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South Atlantic Conference

Limestone Concludes Tremendous Run with National Runner-Up Finish

Limestone Concludes Tremendous Run with National Runner-Up Finish
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May 14, 2022

STORY COURTESY OF LIMESTONE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

GAINESVILLE, GA. – In a title match that literally came down to the final putt, the nationally third-ranked Limestone University women's golf team wrapped up a tremendous 2021-22 campaign on Saturday with a runner-up finish versus No. 7 University of Findlay in the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championship.
 
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Team Results – Championship
Location: Chattahoochee Golf Club – Par-72, 6,004 yards
 
INSIDE THE SCORECARD
 

  • Findlay won the first two points of the championship, but the Saints won the next two matches
  • Tied at 2-2 as the final duo hit the 18th, Limestone just missed a short putt to force a playoff
  • The Blue and Gold led, 3-2, through 14, and then nearly rallied from a 3-2 deficit over the last two
  • Sophomore Stina Wikstrom (Gustafs, Sweden) carded a 74 (+2) in the championship round
  • Sophomore Maria Morales (Lambare, Paraguay) also shot a 74 (+2) to earn a point for the Saints
  • Sophomore Taylor Oberparleiter (Laurel Springs, N.J.) tallied a 75 (+3) in her matchup
  • Graduate Lena Schilowsky (Gloggnitz, Austria) added a 77 (+5) in her final collegiate outing
  • Graduate Ebba Hellman (Ronninge, Sweden) concluded a stellar career in the Blue and Gold
  • Limestone made history with the program's first NCAA National Championship appearance
  • The 2021-22 women's golf team also made history by becoming only the second Limestone women's program to ever compete in an NCAA National Championship match

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Schilowsky doubled to start the day but was able to keep within striking distance of Findlay's number one golfer Jill Schmitmeyer over the first four holes. However, an eagle by Schmitmeyer on the par-4 5th along with a bogey and a double on the last two holes put Schilowsky behind by seven strokes through nine.  
 
The Oilers continued to pad their lead in the first matchup, pulling ahead by as much as 11 strokes, but Schilowsky went down fighting over the final four holes to end her tenure in the Blue and Gold. She birdied on the par-4 15th and the par-3 17th to make up four strokes, but Findlay would take the 1-0 edge.
 
Following a tremendous day on Friday, Oberparleiter bogeyed on her first two holes of the championship round to fall behind by a stroke against Findlay's Kristina Kniesly. The sophomore would then bogey three straight holes before the Oilers recorded a birdie on the 8th as Oberparleiter dropped four strokes behind.
 
The sophomore managed to close the gap to three with a birdie on the par-4 12th and again with a par on the 14th against a pair of bogeys by Kniesly on the same holes. Oberparleiter ended her day with a respectable 3-over 75, but Kniesly fired a 2-under 70 as the Oilers moved ahead, 2-0, in the title match.  
 
Morales battled through a couple of ties matched up with Mary Kelly Mulchay until a bogey by the latter on hole 4 and a birdie on the par-4 5th by the former gave Limestone a two-stroke edge. Morales would tally par over the rest of the front nine and made the turn at the clubhouse with a three-stroke advantage.
 
Findlay quickly erased the deficit as Morales posted consecutive double bogeys to start the back nine, but she responded nicely down the final stretch. Morales logged a birdie on the par-5 14th and again on the par-5 16th before her opponent bogeyed on the 18th to give Limestone its first point to cut the lead to 2-1.
 
Like her semifinal round, Wikstrom was locked in a back-and-forth with Findlay's Gabby Woods for most of the opening nine holes. Wikstrom would hold a pair of leads over the first four holes while Woods led for two straight holes, but a bogey by the Oilers on the eighth would put the duo in a deadlock at the turn.
 
Wikstrom moved back in front on the 11th and would not relinquish her advantage the rest of the match, expanding the margin to four strokes over the last four holes as the Saints knotted things up a 2-apeice.
 
It what would prove to be the decisive matchup, Hellman was also in a tight contest early on against Erin Mulchay over the first several holes until a bogey by Findlay on the par-4 5th put Limestone's All-American in front by a stroke. Hellman extended the lead to three following two more bogeys by UF before the turn.
 
A birdie by the Oilers on 10 and a bogey by Hellman on 11 cut the margin to just a stroke, but Limestone regained a two-stroke advantage on 14. The lead quickly evaporated, however, as Mulchay birdied on the par-4 15th while Hellman followed a bogey on 15 with a double on 16 to put the Oilers on top with two left.
 
Trailing by a pair, Hellman made up one of those on the par-3 17th and then had a golden opportunity on the 18th to tie or win the match for Limestone after Mulchay hit her second shot into a greenside bunker. She would leave the potential winning putt for birdie just short, but still had a chance to tie the match and force a playoff. That putt looked like it would drop before it skipped over the hole in heartbreaking fashion.  
 
NOTABLES
 

  • The 2021-22 women's golf team became the first in program history to reach the NCAA National Championship after advancing past the quarterfinals for the first time in three tries
  • Limestone then rallied for an epic win over Anderson in the semifinals to reach the title match
  • The Saints logged the lowest round of the 2022 NCAA National Championship with a second-round 286 (-2) – that allowed the Saints to advance to medal match play for a third straight year
  • Hellman collected her second career top-10 finish at the National Championship, just one of many highlights in a tremendous five-year career with the Saints for the two-time All-American
  • Morales posted her first career top-10 finish at the NCAA Championship, placing sixth overall
  • In her final collegiate outing, Schilowsky helped power Limestone's impressive second round with a 71 (-1) and then battled the opposing team's number one in the last two rounds of match play
  • Oberparleither was impressive in match play for Limestone, combining for a team-low 217 (+1)
  • Wikstrom collected three points during match play, finishing with a three-round total of 226 (+8)