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MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – Murray State capped a start-to-finish lead on Wednesday to capture the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championship at The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at The Shoals.
The Racers led by one stroke after day one and eight shots after the second round before ultimately topping Jacksonville State by four. With the win MSU claimed its second-straight and OVC record 11th Women’s Golf Championship (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2018).
With the victory, Murray State earned the OVC's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship. The 2018 field will be announced on Wednesday, April 25 on the Golf Channels' Golf Central program at 4:30 p.m. CT. The NCAA Regionals will be held May 7-9 and take place in Austin, Texas, Madison, Wisconsin, San Francisco, California and Tallahasse, Florida. Following the Regionals the National Championship will be held May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
After carding the low round of the tournament on Tuesday (4-under, 68), Jacksonville State junior
Valentina Giraldo fired a final round 74 to move from second to first place and capture medalist honors. Giraldo finished the Championship with a 54-hole total of 218 (+2) to top the field by three shots. She is the fourth overall JSU player to capture OVC Championship medalist honors, and first since Ornella Arrizon in 2012.
Following the Championship, Giraldo was voted OVC Player of the Year by the league head coaches. The All-OVC selection finished the tournament with a 72.5 scoring average for the season over 10 events. The OVC Championship victory marked her sixth win of the season, establishing a new OVC single-season record. Giraldo is the sixth JSU player to be named OVC Player of the Year and first since Melania Bajo Geijo in 2016.
The All-Tournament Team, which is comprised of the top five finishers, included Giraldo, Murray State’s
Lucila Puente Rodriguez, Moa Folke and Raeysha Surendran and Eastern Kentucky’s Elsa Moberly.
Windy conditions on Wednesday led the higher scores for the teams, as Murray State combined for a total of 303. Puente Rodriguez and Folke (who had won the last two OVC medalist crowns) combined for final scores of 221 (+5) to tie for second place, while Surendran finished fifth (222, +6).
Anna Moore was tied for 24th (240, +24) and
Linette Holmslykke finished 29th (241, +25).
Giraldo’s round of 74 was tied with
Ana Perez Altuna for the tops on the Jacksonville State team during Wednesday’s final round. Altuna finished seventh overall while
Paula Vega had a final round 75 to finish one shot better in sixth place. Jacksonville State has finished in the top three in all 15 of its OVC Championship appearances.
Moberly’s fifth place finish (224, +8) led the Eastern Kentucky team and marked her second-straight All-Tournament selection at the OVC Championship.
Amanda Lindahl,
Ragga Kristinsdottir (the OVC Freshman of the Year) and
Mikayla Hauck tied for 10th place with three-day totals of 232 (+16). It marked the sixth-straight year that EKU has finished in the top three at the OVC Championship.
Austin Peay capped the Championship with a final day total of 301, the lowest ever for the Governors in an OVC Championship, besting its previous mark of 303. The team’s 54-hole total of 921, was just one short of equaling last year’s record setting performance. Junior
Reagan Greene was the team’s top finisher, carding a final round 77 (+5) to finish tied for seventh at 227 (+11).
Meghann Stamps finished tied for 10th overall with a score of 232 (+16).
Morehead State improved its team score each day of the Championship, including tallying a final round 311 on Wednesday. The Eagles were paced by
Gypsie Hutchinson who carded a three-day total of 231 (+15).
Belmont improved its final position by one spot after a final round team total of 312, its lowest output of the Championship. The Bruins were led by
Emma Kate Liu who placed 16th overall (234, +18).
Tennessee Tech’s
Shelby Johnson and
Kate Mashburn tied for 24th with a 54-hole totals of 240 (+24).
Eastern Illinois junior
Daphne Chang, an OVC All-Newcomer selection, saved her best round for last, tallying a 79 on Wednesday to finish tied for 32nd place (244, +28).
Carson Racich carded her second-straight round of 78 to finish the Championship at 236 (+20), which placed her 20th, the best-finish ever for a Tennessee State women’s golfer at the OVC Championship.
For the week the course played 6,043 yards and was a par 72.
The OVC men's golf championship is next on the schedule and will take beginning Monday morning at The Shoals on the Fighting Joe Course.
OVC All-Tournament Team
Valentina Giraldo, Jacksonville State (MVP)
Lucila Puente Rodriguez, Murray State
Moa Folke, Murray State
Raeysha Surendran, Murray State
Elsa Moberly, Eastern Kentucky
Bobby Nichols OVC Coach of the Year: Amy McCollum & Sara Robson, Austin Peay
OVC Player of the Year: Valentina Giraldo, Jacksonville State
OVC Freshman of the Year: Ragga Kristinsdottir, Eastern Kentucky