HOUSTON, TX -- The Williams Ephs finished in fifth place at the NCAA Championships after the fourth round of play was cancelled halfway through due to weather. The Championship was counted as a 54-hole tournament, with Williams shooting a total of 933.
This marks the fifth consecutive year that the Ephs have finished fifth or higher at the NCAA Championships and it is the ninth time the Ephs have finsihed in the top 10 at the championships.
Rhodes College came away with the NCAA title this year, outscoring the closest competition by 16 strokes after 54 holes. Before play was stopped this afternoon, Rhodes was four under par through nine holes. Rhodes's three-day breakdown was as follows: 312-298-294, totaling at 904.
Next on the leaderboard, finishing in second place was the University of Texas at Tyler, who had a three-day breakdown of 303-311-305, combining to a total of 919.
Two teams had a three-day total of 920. Tying for third place was George Fox University and Wittenberg University.
The individual champion of the tournament was Caroline Ordian of the University of Redlands, who had a three-day total of 218 (73-70-75), just two over par.
Williams had a strong showing in the tournament. Freshman Cordelia Chan ended up tied for 9th place in a field of 109 competitors (79-73-75). By virtue of her top ten finsih Chan was accorded Honorable Mention All-America honors. "Cordelia had an outstanding NCAA Championship effort, led our team, earned a 9th place finish and a spot on the WGCA All-American Honorable Mention Team,"stated interim head coach Bill Kangas. "By finishing in the top 10 in the NCAA's, Cori automatically earned the honor."
Chan expressed her disappointment with the way the tournament came to an abrupt end. Chan was just one over today through 12 holes before play was called, a round in the works that could have allowed her climb the leaderboard.
"It is hard to finish a tournament like this, let alone an entire season, so I'm admittedly a little down right now," commented Chan. "But I am very proud of my team, it is such an honor to be a part of such a supportive and incredible group of girls. I think we did a great job out here this week, and I'm just sorry we didn't get to fully see it through, to have that one final push to the end."
Sophomore Liz Gudas finished in 17th place individually, with a three-day breakdown of 75-79-77 for a total of 231. This tournament marked the NCAA debuts for both Chan and Gudas.
Sophomore Phoebe Mattana went 82-79-74 (235) on the week, which earned her 24th place individually.
Junior Sophie Kitchen finished with a three-day score of 240 (81-78-81), and junior Tracey Kim finished with a three-day score of 247 (84-82-81).
The Ephs do not graduate any of the five members that travelled down to Houston to play in NCAAs. However, senior captain Kelly Kung is graduating, and her contributions to the team as a role model and leader will be greatly missed.
"We are all really sad to see Kelly graduate, but we know that the type of team that we are, the type of character that we possess will continue forward," noted Gudas. "I'm proud of my team after this week's play, and I cannot wait to build upon our progress come next fall."
"After being seeded ninth in the NCAA Championship, I am proud of how the team played and moved up the leader board every day, eventually posting a fifth plac finish," said Kangas. "While every team in the championship was competing to win the NCAA's, Rhodes College had an exceptional championship and earned the first place finish. I believe our team learned a lot from this NCAA Championship experience and I am sure our team will contend for another championship run in 2017."
