WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Navy women’s golf started its spring campaign with a seventh-place at the Kingsmill Intercollegiate after posting a three-round score of 96-over par 960. The Midshipmen finished the tournament with its lowest score of the event with a 23-over par 311 on Tuesday on the River Course at the Kingsmill Resort.
The tournament was Navy’s first team competition in 391 days as the Midshipmen last competed as a team at the Kiawah Island Classic on March 3, 2020.
Making her debut in the Navy lineup, Stephanie Lee (Fr., Southlake, Texas) led the Midshipmen with a 54-hole score of 20-over par 236 (78-82-76) and she finished the tournament with her lowest round of the weekend at 4-over par 76 en route to her 13th-place finish. Over the two-day event, Lee finished tied for fourth in the field in par-three scoring after going 2-over par.
Tori Smith (Jr., Arlington, Tenn.) finished tied for the 20th in the 66-player field with a 25-over par 241 (81-85-75). After sitting in 32nd after day one, Smith’s 3-over par 75 on Tuesday moved her up eight spots in the field and her 75 was Navy’s best single-round score of the tournament. She also tied Lee in par-three scoring at 2-over par.
Freshman Mara Hirtle (Pinehurst, N.C.) tied Smith for 20th at 25-over par 241 (78-85-78). She bookended her first team event with a pair of 6-over par 78s and was the lone Mid to finish under par on par-five scoring at 1-under par, which was also tied for fifth in the field.
Senior captain Christine McDonnell (Suwanee, Ga.) led Navy after the opening round on Monday with a 5-over par 77 but finished 26th in the field just one stroke behind Smith and Hirtle with a 26-over par 242 (77-83-82). Jacqueline Cherry (Jr., Ellicott City, Md.) rounded out Navy’s lineup with a 51-over par 267 (90-85-92) to place 58th overall.
Navy finished the first round of the tournament in third place after a 26-over par 314 but slipped to seventh after a 47-over par 335 in the second round. However, the Midshipmen bounced back with a 23-over par 311 to close out the competition, with the 311 being the fourth-lowest team score in the final round.
Delaware won the team title with a 48-over par 912 and Oihana Extezerrata of Delaware won medalist honors with a three-round score of 1-under par 215, which included a 6-under par 66 to finished the tournament. She was the lone individual to shoot under par in a round and she won the tournament by 11 strokes.
Navy returns to action this week to host the Navy Spring Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Naval Academy Golf Club.