Final Results
Daytona Beach, Fla. - Led by a sterling performance from freshman Cristina Felip, the LIU Brooklyn women's golf team overcame a nine-stroke deficit heading into the third and final round of the Northeast Conference Championship and came away with a five-stroke victory over Fairleigh Dickinson to capture the program's second NEC title and first since 2005.
The Blackbirds, led by first-year head coach and former NEC individual champion Natalie Desjardins, fired a 298 on the final day of competition, the top round by a team in the tournament by seven strokes. Felip shot an even-par 72 to finish the three-day tournament at one-under par 215, earning medalist honors by an impressive 11 strokes over FDU's Annika Karlsson.
Trailing by nine shots heading into the final day, LIU needed to get off to a good start and the team did just that. The Blackbirds blitzed the front nine to the tune of a two-over par 154. Felip led the charge with a two-under par 36 that featured an unblemished scorecard of two birdies and seven pars.
Also having a strong start to her day was senior Anna Palsson, who bounced back from a rough first two rounds to shoot one-under par 37 on the front nine. Palsson birdied three of the final five holes prior to making the turn, while freshman Brianna Maynard nearly matched her with two birdies from holes five through nine.
Back in the hunt for an NEC team title, Palsson and Felip continued their stellar play on the back nine. Palsson had just one hiccup on the par-four 11th hole, while Felip shot two-over par over the final nine holes. Freshman Alice Boothroyd also had a fine finish, bogeying the 11th hole and totalling one-over par over the final nine holes.
The comeback was completed on the 18th hole, as Felip tapped in for bogey to finish off an even-par round of 72. Palsson matched her teammate with a 72 of her own on Sunday, while Boothroyd (75) and Maynard (79) also broke 80.
LIU will continue its season at an NCAA Tournament Regional to be announced on Monday, April 30 at 9:00 p.m. on NCAA.com.