SAINT LEO â€" Nova Southeastern’s quest for a fourth straight Sunshine State Conference championship got underway Sunday at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club with the Sharks taking a 6-stroke lead over Barry. Florida Southern’s Barbora Vejlupkova is on a quest of her own though, as the junior from the Czech Republic finished the day in a tie for first in the individual race, helping the Moccasins to a third-place team standing.
Florida Southern, which is ranked #7, was among the three teams that began play in the middle wave Sunday, and as such, three teams were still on the course when the Moccasins finished. At that time, they were in fifth place, trailing the top-ranked Sharks by 14 strokes. As the Mocs waited to see where they’d be at the end of the day, 2nd-ranked Lynn dropped behind them, and #5 Rollins fell back as well, putting the Tars and Mocs in a tie for third. Their team scores of 313 put them 10 shots behind the Sharks with two rounds remaining.
Meanwhile, Vejlupkova went to the clubhouse in a 3-way tie for the individual lead with Lynn’s Jessica Bradley and defending champion Liliana Cammisa of Nova. It was a tenuous position with a host of other golfers either one or two strokes back, but her one-over par 73 held up as several others played the last three holes. Bradley also finished with a 73, but Cammisa ended up with a 74, putting her in a tie with Barry’s Taylor Babcock for third place.
With her group starting on No. 10, and Babcock in that group as well, Vejlupkova actually played her first nine holes at two-under, but had to hold on after three straight bogeys on 4, 5, and 6. It was still another impressive round for Vejlupkova, following her runner-up finish at the United States Women’s Invitational and a 10th-place finish at the Division I University of Cincinnati Invitational.
Florida Southern’s #2 golfer on Sunday was junior Jackie Rajek (Suwanee, GA), who shot a five-over par 77 to tie for eighth place. It’s the third time in her last four rounds Rajek has matched the best score of her season.
Seniors Megan Kiley (Leo, IN) and Amy Hodgkinson (Mead, CO) were Florida Southern’s other two counters with an 80 and 83, putting them in 19th and 29th place respectively. Sophomore Emily Rymer (Orlando, FL) had an 87 that was not counted in the Mocs’ team score, and had her in 34th.
Nova Southeastern, which won last year’s title after coming back from an 18-stroke deficit, is off to a much better start this year. The Sharks not only got a 74 from Cammisa, they got a 75 from Linnea Johansson, a 76 from Abbey Gittings, and a 78 from Daniela Ortiz. That gave the Sharks four of the top 11 individual scores in the tournament.
Barry also had all four of its counters in the 70’s, but after Babcock’s 74, the Buccaneers had a pair of 78’s and a 79. Rollins’ top golfer was Momo Sakuragi with a 77.
Lynn, which was in fifth place and only one shot behind Florida Southern, was being carried by Bradley. With her one-over par 73, Bradley was the only golfer on her team to shoot better than 80 on Sunday.
#15 Saint Leo (316) and #9 Florida Tech (319) weren’t far behind Florida Southern either. Tampa (348) and Eckerd (384) were eighth and ninth.
The second round gets underway Monday morning at 8:15 a.m., at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club.
