Dukes Capture Title at Ball State Match Play

Thursday, February 7

Lake Jovita G&CC | Dade City, Fla.

James Madison University

Ball State Sunshine Match Play

2/8/2019 5:42:00 PM | Women's Golf

@JMUWGolf JMU WG on Instagram Final Results

DADE CITY, Fla. - The James Madison women's golf team opened its spring season with a title on Friday afternoon, bouncing back from a morning defeat to pick up a 4-1-1 win over Ball State and capture the team championship at the Ball State Sunshine Invitational, hosted by Ball State at the par-72, 6,273-yard Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club.

After dropping a 4-2 match to top-seeded Princeton in a continuation of Thursday evening's darkness-shortened contest, the Dukes rallied to a victory over the hosts that tied them atop the leaderboard with Princeton and Saint Leo, then took home the trophy by virtue of tiebreakers.

Senior Katie Turk led the way for the Dukes, picking up a 4&3 win against Princeton in the morning before earning a 3&2 win against Ball State in which she never trailed. Turk was victorious in all three of her matches across the two days, making her one of just four players in the tournament to take all three available points.

Sophomore Carly Lyvers bounced back from a 2&1 loss in the morning, winning her final three holes to capture a 2up victory in the decisive match and finish 2-1 on the week, while junior Morgan Cox rebounded with a 1up victory over her own to close at 2-1 as well. Junior Lauren Comegys joined the duo at 2-1, rolling to victories at 7&5 and 7&6 before dropping a 1up heartbreaker on Friday afternoon.

Freshman Kate Owens battled her way to a hard-fought halve in her final match, a contest in which neither player led by more than two holes at any time, while junior Joanna Keck capped the week with her first victory, using a late surge to capture a 2&1 win that sealed the trophy for JMU.

For the week, all six JMU players contributed at least one victory and none of the Dukes posted a losing record.

TIEBREAKERS
After closing the three-match event tied with Saint Leo and Princeton, the Dukes took home the trophy on tiebreakers relying on their excellence earlier in the tournament.
- All three teams finished 2-1-0, but did not all face each other head-to-head, skipping the first tiebreaker.
- The second tiebreaker was most individual matches won in the tournament. JMU and Saint Leo each won 11 matches, while Princeton won 10.
- The third tiebreaker was total holes remaining among all individual matches won. The Dukes had 24 holes remaining in their victories, while Saint Leo had 23, giving JMU the victory.

QUOTING COACH BAKER
"I'm so proud of these girls for coming home with this trophy. They battled the entire time across a long two days. Literally every hole mattered to us getting this win and I can't say enough about their resiliency to come back after a tough loss in the morning. We're excited to bring this one home and get back to work."

UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back in action at another match play event in three weeks, as they travel to the Oyster Shuck Match Play at Patriots Point Links in Mount Pleasant, S.C. on Feb. 25-26.