STEVENS, Pa. – Sophomore Rebecca Chiger achieved her second top-10 finish at the Centennial Conference Championship in as many years, landing seventh overall to lead the Ursinus College women's golf team to a fifth-place showing at Foxchase Golf Club.
Ursinus shot a 378 on Sunday for a two-day total of 752, their second-best at the conference tournament in school history. Gettysburg made it seven consecutive team titles, running away with the trophy by 71 strokes over runner-up McDaniel. The Green Terror (709) edged Dickinson (710) by one stroke for second, with Muhlenberg (717) in fourth, Ursinus in fifth, Franklin & Marshall (830) in sixth, and Susquehanna (901) rounding out the seven-team field.
Gettysburg's Sarah Hansen claimed her second straight individual crown with a 150 (75-75), ten strokes ahead of teammate and 2015 champion Samantha Sessa.
Chiger carded a second-round 83 for a two-day total of 167, eight strokes better than her own program record at the CC championship set last year. Chiger, who finished fifth at the 2016 championship to become the first Ursinus representative on the All-CC team, is now the first in school history to record back-to-back top-10 placements at the conference tournament.
Despite going eight shots lower than a year ago, the overall improvement of the conference prevented Chiger from a second all-conference laurel – by a mere one stroke; she placed behind Muhlenberg's Aine Filler and Gettysburg's Skylar Frankiewicz, who tied for fifth, by the slimmest of margins. Chiger shot a 39 on the back nine on Sunday, birdying the par-4 12th and the par-4 15th and closing with three straight pars.
Junior Sarah Thompson followed up her career-best 85 on Saturday with a 90 – tied for her previous collegiate low – to finish 11th with a combined 175, tied with Chiger's 2016 performance for the second-lowest championship card in school history. Thompson finished with six pars, four of them on the front nine holes.
Sophomore Emily McGarrigle, who placed 10th overall at last year's tournament, carded her second consecutive 90 for a two-day 180, two strokes lower than last season's effort. McGarrigle, who registered pars on four holes, finished 17th.
Junior Shelby Bryant continued her strong finish with a second consecutive 115, matching Saturday's career-best tally; she landed in 29th overall.
The women's golf team accomplished new one-day and two-day tournament records during the 2016-17 campaign and will bring back all four of its members next season.