The Gustavus women’s golf team posted a final round 329 to finish with a 72-hole total of 1316 one stroke ahead of DePauw University (1317) in second place at the NCAA Division III Championship in Howie-In-The-Hills, Florida. The second place national finish is the highest the history of the Gustavus women’s golf program. Methodist College won the national championship with a total of 1240.
The Gusties began the final day five shots behind DePauw and 59 shots behind eventual champion Methodist. Gustavus started out slow on the final day and fell behind 13 shots on the front nine. The team rallied on the back nine and tied DePauw with two holes to play. Gustavus senior Kelli Groff birdied the 18th hole to put the Gusties up by a shot and the one-shot advantage held up through the final threesome.
The final day scores for Gustavus included Groff firing a team leading 77, while Rachel Roberg, Breanne Staples, and Kimbra Kosak all posted 84’s, and Alana Reetz tallied a 91.
Final individual results for Gustavus included Kelli Groff tying teammate Rachel Roberg for 13th place. Groff posted a 72-hole total of 87-78-84-77–326, while Roberg tallied a total of 81-79-82-84–326. Kimbra Kosak finished in 23rd place with a total of 82-83-85-84–334, followed by Breanne Staples in 27th at 85-82-87-84–338, and Alana Reetz in 29th at 86-83-80-91–340.
Methodist claimed its sixth consecutive championship in convincing fashion as the Monarchs finished 76 shots ahead of the second place Gusties.
Gustavus was making its third trip to the NCAA Championships in the six-year history of the event. The Gusties placed seventh in 2003 and sixth in 2004.