Final Results
Photo Gallery - Final Round

CONOVER, N.C. – The 7^th-ranked St. Edward's women's golf team shot the second best round of the final day, +11 (295) to move up to eighth place at the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship at Rock Barn Golf and Spa. Lynn won its second-consecutive national championship, shooting two-under par to finish at +28 (294-297-291-282=1164), while Barry finished second, +57 (305-289-301-298=1193) and Tarleton State finished third +59 (300-299-296-300=1195). Lynn's Louise Manalo won the individual championship +3 (72-73-74-68=287).
 
St. Edward's was led by all-American junior HALEY HAUGHT's three-under par 68, that included a spectacular hole-in-one on the tough par-three sixth hole, and senior RYANNE HADDOW's one-under par 70. Teeing off on the 10th hole to start the day, the team improved its score on the back side by 14 strokes from the previous day, moving the Hilltoppers up from 10th to eighth +96 (311-310-316-295=1232).  Every St. Edward's player improved on yesterday's round to contribute. Senior ALYSSA SMITH shot seven-over par, 78, MARISSA BRANSBURG shot eight-over par, 79, and TAYLOR MORENO finished at 10-over par, 81.
 
"I was really happy with our round today and it was a great way to end our season," said head coach Jennifer McNeil. "Haley's round of 68 was really spectacular to watch. Ending hole-in-one, birdie, birdie, par was a great way to cap off a great junior season."
 
Haught's under-par round moved her up from 14^th to a tie for fifth finish, +9 (72-74-79-68=293), which is the best finish at an NCAA Championship in St. Edward's women's golf history. Haught held the previous best finish, a T14 at last year's championship at LPGA International in Daytona, Fla.  In addition to her hole-in-one on the sixth, Haught's round included birdies on holes 7, 8, 13 and 14, an improvement of 11 strokes over her third round score of 79.
 
"Today the putts finally fell," said Haught. "The difference today was my new grip that my dad put on my putter. It made a huge difference in the feel. Once I started making putts, I got confidence and then my hole-in-one just topped it off. Today was a great round filled with lots of excitement."
 
Haddow's clutch performance moved her from a tie for 18^th to a tie for eighth, giving the Hilltoppers two Top-10 finishes +12 (76-76-74-70=296) and earned her all-America honors in her final tournament as a Hilltopper.
 
"I was living and dying with every shot Ryanne hit today, " said McNeil. "We knew she had a chance to finish Top-10 and earn her second all-American honor, so every shot was really important.  I am thrilled for her to end her career the way she did." 
 
Haddow had birdies on holes 4, 8 and 14.  "Coach and I talked about what I needed to do earlier that morning and we both agreed I needed to try to shoot something under par to get into the top ten," said Haddow. "I wasn't aware of where I stood until my 16^th hole.  Coach, told me I just needed to focus on making par coming in.  Knowing that I had put myself into position to finish Top-10 gave me confidence to finish out the round without nerves. I trusted my swing to get me through fifteen holes, I knew I could trust it to get me through the last three." 
 
Bransburg, playing in her first national championship for St. Edward's, finished her tournament tied for 59^th place, +39 (80-83-81-79=323) and was one-over par on her final nine of the tournament. She improved by two strokes each of her final three days.
 
Smith, also playing in her final tournament as a Hilltopper, finished in 61^st at +41 (83-82-82-78=325) and had birdies on two of her first four holes to set up the good final round. "I can't give Alyssa enough credit for how much of an impact she's had on our team," said McNeil.  "Earning all-region honors was a great way to cap off her season, but I was glad to see her play well today and end her career on a positive note.  Ryanne and Alyssa are both great kids who had nice careers at St. Ed's and they have worked hard to pave the way for the future generation of Hilltopper golfers."
 
Moreno, who also was instrumental at the regional tournament and earned all-region honors, was one place back of Smith at 62^nd, +42 (84-78-83-81=326).
 
The Hilltoppers ended their 2013-14 campaign with six total tournament wins, including the Heartland Conference Championship, a second place finish in the NCAA Super Regional, and their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship.