ROLLINS WINS WOMEN’S GOLF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
Rollins broke free from its tie with SSC rival Nova Southeastern in the final round of the 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship, firing a final-round 294 to claim a seven-stroke victory over the Sharks and win the program's fifth national championship in six years.
Rollins freshman Joanna Coe also won the individual championship, carding a final one-under 287 to take a four-stoke victory over Florida Southern's Heather Burgner, who finished with a 291.
The Tars’ final score of 1181 was a new DII women’s championship record, breaking Rollins’ own previous mark of 1185, which was set in 2005.
The title is the ninth straight women's golf crown won by an SSC institution, with Rollins claiming five and Florida Southen winning four since 2000. The SSC domination was evident on the final leaderboards, as runner-up Nova Southeastern (1188) finished 33 strokes ahead of third-place Grand Valley State (1221). In the final individual standings, SSC golfers held eight of the top 10 spots. In addition to Coe and Burgner, Rollins' Cristina Gugler was third with an eight-over 296. NSU's Maria Garcia Austt finished tied for fourth (298) with teammate Taylor Collins, and Rollins' Laura Fourdraine tied for seventh (300). A couple of NSU golfers rounded out the top 10, as Sandra Changkija and Nicole Whitmore tied for ninth with a final score of 301 (+13).
After two rounds of action, NSU had opened a seven-stroke lead over Rollins. Nevertheless, the Tars turned in a tremendous performance in round three, highlighted by Coe's championship-record round of 68 and a hole-in-one on No. 7 by Fourdraine. The conference foes headed into Friday's final round knotted at 887 before Rollins turned in the lowest score for the second straight day en route to the victory.
Round-by-round recaps of the entire championship appear on the SSC's Spring Championships Festival page.