William and Mary traveled to the St. James Plantation Resort in Southport, N.C., over the weekend to compete in the 13th Annual Colonial Athletic Association Women’s Championship. After three rounds, the Tribe finished in fifth with a 58-over 922 team score, far below qualification for what could have been the program’s first National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships berth.
The College opened the tournament with a 19-over 307 in Friday’s round, placing it in fifth on the team leaderboard. Leading the field of eight was Elon, the CAA’s newest member. The Phoenix held a 7-over 295 after the first round, a 12-stroke advantage on the Tribe.
Individually, junior Alessandra Liu led the College with a 72, matching the par of the course. The performance tied her for third place with UNC-Wilmington’s Mallory Warwick. The Tribe had two other golfers in the top 20 – seniors Anna McMullen and Kelly Okun. McMullen was tied at 11th at 76 (+4) while Okun was tied at 18th at 78 (+6). Senior Kellie Edelblut and her sister, freshman Katie Edelblut, rounded out the first day’s performance with respective 9-over and 10-over finishes for ties in 28th and 31st.
In Saturday’s second round, the College scored another score of 307 for a two-day total of 614 (+38). The score moved the Tribe up to fourth place. After two days, the College of Charleston took the lead with a 16-over 592, one stroke ahead of Elon and 22 strokes ahead of the Tribe.
Liu still led the College’s players, but fell to ninth overall after a 6-over 78 on the day. Kellie Edelblut posted the highest marks of any Tribe golfer Saturday with a 2-over 74, moving her up 10 places to 18th. Katie Edelblut also moved up 10 places to 21st with a 3-over 75 for a total of 157 (+13). Okun and McMullen were tied at 158 (+14) in 23rd place after the second round.
The final round of competition Sunday would be the final round of the Tribe’s season, as they finished fifth; qualification for NCAA’s requires a CAA title. The College shot a 20-over 308 for the third round for a total tournament score of 922 (+58). Charleston took the team title for the second consecutive year with a 17-over 881, while the individual title went to Delaware’s Andrea Slane with a record-setting 7-under 209.
All of the Tribe golfers finished in the top 25, with one finisher in the top 10. Liu tied for 10th at a three-day 11-over 227, securing her as the new program record holder for average strokes per round at 75.0. Next was Kellie Edelblut, tying for 15th in a 15-over 231. Okun took 20th with an 18-over 234. McMullen tied at 22nd with Katie Edelblut at a total of 237 (+21) to round out the Tribe scores.
Okun, Kellie Edelblut and McMullen all end their careers with this event, leaving their legacy with respective 10th, 11th and 16th school-best all time average stroke per round. The returning members of the Tribe will start competition again in the fall.