Ithaca Wins Seventh Straight Conference Title, Wong Individual Champ

10/2/2016 5:34:00 PM

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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College golf team capped off its near-decade of dominance at the 2016 Empire 8 Women's Golf Championship, winning its final tournament as a member of the conference on its home course at the Country Club of Ithaca. The team title is the Bombers' seventh-consecutive championship, while Kimberley Wong ensured the individual championship would also be coming back to South Hill.
 
Carrying a 39-stroke advantage into Sunday's final round, Ithaca quickly eliminated any doubt of whether they would retain the team championship. IC out-paced team runner-up, Elmira College, by 55 strokes on day two. The Bombers' two-day total of 660 (+84), easily out-distanced the second-place Soaring Eagles (754, +178). Utica came in third place with a two-day total of 854 (+278), while St. John Fisher (872, +296) and Nazareth (887, +311) rounded out the team standings.

"I would like to thank Martha Wells, Lauren Tallman and the rest of the staff at the Country Club of Ithaca for all of the work they put into the tournament and the support they show our team on a daily basis," head coach Molly Braid said. "The course was in great shape and even played well in the wet conditions today."
 
The tightest battle of the afternoon was the race for the individual championship title. Senior, Kimberley Wong, and Elmira's Audrey Clarke began the day tied for the top spot after opening round 82 (+10) scores. Junior, Indiana Jones, was also firmly in the mix, sitting just one stroke back after the first round.
 
Wong and Jones both turned in the co-low rounds of the day, both carding 80 (+8) to finish one-two on the final leaderboard with a 162 and 163 total. Clarke fell slightly off the pace to come in third overall with a 166.

Carrying the lead into Sunday, Wong made it extremely difficult for anyone to jump her. She marked three pars and a great birdie on the par-four sixth to go out in 41 (+5). The senior was even better on the back nine five pars and a birdie to come in with a 39 (+3). Wong finished the round with a flourish, scoring the birdie on 17 and a par on 18 to best her teammate Jones by one stroke. She ended the two-day tournament with a 162 (+18) to score her second career individual title.

"Kimberley has been working very hard and playing some great golf this fall," Braid exclaimed. "It was just a matter of time before she found her way to the top of the leaderboard."
 
Jones gave it everything she had in an effort to retain her individual title from a season ago. She had an excellent front nine, scoring birdie two's on both the par-three second- and seventh-holes. Jones added three other pars to go out in 40 (+4). She went on to post five more pars on the back nine, but fell one stroke shy of Wong with a two-day total of 163 (+19).

Clarke was consistent throughout the day, carding matching 42s on both nines for an 84 (+12). Clarke recorded nine pars, including all four par-three holes. Although she added two strokes to her total from round one, she was one of only six golfers out of the field of 25 to score in the 80s on both days.
 
Peyton Greco continued her breakout rookie campaign with a round that was just one shot off her season-best. The IC freshman tallied four pars and an excellent birdie three on the par-four fourth hole to go out in 41 (+5). She marked three more pars on the back nine, which included a fine 10-foot putt to par the 18^th. She finished with an 83 (+11) and a two-day total of 168 (+24) to come in fourth place overall, the freshman's highest finish of the season. She was named the conference's Rookie of the Year.
 
Lauren Saylor parlayed a strong start on Saturday into the finest round of her collegiate career on Sunday. The third-year player really got going down the final stretch of the front nine, carding four consecutive pars to go out in 41 (+5), she continued the momentum  on the back, scoring pars on three of her first four holes. Saylor put an exclamation point on her round with a fantastic birdie on the par-five 16^th-hole to finish with an 82 (+10), shattering her previous career-low round by three strokes. Her weekend total of 170 (+26) was four strokes lower than her previous career best, putting her in fifth place.
 
Mary Rooker followed up her strong opening round with another fine showing on Sunday. The IC senior tallied six pars on her round, but was hampered by the challenging par-four fifth hole, as she came in with a second-round 93 (+21). Her two-day total of 178 (+34) helped her finish in a tie for sixth.
 
Kyra Denish remained consistent from her opening round, carding an identical 89 (+17) to finish in a tie with Rooker for sixth. She marked four pars on the difficult front nine to go out in 43 (+7), but fell slightly off the pace with one par on the back nine.
 
Elmira's Alyssa Ogden claimed a spot on the E8 All-Conference Second Team by placing eighth by a total score of 185 (+41). The Fairport, New York, product moved one spot up the leaderboard on day two with a 92 (+20), one stroke better than her score from round one. Ogden used several lengthy drives out of the tee box to put her position to par a combined 10 holes in her first-ever conference tournament.

Elmira's Giovanna DeLoca has continually performed at her best in the biggest tournament of the season, as her second-round scores from the past two E8 Championships represent the best rounds of her collegiate career. While the Long Beach, New York, native didn't set a personal record, she earned her second straight top-10 finish, placing ninth with a two-day tally of 191 (+47).  Following a 94 (+22) on Saturday, which is tied for her third-lowest career round, DeLoca carded a 97 (+25) in the second round. Her best hole of the day was the par-four 15th, where she sunk a four-foot putt for birdie.

Fisher's Victoria Maddalone placed 10th overall and was named to the All-Conference Second Team, posting a 297 (102-95).

Utica's Jane Pagano was the Pioneers top finisher with a combined score of 200, good enough for an 11^th place finish.  Pagano was just three strokes shy of earning All-Conference accolades.  Olivia Hirschy posted a 98 on Sunday and climbed the leaderboard to place 12^th overall, just one stroke behind Pagano.

Nazareth's Natalie Farr carded back-to-back rounds of 104 for a two-day total of 208 (+64) for 14^th place.  Katherine Babuka improved by one stroke on day two with a 110 to finish with a 219 (+75) for 17^th place.