subsequently the finals on Saturday.
Limestone, the South Atlantic Conference Champion, claimed the top seed and will be seeking its first national title over the next two days. The Saints finished two strokes in front of second-place Lynn and 18 shots in front of third-place Findlay. Indianapolis, which made a run during Wednesday's second round, claimed the fourth seed and will be looking for its second national title in three years. Nationally top-ranked Dallas Baptist remained in fifth place, with St. Mary's (Texas) and Arkansas Tech finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.
Grand Valley State slipped one spot into eighth place, with Texas A&M – Commerce, Tampa, Northeastern State and Rogers State finishing out the 12-team field.
Lynn's Helen Kreuzer claimed individual medalist honors after firing a final-round 4-under-par 68 to outlast UIndy's Pilar Echeverria by two shots on Thursday after the two finished the first two rounds deadlocked atop the leaderboard. Kreuzer and Echeverria were the only golfers to finish the three-day event below par. Limestone's Stina Wikstrom finished in a tie for third, alongside Lynn's Alice Gatti and Findlay's Meredith Wipper.
Charles reached par on 30 holes during the three-day tournament, while carding birdies on three, including two of the four par-5s on Thursday, but was unable to gain ground on the rest of the field. After finishing in a tie for fifth at last week's South Region Championships, Charles became just the second golfer in school history to earn a berth in the NCAA National Championships.
Player Team Scores
1 Helen Kreuzer Lynn 71 71 68 210 -6
2 Pilar Echeverria UIndy 71 71 70 212 -4
T3 Meredith Wipper Findlay 76 68 75 219 +3
T3 Stina Wikstrom Limestone 76 72 71 219 +3
T3 Alice Gatti Lynn 79 68 72 219 +3
Team Scores
1 Limestone 299 287 296 882 +18
2 Lynn 301 289 294 884 +20
3 Findlay 300 301 299 900 +36
4 Indianapolis 309 290 304 903 +39
5 Dallas Baptist 305 304 298 907 +43
6 St. Mary's (TX) 307 306 296 909 +45
7 Arkansas Tech 317 304 308 929 +65
8 Grand Valley State 316 305 310 931 +67
9 Texas A&M-Commerce 324 297 314 935 +71
10 Tampa 310 313 316 939 +75
11 Northeastern State 320 314 315 949 +85
12 Rogers State 328 313 316 957 +93
