Winter Garden, Fla. - The University of Findlay women's golf team wrapped up yet another memorable season as the 2024 campaign came to an end in the semifinals of medal match play at the NCAA DII National Championship on Friday, May 24 in Winter Garden, Florida. The Oilers, which were seeded fifth in the bracket, began the day with a thrilling 2-2-1 victory against #11 Lynn University, but were defeated 3-2 by St. Mary's University (TX) in the semifinals.
At the start of the day, eight teams took to the course at Orange County National's Panther Lake with hopes of surviving to Saturday for a chance to play for a national title. Findlay, which has played in medal match play at the national championship every year since the format began in 2019, was matched up with Lynn in the first round, a rematch of last season's quarterfinal. A year ago, it was Lynn that was victorious, but this season, the Oilers flipped the script.
Freshman Ashleigh Duflo was the first out for Findlay and she put together a standout performance. Both Duflo and her opponent got off to a bogey-birdie start, but by the ninth hole, the Oilers' newcomer had built a four-shot lead. That lead ultimately ballooned to seven shots as Duflo went on to shoot 70 (-2), earning the win in her match.
In the next match, junior Erin Mulcahy found herself down six shots at the halfway point, but battled back on the final nine, picking up a pair of shots down the stretch. While she did fall by four, that effort would prove critical.
Match number three saw sophomore Hayley Dye pitted in a tight battle with her opponent. That dual would end up with a tie as both players shot 75 (+3).
Fresh off winning the individual national title, senior Gabby Woods struggled in her opening round, posting a 77 (+5) to suffer a three-shot defeat, but junior Mary Kelly Mulcahy was a victor by three shots in her matchup, firing a 72 (E).
With the matches tied at 2-2-1, the tiebreaker was determined by total strokes of all five players. The Oilers earned the win with 374 strokes to Lynn's 377.
In the other quarterfinals, St. Mary's (TX) defeated the top seed, Flagler. Indianapolis was all by finished in their matchup against West Texas A&M, but on the final holes, the Buffs last player made a nine, giving up her four-shot lead and allowing the Greyhounds into the semis. The final quarter saw Dallas Baptist, the defending national champion, earn a tiebreaker win over Henderson State University.
Advancing to the semis for the first time since 2022, the year the Oilers won the national title, Findlay battled with the eight seed and #9 in the country, St. Mary's. Duflo went out first and was beaten by 11 after an 84 (+12). But Woods came in next and fired her fourth sub-par round of the week, a 69 (-3) that tied the match up at 1-1.
Dye could not get over the hump in her matchup as she did not trail by more than two strokes until the very end. She would shoot 74 (+2) and suffer a three-shot defeat.
E. Mulcahy was tied through nine holes, but took a two-shot lead on the tenth and did not look back. She went on to shoot 76 (+4), earning a victory and tying the team score at 2-2.
Mary Kelly Mulcahy, yesterday named the DII National Player of the Year, was in a battle all day with Libby Kilride, who would go on to shoot her best round of the weekend. M. Mulcahy kept fighting back after trailing by three strokes through seven holes, but Kilride would continue to answer those comebacks with birdies, keeping the pressure on Mulcahy. Kilride would make four birdies on the back nine alone to defeat M. Mulcahy. Mulcahy would go under-par with a 71 (-1) but was beaten by three, ending the match and sending St. Mary's to tomorrow's national title bout.
This season was not one to dismiss as the Oilers would finish the year with seven tournament victories including the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) and East Regional championships to go along with players earning five all-conference awards, four all-region awards, two all-American awards, the National Player of the Year, and the DII Individual National Champion.
MEDAL MATCH PLAY RESULTS
