Palm Beach, Fla. – The University of Findlay women's golf team saw its season come to an end on Friday, May 15 in the first round of medal match play, the national quarterfinal, at the NCAA Division II National Championship. This year marks the seventh consecutive season that the Oilers have made it into medal match play at the event, only one of two teams in the country for which that is the case.
The Oilers, ranked third in the country, took on Anderson University (SC) which entered the event ranked fourth in the country. For a second consecutive year the two matched up as the four and five seeds, respectively. On Friday, it was the Trojans who came out on top, defeating Findlay 3-2 in a tightly contested matchup.
Four matches kicked off play on Friday morning. Two went off the first hole and two went off the tenth. Findlay and Anderson got things started on the tenth at 7:34 am.
Things were bleak early in the match for Findlay who quickly fell behind. Senior Ellie Yeazell was out first and faced an uphill battle after making an 8 on the difficult 11th hole. Through nine holes, Yeazell trailed her opponent by five shots. That lead remained the same through the first five holes of the back nine when Anderson's Olivia Pellerin made birdie on the fifth. However, Yeazell then had an opportunity down the stretch and was able to take advantage. Pellerin made bogey on the sixth hole and Yeazell birdied to make up two shots. A double bogey by Pellerin on the seventh gave back another shot. The two walked to the 18th tee with Yeazell trailing by two shots. Pellerin went on to make a double bogey and Yeazell made birdie to fire a back-nine score of 35, claiming a one-up victory.
Junior Ashleigh Duflo, a first team all-American, was the next match out and fell behind by three shots through just five holes. She also rallied, making up those shots quickly with a birdie on #16, her seventh hole of the day. That, combined with a double bogey by Anderson's Paige Paolucci, tied the match. Duflo did not let up, making birdies on the next two holes, as well, to claim a two-up lead through nine. Paulucci got to within one shot, but Duflo continued to make pars and went on to win the match two-up.
With two points officially on the board, Findlay needed just one more to win and move on.
Playing behind Duflo, senior Hayley Dye, who just yesterday locked up a top-ten finish to earn all-American status, was taking on Kennedy Gooding from Anderson. Gooding birdied the first hole to take the immediate lead. A front-nine 35 by Gooding put Dye behind by four strokes at the halfway point. Dye birdied the first hole, their tenth, while Gooding made double bogey. That swing got Dye to within one shot. That would be as close as the match got though as Findlay's senior could not quite make the push she needed against Gooding who fired a 75, her best round of the week.
Sophomore Gracie James, getting her first taste of medal match play at the national level, also got down early as a pair of double bogeys and a bogey in her first five holes had her trailing by five. However, she did not quit, battling back to within two by making birdie on the group's eighth hole, the par-three 17th. Facing a deficit and trying to make up ground, James battled but need an opening from her opponent Olivia Roberts. Roberts never quite gave that opportunity, playing a solid back-nine that included seven pars and two bogeys. James would go on to shoot 83, six shy of Roberts.
Tied 2-2, the match came down to the final two players on the course, Findlay's Emma Myers and Anderson's Aly Francis. Myers, a freshman, took an early lead with a birdie on the group's third hole, #12. For a moment that lead grew to two shots but, starting with an opening nine score of 36, Myers had a one-shot lead through nine holes. Bogey's on #1 and #2 were paired with pars by Francis and put Myers behind for the first time. She did not go away quietly, however, remaining within two shots for the next four holes. Francis made a bogey on the group's 17th hole and Myers was back within one shot standing on the 18th tee. Francis hit one down the middle and then hit her iron shot to inside of ten feet while Myers had some tree trouble up the left side, ultimately leading to a bogey. Francis would win the match two-up to send Anderson to the semifinals.
This concludes the 2025-26 season for the women's golf program which finishes tied for fifth in DII. This year's team earned seven tournament victories including the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) and East Region titles and boasted five tournament medalists.
Comments from Coach Dominic Guarnieri
"The girls showed a lot of toughness today. Obviously it didn't go the way we wanted, but it was an amazing season and we will not lose sight of that based on this result."
About senior Hayley Dye, Coach Guarnieri said: "Hayley has meant the world to this program. I told the girls after the round, 'if you want someone to model yourself after, it should be her. She's in the building at 7 am without question and it paid off this year with a top-ten finish yesterday. I could not be more happy for her and she definitely left this program better than she found it."
