“This group of young ladies really dug deep and fought hard for this win”, said head coach Laura Brown. “I am extremely proud of this team and their hard work and dedication this year paid off in the end when it counted. They had a great time in Arizona and our focus was to simply enjoy the competition and stay in the moment and they did that really well.”
Daytona State’s goal going into the tournament was to bring back the National Championship to Daytona at the end of the week. “The key was to stay consistent with our scores and remain in contention”, said Laura Brown. Daytona State finished the first round with a team score of 303 which landed them in a tie for third place, but just two shots off of the lead. Daytona State posted a 305 in the second round which was good enough to tie them for the lead. With a third round of 300, DSC moved into first all alone with a nine stroke advantage over defending national champions, Redlands Community College. DSC’s final round of 303 gave the Lady Falcon’s an eleven shot team victory, as they edged Redlands by another two strokes on the final day.
So Young Hwang, DSC’s standout freshman from South Korea finished second individually with scores of 78-73-71-72. “So Young has been such a consistent performer for us this year and she really delivered for us when we needed her”, said Coach Brown. Erin Selfridge finished 7th overall with scores of 72-79-75-78. The sophomore from Fleming Island, FL was instrumental in this win, as her scores were consistent and she turned her final round around when DSC needed her to. “I had found out that Erin was seven over par through eight holes in the final round and that the team competition was getting a little tight. I went up to Erin and told her I really needed her to grind it out and it was time to step it up and she did just that. She was one under par on the remaining eleven holes”, Coach Brown stated.
Freshman, Mary Dawson finished third in the line-up for DSC and in a tie for eighth in the tournament. She posted scores of 75-77-77-77. “I’m very proud of Mary and of her scores in the tournament, said Laura Brown, “this was a very impressive showing for a freshman and will help with her confidence heading into next season.“ Sophomore Megan Garland posted scores of 78-77-77-76 and finished in 10th place individually and rounded out Daytona State’s top four players. “These four players were the key to our success all year”, stated Brown, “they were my top four all year and proved their strength at the national level. I am so happy for them and proud of their accomplishments. They truly deserve the honor of being National Champions. Sophomore Callie Kitchens rounded out Daytona State’s top five with scores of 83-78-82-83.
The Lady Falcons return two players from this group for the 2013-2014 including So Young Hwang and Mary Dawson. Both players earned All-American Honors, with Hwang earning first team honors and Dawson earning second team honors.
