Winter Garden, Fla. - The University of Findlay women's golf team, ranked third in the country according to the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA), got things started at the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championship which is being held at Orange County National – Panther Lake in Winter Garden, Florida, near Orlando. Through one round of play, the Oilers are in a tie for third in the team standings after posting a 288 (E).
Findlay is tied with #2 Flagler College who also shot a 288 as a team. #1 Dallas Baptist, the defending national champion, leads through the first of three stroke-play rounds with a 284 (-4) while #9 St. Mary's University (TX) is in second after a round of 285 (-3). After 54 holes, the top eight teams will make the medal match play portion of the event, earning a shot at the national title.
Senior Gabby Woods, who was the individual runner-up at last year's national championship, led the Oilers on the first day, firing a one-under score of 71. She got the first round started with a birdie on the opening hole and later birdied the final two holes of the round to move into red numbers.
Shooting even-par rounds of 72 were junior Mary Kelly Mulcahy and freshman Ashleigh Duflo, tying them for 18th in the individual leaderboard. M. Mulcahy bogeyed two of her first four holes, but played the final 14 holes at two-under to get her score back to even. Similarly, Duflo was two over standing on the 14th tee, but she would make eagle on the 537-yard to get her score to even. Pars on each of her final four holes gave her a score of 72 for the round.
Junior Erin Mulcahy had a solid opening round and sits in T42 after posting a 73 (+1) to start the event. E. Mulcahy started out hot, getting to two-under through seven holes, but a trio of bogeys down the stretch sent her to one-over.
Rounding out the lineup, sophomore Hayley Dye is in T89 after a 77 (+5). She struggled on the front, carding a 42, but a birdie and eight pars on the back give her momentum heading into the second day.
The Oilers get Day 2 started tomorrow, Wednesday, May 22, at 10:00 am.
